Al-Mulk

al-Mulk[1] (Arabic: الملك‎, "Sovereignty, Kingdom") is the 67th chapter (surah) of the Quran, comprising 30 verses.[2] The surah emphasizes that no individual can impose his will on another; he may only guide and set an example (67:26).[3]

Sura 67 of the Quran

الملك Al-Mulk The Dominion
Arabic text English translation Audio of sura (ar)
Classification	Meccan
Other names	Kingship
Position	Juzʼ 29 Tabāraka -lladhi
No. of Rukus	2
No. of verses	30
No. of words	337
No. of letters	1316

Summary

• 1-3 Praise to the Almighty, the Creator and Ruler of all things
• 3-5 The perfection of the works of God, seen in the heavens, glorify him
• 5 The heavens adorned with shooting stars
• 6-8 Torments of hell prepared for unbelievers
• 8-11 Infidels shall confess in hell their folly in calling Muhammad an impostor
• 12 The righteous shall receive great reward
• 13-14 God knoweth all things
• 15-18 God shall destroy unbelievers
• 19-24 Unbelievers ungrateful to the God who sustains them in life
• 25-28 They challenged the Prophet to hasten the judgment-day, but they shall dread its approach
• 29-30 The Merciful the only protector on that day [4]

Placement & Coherence with other surahs

The idea of textual relation between the verses of a chapter has been discussed under various titles such as nazm and munasabah in non-English literature and coherence, text relations, intertextuality, and unity in English literature. Hamiduddin Farahi, an Islamic scholar of the Indian subcontinent, is known for his work on the concept of nazm, or coherence, in the Quran. Fakhruddin al-Razi (died 1209 CE), Zarkashi (died 1392) and several other classical as well as contemporary Quranic scholars have contributed to the studies.[5] The entire Qur'an thus emerges as a well-connected and systematic book.[6] Each division has a distinct theme. Topics within a division are more or less in the order of revelation. Within each division, each member of the pair complements the other in various ways. The seven divisions are as follows:

Group	From	To	Central theme
1	Al-Fatiha ^[Quran 1:1]	Al-Ma'ida ^[Quran 5:1]	Islamic law
2	Al-An'am ^[Quran 6:1]	At-Tawba ^[Quran 9:1]	The consequences of denying Muhammad for the polytheists of Mecca
3	Yunus ^[Quran 10:1]	An-Nur ^[Quran 24:1]	Glad tidings of Muhammad's domination
4	Al-Furqan ^[Quran 25:1]	Al-Ahzab ^[Quran 33:1]	Arguments on the prophethood of Muhammad and the requirements of faith in him
5	Saba ^[Quran 34:1]	Al-Hujraat ^[Quran 49:1]	Arguments on monotheism and the requirements of faith in it
6	Qaf ^[Quran 50:1]	At-Tahrim ^[Quran 66:1]	Arguments on afterlife and the requirements of faith in it
7	Al-Mulk ^[Quran 67:1]	An-Nas ^[Quran 114:1]	Admonition to the Quraysh about their fate in the Herein and the Hereafter if they deny Muhammad

This surah belongs to the last (7th) group of surahs which starts from Surah Al-Mulk (67) and runs till the end of the Quran. According to Javed Ahmad Ghamidi: "The theme of this group is Warning the leadership of the Quraysh of the consequences of the Hereafter, and delivering glad tidings to Muhammad (sws) of the supremacy of the truth in Arabia. This theme gradually reaches its culmination through the arrangement of various surahs in this group."[7][8]

Phase	From	To	Central theme
I	Al-Mulk ^[Quran 67:1]	Al-Jinn ^[Quran 72:1]	Indhar (Warning)
II	Al-Muzzammil ^[Quran 73:1]	Al-Inshirah ^[Quran 94:1]	Indhar-i ‘am (Augmented Warning)
III	At-Tin ^[Quran 95:1]	Quraysh (surah) ^[Quran 106:1]	Itmam al-Hujjah (Conclusive Communication of the Truth)
IV	Al-Ma'un ^[Quran 107:1]	Al-Ikhlas ^[Quran 112:1]	Hijrah and Bara’ah (Migration and Acquittal)
V	Al-Falaq ^[Quran 113:1]	Al-Nas ^[Quran 114:1]	The Conclusion/The End

Hadith

The first and foremost exegesis/tafsir of the Quran is found in hadith of Muhammad[9][10] and while hadith is literally "speech"; recorded saying or tradition of Muhammad validated by isnad; with seerah these comprise the sunnah and reveal shariah and tafsir. Although scholars including ibn Taymiyyah claim that Muhammad has commented on the whole of the Quran, others including Ghazali cite the limited amount of narratives, thus indicating that he has commented only on a portion of the Quran.[11] In either the case, higher count of hadith elevates the importance of the pertinent surah from a certain perspective. This surah holds special place in the sayings as well as practices of Muhammad, which can be observed by these related ahadith.

• Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Hurayrah that Muhammad said,"Verily, there is a chapter in the Quran which contains thirty Ayat that will intercede on behalf of its reciter until he is forgiven. (It is): 'Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the dominion. (Surah Al-Mulk 67)'"[12][13][14]
• Muhammad said, 'There is a surah in the Quran which is only thirty verses. It defends whoever recites it until it puts him into Jannah'[15]
• Anas ibn Malik reported Muhammad as saying, "There is a Surah which will plead for its reciter till it causes him to enter paradise."[16]
• Muhammad said, 'Surah al Mulk is the protector from the torment of the grave'[17]
• Jabir said it was the custom of not to go to sleep until he had read Tabarakalladhi Biyadihil Mulk(Al-Mulk) and Alif Laam Meem Tanzeel (As-Sajda).[18]
• He used to recite Surah As-Sajdah and Surah Al-Mulk (in Arabic) before sleeping.[19]
• Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas reported that Muhammad said, 'It is my desire/love that Surahtul Mulk should be in the heart of every Muslim'[20]
• Ibn Abbas said that one of Muhammad's companions set up his tent over a grave without realising that it was a grave and it contained a man who was reciting the Surah Tabarakalladhi Biyadihil Mulk up to the end. He went and told Muhammad who said, 'It is The Defender; it is The Protector which safeguards from Allah Ta'ala's Punishment'[21]
• Khalid bin Madam said about surat Al Mulk and As-Sajda that these two surahs will fight for their reciter in the grave and will say, 'O Allah! If we belong to Your book, accept our intercession in his favour. In case we do not, get us obliterated. These surahs will spread their wings like birds and will save the person from the torment of the grave.'[22]
• It was narrated that Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud said: Whoever reads Tabarakalladhi Biyadihil Mulk [i.e. Surah al-Mulk] every night, Allah will protect him from the torment of the grave. At the time of the Messenger of Allah, we used to call it al-mani'ah (that which protects). In the Book of Allah it is a surah which, whoever recites it every night has done very well.[23][24]
• Abdullah ibn Masud is reported to have said, 'A man will be approached in his grave from his legs and from his chest and then from his head. And each time this Surah will defend him by saying, 'You cannot do anything to him, he used to recite Surah Mulk'.'
• Abdullah ibn Masud further states, 'It is called, 'Al-maani'ah'. For it protects from the punishment of the grave.'[25]
• Ibn Umar said that once that Muhammad recited verse 2 (the One Who created death and life so that He may test you as to which of you is better in deeds) and when he reached the words "better in deeds", he stopped and explained that 'better in deeds' is the person who abstains most from the things Allah has forbidden and is always ready to obey Him."
• Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Humayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Awf had told him that Surat al-Ikhlas (Sura 112) was equal to a third of the Quran, and that Surat al-mulk (Sura 67) pleaded for its owner.[26]

References

1. Ibn Kathir. "Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): Surah Al Mulk". Quran 4 U. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
2. Al-Mulk at Sacred Texts
3. Guppy, Shusha, For the good of Islam The Observer, 15 December 1991
4. Wherry, Elwood Morris (1896). A Complete Index to Sale's Text, Preliminary Discourse, and Notes. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
5. Hamiduddin Farahi, translated by Tariq Mahmood Hashmi (2008). Exordium to coherence in the Quran : an English translation of Fātiḥah Niẓām al-Qurʼān (1st ed.). Lahore: al-Mawrid. ISBN 9698799575.
6. Esposito, John, ed. (2003), "Islahi, Amin Ahsan", The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-512558-4
7. Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
8. https://www.javedahmedghamidi.org/#!/quran-home
9. Tafsir#Muhammad
10. Şatibi, El-muvafakat
11. Muhsin Demirci, Tefsir Usulü, 120
12. [This Hadith was collected by At-Tirmidhi and the four Sunan Compilers. At-Tirmidhi said concerning it, "This is a Hasan Hadith.]
13. (Jami` at-Tirmidhi Hadith 2891) Imaam at-Tirmidhi has classified this narration as Hasan (sound) and Imaam Ibn Hibban and Abu Abdullah al-Hakim Nishapuri regarded it as Sahih (authentic). See Saheeh ibn Hibbaan vol. 3, p. 67-69 and Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain vol. 2, p. 498
14. Abu Dawood, Imam Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi, Riyad as-Salihin by Imam Al-Nawawi Ch.183 #1016
15. Fath al Qadir 5/257, Sahihul Jamiea 1/680, Tabrani in Al-Awsat & Ibn Mardawaith
16. Al-Tabarani
17. Sahihul Jamiea 1/680, Abu Abdullah al-Hakim Nishapuri - Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain 2/498 & Al-Nasa'i
18. Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Sunan al-Darimi
19. At-Tirmithi, An-Nasa'i. See also Al-Albani, Sahihul-Jami As-Saghir 4/255
20. [Hakim, al-Hisnul Haseen by the classical scholar Muhammad al-Jazri]
21. at-Tirmidhi
22. Mishkat al-Misbah
23. Al-Nasa'i
24. [Sahih at-Targhib wat-Tarhib, no. 1475]
25. (Mustadrak al-Haakim vol.2, p. 498). Abu Abdullah al-Hakim Nishapuri has classified this narration as Saheeh (authentic) and Haafiz Zahabiy has confirmed this.
26. Imam Malik's Muwatta Chapter No: 15, The Quran, Hadith no: 19 Narrated by Imam Malik

External links

• Best Real time Visualization of Surah Mulk with English translation, for non-Muslims