Theme of Juz Nine – The Messengers

This Juz is mostly made up of Surah Al-A’raaf, except for the last quarter which is the beginning of Surah Al-Anfaal. The primary message here is a reminder for us of the importance of obedience to the Messenger    and it reminds us of that through the stories of the perished nations.

An interesting sub theme in these stories is that it is always the leaders of the community that rejected the messengers and incited the people against them. The word “Mala’u” (leaders) is repeated in most of the stories in this Surah, including in verses 60, 66, 75, 88, 90, 109 and 127. It is also interesting that this Juz begins with this word, i.e. verse 88.

Nothing in the Qur’an is random and so the fact that this word is repeated in five different stories in this one Surah clearly indicates a unifying theme between these stories, this theme is one which was very important for the Prophet    and is important for us today, i.e. when trying to change a community, no matter how positive that change is, expect opposition from the leaders.

The reason that leaders tend to oppose change is because they are the ones enjoying the status quo, and they have the most to lose if things change. In Makkah, the poor, the youth and the slaves embraced Islam because it gave them hope for change and a better future, while the leaders of the Quraysh opposed Islam with every method they could think of, because they feared change and loss of power.

The lesson for us is to be ready to deal with rejection and opposition, especially from leaders who benefit from the current situation, as their hearts are attached to their status and they will brutally oppose anyone who tries to rock the boat.

The bulk of this Juz comprises of the story of Prophet Musa   and his Dawah to Pharaoh and then his dealings with the children of Israel. The story of Prophet Musa    is the longest and most often repeated story in the Qur’an, and the scholars mention several reasons for this including the following:

1. He faced a tyrant ruler which is something this Ummah deals with often
2. He has the largest Ummah after this Ummah
3. He dealt with Muslims who had fallen into Shirk, and Muslims who did not want to practice Islam, which is very similar to the situation of this Ummah.
4. This Ummah tends to repeat many of the mistakes of the Children of Israel so the wise among us will instead learn from their mistakes.

Finding solutions to these issues is crucial for dealing with the problems of our times, and therefore every Muslim should make an effort to study and reflect over the story of Prophet Musa   and extract from it practical lessons to assist in Islamic revival today.

The Juz ends with Surah Al-Anfaal which is a Madinan Surah and so the theme shifts back to the Madinan topics of Jihad and politics. The opening verses of this Surah sums up the qualities of true believers, reflect on these verses and how close or far we are from this description:

“Indeed the believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases their faith and they put their trust in their Lord, those who establish the Salah and spend from that which We have provided for them. Those are the true believers, for them are high ranks with their Lord and a noble Sustenance.” (8:2-4)



Source: Themes of the Qur'an by Abu Muawiyah Ismail Kamdar