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Surah 21 · Makkah · 112 āyāt

Phase 04 · Ṭāʾif, al-Isrāʾ and the final Makkan years(c. 5–1 BH) — view in timeline

Al-AnbiyāʾThe Prophets

الأنبياء

A sustained address to the disbelievers of Makkah who turned away in heedlessness even as their reckoning drew near, the surah answers their mockery of the Messenger and their idols with a gallery of earlier prophets — Ibrāhīm, Nūḥ, Dāwūd, Sulaymān, Ayyūb, Yūnus, Zakariyyā, and others — each tested, each calling to the same tawḥīd, each rescued by Allah alone. It closes by naming the Prophet ﷺ himself as a mercy sent to all the worlds, and affirming that the earth will be inherited by Allah's righteous servants.

Why it was revealed

Revealed as Quraysh's chiefs mocked the Qur'an as 'a jumble of dreams' and the Messenger ﷺ as merely a poet to be tested like the poets before him, the surah answers their derision by surveying the prophets who came before him, showing that ridicule, trial and near-despair were the norm for every messenger, and that Allah's rescue of each of them is the pattern the Quraysh were refusing to learn from.

Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī on 21:1–3; Al-Ṭabarī on 21:51–70; Ibn Kathīr on 21:1–3; Ibn Kathīr on 21:105–107; Ibn Kathīr on 21:68–70; Ibn Kathīr on 21:83–84; Ibn Kathīr on 21:87–88; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, introduction to Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ

Ibn ʿAbbās reported that when the mushrikūn of Makkah persisted in worshipping idols alongside Allah and challenged the Prophet ﷺ to bring a punishment if his message were true, verses of this surah were revealed reminding them that their reckoning had drawn near while they remained in heedless play, and that no town Allah destroyed for wrongdoing was ever restored to disbelief.

Cited toAl-Ṭabarī on 21:1–3; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, introduction to Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

RevelationMiddle Makkan period · Age c. 46–48 · Makkah

Warning of a reckoning drawing near

The surah opens declaring that people's reckoning has approached while they remain in heedlessness, turning away from every fresh reminder sent to them and mocking it as play.

Recalled in āyah 1, 2, 3

ٱقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَابُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ

[The time of] their account has approached for the people, while they are in heedlessness, turning away.

لَاهِيَةً قُلُوبُهُمْ ۗ وَأَسَرُّوا۟ ٱلنَّجْوَى ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟

With their hearts distracted. And those who do wrong conceal their private conversation.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 21:1–3

  • Madd — 2 vowels
  • Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
  • Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
  • Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
  • Ghunnah — 2 vowels
  • Qalqalah
  • Ikhfāʾ
  • Ikhfāʾ shafawī
  • Idghām shafawī
  • Idghām with ghunnah
  • Idghām without ghunnah
  • Idghām mutajānisayn
  • Idghām mutaqāribayn
  • Iqlāb
  • Hamzat al-waṣl
  • Lām shamsiyyah
  • Silent letter

Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).

THEME 01Āyāt 1–4

Their reckoning has drawn near, yet they turn away

The reckoning of people has approached while they are in heedlessness, turning away. No fresh reminder comes to them from their Lord except they listen to it while at play, hearts diverted, and the wrongdoers conceal their private conspiracy, asking whether this Messenger is merely a man like themselves, so would they approach magic while they know it?

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī on 21:3; Ibn Kathīr on 21:1

1

ٱقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَابُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ

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[The time of] their account has approached for the people, while they are in heedlessness, turning away.

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3

لَاهِيَةً قُلُوبُهُمْ ۗ وَأَسَرُّوا۟ ٱلنَّجْوَى ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟

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With their hearts distracted. And those who do wrong conceal their private conversation.

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From the tafsīr

The nearness of the reckoning refers both to death, which brings every individual before Allah, and to the Hour itself; what is distant in human perception is imminent by the standard of what is yet to come.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 21:1

Their private conspiring 'while at play' shows that their rejection was not born of genuine doubt requiring evidence, but of hearts already diverted by worldly amusement and disinclined to submit regardless of the proof presented.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 21:3

Key takeaways

Reflect

What 'reminder' has reached you recently that you listened to without truly letting it land?

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Question 1 of 2

What does al-Saʿdī say the disbelievers' 'conspiring while at play' in 21:3 reveals?

Question 2 of 2

According to Ibn Kathīr, what does the 'nearness' of people's reckoning in 21:1 refer to?

THEME 02Āyāt 7–9

Every messenger before you ate food and walked in the markets

Allah sent no messengers before the Prophet ﷺ except men to whom He revealed, so ask the people of the message if you do not know. He did not make them bodies not eating food, nor were they immortal. Then He fulfilled the promise to them, saving them and whom He willed while destroying the transgressors.

Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī on 21:8; Ibn Kathīr on 21:7

7

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُّوحِىٓ إِلَيْهِمْ ۖ فَسْـَٔلُوٓا أَهْلَ ٱلذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

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And We sent not before you except men to whom We revealed, so ask the people of the message if you do not know.

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8

وَمَا جَعَلْنَـٰهُمْ جَسَدًا لَّا يَأْكُلُونَ ٱلطَّعَامَ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ خَـٰلِدِينَ

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And We did not make them, [the prophets], bodies not eating food, nor were they immortal.

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From the tafsīr

The instruction to 'ask the people of the message' — understood by early exegetes to include the People of the Book — establishes that consulting prior scriptural knowledge to confirm the pattern of human prophethood is itself a legitimate Qur'anic method of argument.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 21:7

Denying that prophets required food or were immortal directly answers the Makkan objection that a true messenger ought to be superhuman, showing their standard for prophethood was self-invented rather than grounded in the pattern of every messenger before him.

Cited toAl-Ṭabarī on 21:8

Key takeaways

Reflect

Do you sometimes expect faith or its callers to look extraordinary, when the Qur'an insists the ordinary is exactly where guidance was placed?

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Question 1 of 2

Who does Ibn Kathīr say is meant by 'the people of the message' in 21:7?

Question 2 of 2

What Makkan objection does 21:8 directly answer, per al-Ṭabarī?

THEME 03Āyāt 51–70

Ibrāhīm breaks the idols and is cast into the fire

Ibrāhīm asked his father and people what these statues were that they were devoted to, finding them and their forebears in clear error. He vowed to plot against their idols after they turned away, and broke them to pieces except the largest, that they might return to it. When they gathered him and threatened him with fire for what he had done, they cast him into it — and Allah commanded, 'O fire, be coolness and safety upon Ibrāhīm,' and they intended a plot against him, but Allah made them the greatest losers.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 21:69; Ibn Kathīr on 21:57–58

57

وَتَٱللَّهِ لَأَكِيدَنَّ أَصْنَـٰمَكُم بَعْدَ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ مُدْبِرِينَ

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And [Ibrāhīm said], 'By Allah, I will surely plan against your idols after you turn and leave.'

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58

فَجَعَلَهُمْ جُذَٰذًا إِلَّا كَبِيرًا لَّهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ يَرْجِعُونَ

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So he made them into fragments, except a large one among them, that they might return to it [and question].

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68

قَالُوا۟ حَرِّقُوهُ وَٱنصُرُوٓا۟ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ فَـٰعِلِينَ

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They said, 'Burn him and support your gods, if you are to act.'

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69

قُلْنَا يَـٰنَارُ كُونِى بَرْدًا وَسَلَـٰمًا عَلَىٰٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ

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Allah said, 'O fire, be coolness and safety upon Ibrāhīm.'

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70

وَأَرَادُوا۟ بِهِۦ كَيْدًا فَجَعَلْنَـٰهُمُ ٱلْأَخْسَرِينَ

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And they intended for him harm, but We made them the greatest losers.

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From the tafsīr

Ibrāhīm's leaving the largest idol intact was a calculated move so his people, upon finding the wreckage, would be forced to confront the absurdity of an idol supposedly capable of destroying its rivals yet incapable of speech or defence.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 21:57–58

'Be coolness and safety' is read precisely: had the command been 'coolness' alone without 'safety', the intense cold itself would have harmed Ibrāhīm, showing the exactness of the divine address even within a single miraculous command.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 21:69

Key takeaways

Reflect

What idols — of ego, comfort or approval — might you be leaving 'the largest' of, unwilling to confront directly?

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Question 1 of 2

Why, according to Ibn Kathīr, did Ibrāhīm leave the largest idol unbroken?

Question 2 of 2

Why does al-Qurṭubī note the precision of 'coolness and safety' together in 21:69?

THEME 04Āyāt 83–84

Ayyūb's affliction and its removal

And [mention] Ayyūb, when he called to his Lord, 'Indeed adversity has touched me, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.' So Allah responded to him and removed what afflicted him of harm, and gave him his family and the like of them with them, as a mercy from Himself and a reminder for the worshippers.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī on 21:84; Ibn Kathīr on 21:83

83

وَأَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُۥٓ أَنِّى مَسَّنِىَ ٱلضُّرُّ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ

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And [mention] Ayyūb, when he called to his Lord, 'Indeed adversity has touched me, and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.'

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From the tafsīr

Ayyūb's supplication is noted by scholars for its restraint — he does not list his afflictions in detail or complain of Allah's decree, but simply states the fact of harm and appeals to Allah's mercy, modelling dignified patience in duʿāʾ during hardship.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 21:83

That Allah gave him 'the like of them with them' — understood as either his original family restored or a new equivalent granted — shows that Allah's compensation after trial can exceed what was lost, not merely restore it.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 21:84

Key takeaways

Reflect

In your own hardship, do your duʿāʾs sound more like Ayyūb's brief trust or a lengthy complaint?

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0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

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Question 1 of 2

What do scholars note about the manner of Ayyūb's supplication in 21:83?

Question 2 of 2

What does al-Saʿdī draw from Allah giving Ayyūb 'the like of them with them' in 21:84?

THEME 05Āyāt 87–88

Dhū al-Nūn's cry from the darkness

And Dhū al-Nūn, when he left in anger and thought that We would not restrain him, so he called out in the darknesses, 'There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.' So We responded to him and saved him from distress, and thus do We save the believers.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 21:88; Ibn Kathīr on 21:87

87

وَذَا ٱلنُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَـٰضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ

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And [mention] Dhū al-Nūn, when he left in anger and thought that We would not restrain him, so he called out in the darknesses.

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88

فَٱسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُۥ وَنَجَّيْنَـٰهُ مِنَ ٱلْغَمِّ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُۨجِى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

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So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers.

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From the tafsīr

'Darknesses' in the verse is read by exegetes as the compounded darkness of night, sea, and the fish's belly together, intensifying the desperation of Yūnus's situation before his supplication.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 21:87

The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said that this supplication of Dhū al-Nūn was never recited by a distressed Muslim except that Allah answered him, making this duʿāʾ a lasting practical legacy of the story beyond its historical narrative.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 21:88

Key takeaways

Reflect

Which part of Dhū al-Nūn's duʿāʾ do you tend to leave out — the tawḥīd, or the honest admission of fault?

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Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

How do exegetes read the 'darknesses' (ẓulumāt) in 21:87?

Question 2 of 2

What does al-Qurṭubī report the Prophet ﷺ said about this supplication?

THEME 06Āyāt 105–107

Sent as nothing but a mercy to all the worlds

Allah records in the Zabūr, after the reminder, that His righteous servants shall inherit the earth. Indeed in this is a message for people who worship. And Allah did not send the Prophet ﷺ except as a mercy to all the worlds.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī on 21:107; Ibn Kathīr on 21:105

105

وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِى ٱلزَّبُورِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ ٱلذِّكْرِ أَنَّ ٱلْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِىَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحُونَ

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And We have already written in the Zabūr, after the reminder, that the earth is inherited by My righteous servants.

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107

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـٰكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

And We have not sent you, [O Muḥammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.

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From the tafsīr

The inheritance of the righteous is understood both as a promise fulfilled in this life for believing communities and, more completely, as the ultimate inheritance of Paradise reserved for the righteous of every nation.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 21:105

The mercy of the Prophet's ﷺ sending extends even to those who rejected him, since the message itself, the reprieve granted before punishment, and the mitigation of previously severe legal burdens are all mercies reaching believer and disbeliever alike.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 21:107

Key takeaways

Reflect

How does seeing the Prophet's ﷺ mission as mercy 'to all the worlds' shape how you treat those outside your own community?

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Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

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Question 1 of 2

Where else, besides the Qur'an, does the promise of the righteous inheriting the earth (21:105) appear?

Question 2 of 2

According to al-Saʿdī, to whom does the mercy of 21:107 extend?

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VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

ق ر ب

āyāt 1

to draw near

  • ٱقْتَرَبَhas drawn near
  • قُرْبnearness

ذ ك ر

āyāt 7

to remember, mention

  • أَهْلَ ٱلذِّكْرِthe people of the message
  • ذِكْرremembrance

خ ل د

āyāt 8

to be eternal, immortal

  • خَـٰلِدِينَimmortal
  • خُلْدeternity

ف ت ق

āyāt 30

to split, separate

  • فَفَتَقْنَـٰهُمَاWe separated them
  • فَتْقseparation

ذ و ق

āyāt 35

to taste

  • ذَآئِقَةُwill taste
  • ذَوْقtasting

و ز ن

āyāt 47

to weigh; balance

  • ٱلْمَوَٰزِينَthe scales
  • وَزْنweight

ك ي د

āyāt 57

to plot, scheme

  • لَأَكِيدَنَّI will surely plan against
  • كَيْدa plot

ب ر د

āyāt 69

coolness, cold

  • بَرْدًاcoolness
  • بَارِدcool

خ س ر

āyāt 70

to lose, be in loss

  • ٱلْأَخْسَرِينَthe greatest losers
  • خُسْرَانloss

ض ر ر

āyāt 83

harm, adversity

  • ٱلضُّرُّthe adversity
  • ضَرَرharm

ن ج و

āyāt 88

to save, rescue

  • نَجَّيْنَـٰهُWe saved him
  • نَجَاةsalvation

ر ح م

āyāt 107

mercy

  • رَحْمَةًa mercy
  • ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنthe Most Merciful

Carry this with you

  • Every prophet before Muḥammad ﷺ was human — eating, walking, and facing hardship — refuting any demand that a messenger be superhuman.
  • Ibrāhīm's confrontation with idolatry combined patient argument with decisive action, and Allah rescued him from the fire that his own people lit.
  • Ayyūb and Yūnus each model brief, sincere duʿāʾ in crisis: naming the affliction honestly and appealing directly to Allah's mercy.
  • Allah's rescue of His prophets from fire, illness, and the depths of the sea establishes a consistent divine pattern across history.
  • The scales of justice on the Day of Judgement guarantee that no soul is wronged in the slightest.
  • The Prophet ﷺ was sent as an unconditional mercy to all the worlds, and the earth is promised to Allah's righteous servants.

Where this surah connects

Cross-surah threads

Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.

The Hour and the accounting2 movementsPatience while the answer is delayed2 movementsThe signs you already walk on2 movementsOne Lord, one dominion1 movementThe four trials1 movementRefuge, protection and the unseen harm1 movement
All threads →

Sources behind Sūrah Al-Anbiyāʾ

Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

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Al-Anbiyāʾ — full exam

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Al-Anbiyāʾ · Every messenger before you ate food and walked in the markets

What Makkan objection does 21:8 directly answer, per al-Ṭabarī?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol