Surah Mulk in the Quran which contains 30 verses, is at the beginning of 29th Juz. About this Surah, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
“There is a chapter in the Quran of thirty verses, which will intercede for its companion until he is forgiven: Blessed is He in whose Hand is the dominion.”(67:1)
[Reported by: Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him)
Source: Sunan Abī Dāwūd 1400
Grade: Hasan (fair) according to Al-Albani].
Suratul Mulk not only reinforces our Imaan but also strengthens our Taqwa. The Surah
opens by acquainting us that blessed is Allah in whose hand is the sovereignty and follows
by giving a lesson on death and life which clears up the entire concept of our creation, that is
this life is nothing but a test as to who among us are best in our deeds. We often tend to run
after success, wealth and worldly attainments. In the run, we forget that all these will perish
one day and all we will be left with is what deeds we have committed in this world. Our
deeds will decide our fate.
Creation
Moreover, this verse:
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًۭا وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٢
˹He is the One˺ Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds.
And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.
(67:2) (Translation by: Dr Mustafa Khattab)
puts us in the position to question ourselves as to are we truly working to attain the Raza of
Allah or we are caught up so much with the world? Well, that’s something to ponder upon.
Certainly, that can be done if we take a moment from our lives and contemplate. Suratul
Mulk helps us in that contemplation through the following ayah:
الَّذِىۡ خَلَقَ سَبۡعَ سَمٰوٰتٍ طِبَاقًا مَا تَرٰى فِىۡ خَلۡقِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ مِنۡ تَفٰوُتٍ فَارۡجِعِ الۡبَصَرَۙ هَلۡ تَرٰى مِنۡ فُطُوۡرٍ ٣
˹He is the One˺ Who created seven heavens, one above the other. You will never see any
imperfection in the creation of the Most Compassionate. So look again: do you see any
flaws?
(67:3) (Translation by: Dr Mustafa Khattab)
How beautiful and perfect is the creation of Allah. Without any flaws. We often disregard what’s going around us but if we analyze there are signs everywhere that it is only Allah who is the creator of the entire universe.
Punishment
There is a lesson everywhere for everyone and each one of us will be accountable for our deeds. We must rest assured that wrongdoers will not be able to escape their fate it’s just a matter of time when they’ll have to face the consequences of their actions. So if anyone of us has been wronged, Sabr is the key that will eventually lead to eternal peace.
Allah informs us in Ayah 6 to 11 of Surat-ul-Mulk about the situation of the disbelievers and their acceptance of sins, when they will be tossed in hell the keepers of hell will ask them whether or not a warner came to them and the disbelievers will reply in positive and accept that they denied the message. This instills fear of the punishment for disbelief and from this, we can draw a lesson that today, when disbelievers mock Muslims and Islam are certainly doing it due to the hate that has been filled into them and their disbelief is because of their lack of contemplation
Rewards
After informing us about the plight of the disbelievers Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala gives glad tidings to the believers in the following verse:
اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ يَخۡشَوۡنَ رَبَّهُمۡ بِالۡغَيۡبِ لَهُمۡ مَّغۡفِرَةٌ وَّاَجۡرٌ كَبِيۡرٌ ١٢ Indeed, those in awe of their Lord without seeing Him will have forgiveness and a mighty reward. (67:12) (Translation by: Dr Mustafa Khattab)
Here Allah Rabbulizzat has enlightened us about the fortunate destination of the believers. This verse explains the true nature of belief. Belief is not dependent on the evidence. If Allah would have shown us the major signs everyone would have believed but Allah does not want to force religion upon us rather he provided us with signs plus intellect through which we can distinguish between right and wrong.
Intentions
In Islam, people are judged based on their intentions. The one with evil intentions cannot get
away with it and the one with good intentions will be rewarded for it. Allah knows what’s in
our heart as he says in the following verse of Surah Mulk:
وَاَسِرُّوۡا قَوۡلَـكُمۡ اَوِ اجۡهَرُوۡا بِهٖؕ اِنَّهٗ عَلِيۡمٌۢ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُوۡرِ ١٣ Whether you speak secretly or openly—He surely knows best what is ˹hidden˺ in the heart. (67:13) (Translation by: Dr Mustafa Khattab)
This assures us that no matter what the world thinks about us and what everyone says, all
that should matter is that Allah knows who we are, what is in our chest and what our
intentions are. This will help us be content in this world full of stress and anxiety. Verily it’s
only Allah who knows us in and out, even better than ourselves, after all, he is our creator.
Being Ungrateful
In the later verses of the Surah, Allah says about the provisions He gave to us from the land
we walk on to the food we eat. We often tend to take these blessings for granted and
become thankless, but being ungrateful and feeling that nothing can harm us in our
dwellings will bring upon us the wrath of Allah, as he says:
ءَاَمِنۡتُمۡ مَّنۡ فِىۡ السَّمَآءِ اَنۡ يَّخۡسِفَ بِكُمُ الۡاَرۡضَ فَاِذَا هِىَ تَمُوۡرُۙ ١٦ اَمۡ اَمِنۡتُمۡ مَّنۡ فِى السَّمَآءِ اَنۡ يُّرۡسِلَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ حَاصِبًا فَسَتَعۡلَمُوۡنَ كَيۡفَ نَذِيۡرِ ١٧ وَلَـقَدۡ كَذَّبَ الَّذِيۡنَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِهِمۡ فَكَيۡفَ كَانَ نَكِيۡرِ ١٨ Do you feel secure that the One Who is in heaven will not cause the earth to swallow you up as it quakes violently? Or do you feel secure that the One Who is in heaven will not unleash upon you a storm of stones. Only then would you know how ˹serious˺ My warning was! And certainly those before them denied ˹as well˺, then how severe was My response! (67:16-18) (Translation by: Mustafa Khattab)
No one is safe from the punishment of Allah except those whom he wills. This instils in us
Taqwa (God Consciousness) that wherever we are and whatever we do Allah Subhanahu
wa Ta’ala is always watching us.
The One Who Controls Everything
It is only Allah who is in control of everything and he alone possesses all things. How
beautifully Allah says in the following verse:
اَوَلَمۡ يَرَوۡا اِلَى الطَّيۡرِ فَوۡقَهُمۡ صٰٓفّٰتٍ وَّيَقۡبِضۡنَؕ مَا يُمۡسِكُهُنَّ اِلَّا الرَّحۡمٰنُؕ اِنَّهٗ بِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍۢ بَصِيۡرٌ ١٩
Have they not seen the birds above them, spreading and folding their wings? None holds
them up except the Most Compassionate. Indeed, He is All-Seeing of everything.
(67:19) (Translation by: Dr Mustafa Khattab)
Everything from high flying birds to marine animals swimming deep down in the ocean, from
high mountain tops to deep-rooted trees is under the control of Allah. All these hold signs for
believers to reflect upon. On the other hand, the disbelievers who claimed the final hour as
false will become gloomy on seeing it occurring. The disbelievers of Makkah used to curse
the Prophet of Peace (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
for death as if death occurs his teachings will be over, there is a verse in Surah Mulk in reply
to this behaviour of the disbelievers.
قُلۡ اَرَءَيۡتُمۡ اِنۡ اَهۡلَـكَنِىَ اللّٰهُ وَمَنۡ مَّعِىَ اَوۡ رَحِمَنَا فَمَنۡ يُّجِيۡرُ الۡكٰفِرِيۡنَ مِنۡ عَذَابٍ اَلِيۡمٍ ٢٨
Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Consider this: whether Allah causes me and those with me to die or
shows us mercy, who will save the disbelievers from a painful punishment?”
(67:28) (Translation by: Dr Mustafa Khattab)
In conclusion, Allah says in Surah Mulk that none can provide us if Allah stops his provision.
قُلۡ اَرَءَيۡتُمۡ اِنۡ اَصۡبَحَ مَآؤُكُمۡ غَوۡرًا فَمَنۡ يَّاۡتِيۡكُمۡ بِمَآءٍ مَّعِيۡنٍ ٣٠
Say, “Consider this: if your water were to sink ˹into the earth˺, then who ˹else˺ could bring
you flowing water?”
(67:30) (Translation by: Dr Mustafa Khattab)
Surah Mulk makes us acknowledge that it is Allah who has sent us and unto him, we shall
return, all power belongs to Allah alone, we are dependent on our creator and certainly, if
Allah does not will we won’t be able to function and simply cease existing.
Narrated by Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood,
Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Whoever reads Tabaarak allaahi bi yadihi’l-mulk [i.e., Suratul Mulk] every night, Allah will
Narrated by Al-Nasa’i, 6/179; classified as Hasan (meaning ‘good’ authenticity) by Al-Albaani
protect him from the torment of the grave. At the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) we used to call it al-maani’ah (that which protects). In the
Book of Allah it is a surah which, whoever recites it every night has done very well.
in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, 1475.
