الزخرف
Az Zukhruf
Verses
89
Revelation
Makki
Period
Late Makkan
Surah No.
43 / 114
Az-Zukhruf takes its name from the gold adornments (zukhruf) mentioned in verse 35, where worldly luxury is described as a brief pleasure that Allah grants even to disbelievers. The surah attacks Meccan polytheism from multiple angles: the absurdity of attributing daughters to Allah while preferring sons for themselves, the illogic of following the religion of ancestors without examination, and the story of Musa's rejection by Pharaoh as a historical precedent for the Prophet's rejection. It also addresses the Christian claim about 'Isa, affirming his status as a prophet and servant of Allah.
أسباب النزول
Revealed in the late Makkan period, the surah responded to several Qurayshi objections. When the Prophet recited Quranic verses criticising ancestral religion, the Quraysh cited their traditions as justification (43:23-24). The discussion of 'Isa (43:57-65) was apparently prompted by a debate in which the Quraysh used the Christian veneration of Jesus as an argument that worshipping others besides Allah was acceptable.
“Indeed, We have made it an Arabic Quran that you might understand.”
Establishes the reason for revelation in Arabic: so that the primary audience would have no excuse of incomprehension. Scholars use this to discuss the linguistic miracle of the Quran.
“And indeed, he ['Isa] is knowledge of the Hour.”
A reference to 'Isa's descent before the Day of Judgement as a sign of its imminence, cited in traditions about the major signs of the Last Day.