Quran Paper on Surah al-Jumuah (62nd Surah)
Division: 1-4 (Section l); 5-8 (Section ll); 9-11 (Section lll)
Purpose: This surah tells us about the various attributes of Allah by mentioning all the things that
He has created and that He has the power to do so. It tells us how He hasn’t let man go astray
and has sent a guide from among them. Later on, Allah addresses the non-believers that how they
spew lies about having an incessant love for Allah and that this life is nothing but a test and we
will all return to Allah in the end and will be judged for our deeds. The ending part of the surah
emphasizes on the congregation prayer and Allah mentions that He has far better rewards for us
than the worldly gains. He mentions that we should ignore the worldly distractions and focus on
pleasing Allah and ask Him for beneficial rewards in the Hereafter for He is the Best of
providers.
Section Continuity: The first section of the surah mentions that whatever is present in the world
is the creation of Allah and everything that He has created defines Allah’s power and glorifies
Him. It describes that Allah is great in every feature and has the power to know what is visible
and what is invisible. Considering all of this, the second section goes on to give a warning to the
non-believers that Allah is indeed All-Knowing of all that resides in one’s hearts and Allah is
aware of one’s true intentions. Lastly, the third section directly emphasizes on the Friday prayers
about how we are supposed to leave everything aside at the call of prayer and to go attend the
prayer. Just like the previous section, Allah also gives us a warning in this section that we ought
to stay away from diversions of world and long for the rewards that Allah has for us after this
life. Furthermore, the section gives us an idea that our purpose should be to return to Allah as the
world is nothing but a trial. The world is full of distractions and Allah has even better rewards to
give to us; All we have to do is please Allah in this world so that we may succeed in the
Hereafter.
Continuity within sections: Section l: The first section conveys that Allah has the ability to do
everything and is superior in all kinds of aspects. By paying attention to the things existing in the
universe we come to realize the greatness of Allah and that He is the sole owner of everything.
Every being existing in the world longs for His nearness and all of His creations are an example
of His power and His Sovereignty. It was Allah Who created us and sent a messenger to us so
that we may be guided. He sent Muhammad (PBUH) as a human from among our own
community who then conveyed Allah’s speech to us human beings. Muhammad (PBUH) was
sent as an exemplary who completed our Deen by reciting to us Allah’s speech and giving us the
Book and Wisdom. He was sent as a messenger not just for us but for those “who have not yet
joined” i.e. the non-believers. His purpose was also to be a guide for the non-believers so that
they do not go astray and are guided on the right path.
Section ll: This section delivers a warning to the non-believers and the people who lie about
what resides in their hearts. Allah mentions that the Torah was revealed upon Moses but the
people did not believe in Allah’s signs, attributes etc. The Torah was revealed for them but they
didn’t understand it and weren’t aware of what it meant. Furthermore, it is mentioned that the
Jews lie about their love for Allah and that they have awe for Him. Now taking into account
what is discussed in section l, Allah knows the true intentions of a person and He knows what
goes on in one’s heart. A person can claim his love for Allah but Allah always knows if that
person is speaking the truth or is lying. Lastly, this section ends when Allah mentions that He is
All-Knowing and that we cannot escape death and we should long for it so that we can return to
Him.
Section lll: The last section emphasizes on the congregation (Friday) prayer by stating that at the
time of the calling for prayer (Adhan) we should put aside all our tasks and prepare for the
prayer. The reason to disregard our tasks is that we came in this world and will soon depart from
it leaving nothing behind but the only thing that we will need is the deeds we perform. The
worldly tasks are mere distractions that thwart us from the remembrance of Allah so we should
put them away at the time of prayers. Now what I understand is that after the prayer ends, we are
supposed to go back outside and live our life in the path of Allah. It should be our primary
intention to live, work and spend in a way that pleases Allah. Considering what was mentioned
in the previous sections we should interpret that this life is but a trial and a test. Allah states in
the last ayah that we get involved in the worldly distractions and forget to remember Allah and
skip the prayer. It should be realized that from Allah we came and to Him we shall return and
that He has greater rewards waiting for us than the worldly gains.
Problems: I couldn’t completely understand what is meant by the “bounty” of Allah in the 4th
ayah from section l. Allah’s traits and attributes are stated in the starting and that He created
everything that exists today and gave us the Book as well as the messenger as guidance. Now
does the bounty refer to literally everything that He has bestowed upon us as blessings or the
knowledge that He has given us? The ayah 4 ends with “and Allah is the possessor of great
bounty”; Could it mean that “bounty” refers to knowledge because Allah is indeed the possessor
of the greatest knowledge. Nevertheless, I believe that it’s likely to be referring to everything the
Almighty has blessed us with and not just knowledge. The ayah 10 also mentions the sentence
“seek from the bounty of Allah” which confuses me in a way but I believe it means that we
should live mainly to please Allah.
