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Surah 28 · Makkah · 88 āyāt
Phase 03 · The boycott and the Year of Sorrow(c. 7–5 BH) — view in timelineAl-QasasThe Narrative
القصص
A late-Makkan surah (49th revealed) that retells the story of Mūsā عليه السلام from birth in a land of oppression, through exile and return, to his triumph over Firʿawn — as a direct consolation to the Prophet ﷺ in the hardest years before the Hijrah, when he too was being driven from the town he loved. It closes with Qārūn's arrogance destroyed by the very wealth he trusted, and a final promise: the One who gave you the Qurʾān will return you to a place of return.
Why it was revealed
Quraysh had tightened the boycott and Abū Ṭālib, the Prophet's ﷺ protector, had died. The Prophet ﷺ was left more exposed than ever, grieving, and beginning to look toward leaving Makkah — the town that had raised him but now rejected him.
Drawn fromṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1360, 4772; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī records Ibn ʿAbbās's statement defining 'place of return' as Makkah without the al-Juḥfah narrative.; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 24; cited by al-Ṭabarī and Ibn Kathīr on 28:85; Ibn Kathīr, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, on the 'Year of Sorrow'; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr on 28:4–6; Reported by al-Wāḥidī in Asbāb al-Nuzūl and cited in classical tafsīrs (al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, and Ibn Kathīr on 28:85); Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah; Reported by Ibn ʿAbbās
Ibn ʿAbbās said that when the Prophet ﷺ left Makkah on the night of the Hijrah and reached al-Juḥfah, he became homesick for Makkah, so Allah revealed to him: 'Indeed, [O Muhammad], He who imposed upon you the Qurʾān will surely return you to a place of return' (28:85) — meaning He will return you to Makkah.
Cited toReported by al-Wāḥidī in Asbāb al-Nuzūl and cited in classical tafsīrs (al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, and Ibn Kathīr on 28:85); Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī records Ibn ʿAbbās's statement defining 'place of return' as Makkah without the al-Juḥfah narrative.
In the Prophet's ﷺ life
Firʿawn's oppression as the surah's opening scene
The surah opens on Firʿawn exalting himself in the land and dividing its people into factions, slaughtering the sons of one group — the very pattern of persecution the Prophet ﷺ was living through with Quraysh.
Recalled in āyah 4, 5, 6
إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ عَلَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهْلَهَا شِيَعًا يَسْتَضْعِفُ طَآئِفَةً مِّنْهُمْ يُذَبِّحُ أَبْنَآءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَحْىِۦ نِسَآءَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُفْسِدِينَ
Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into factions, oppressing a sector among them, slaughtering their [newborn] sons and keeping their females alive. Indeed, he was of the corrupters.
Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr on 28:4–6
- 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).
Weakness turned into inheritance
Firʿawn's tyranny is described first — exalting himself, dividing his people, killing the sons of the Israelites. Against that backdrop Allah declares His plan: to favour the oppressed and make them leaders, and to have Mūsā raised inside Firʿawn's own house, cast into the river as an infant on Allah's direct command to his mother.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
إِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ عَلَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَجَعَلَ أَهْلَهَا شِيَعًا يَسْتَضْعِفُ طَآئِفَةً مِّنْهُمْ يُذَبِّحُ أَبْنَآءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَحْىِۦ نِسَآءَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُفْسِدِينَ
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Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into factions, oppressing a sector among them, slaughtering their [newborn] sons and keeping their females alive. Indeed, he was of the corrupters.
وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰٓ أُمِّ مُوسَىٰٓ أَنْ أَرْضِعِيهِ ۖ فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِى ٱلْيَمِّ وَلَا تَخَافِى وَلَا تَحْزَنِىٓ ۖ إِنَّا رَآدُّوهُ إِلَيْكِ وَجَاعِلُوهُ مِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ
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And We inspired to the mother of Moses, "Suckle him; but when you fear for him, cast him into the river and do not fear and do not grieve. Indeed, We will return him to you and will make him [one] of the messengers."
From the tafsīr
Allah relates the story of Firʿawn's oppression before Mūsā's birth to show that His plan to make the weak into leaders and inheritors was already decreed while their enemy was at the height of his power.
Cited toIbn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
The waḥy to Mūsā's mother (āyah 7) was not prophethood but ilhām — an inspiration containing two commands (nurse him, cast him into the river), two prohibitions (do not fear, do not grieve), and two promises: that Allah will return him to her and make him a messenger.
Cited toAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān
Key takeaways
- Allah names the weak as the intended inheritors before the story even begins — the ending is announced first.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
- A mother's instinctive fear becomes the very means by which her child is delivered into safety.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
- The tyrant's own household becomes the refuge for the one who will end his rule — a pattern, not a coincidence.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
Reflect
Where has a fear you obeyed turned out to be the doorway to relief?
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Question 1 of 2
How is the waḥy to Mūsā's mother in āyah 7 to be understood?
Question 2 of 2
Why open the account with Firʿawn's persecution first?
Exile, a well, and a promise of home
Mūsā strikes a man in anger and immediately regrets it, fleeing Egypt alone and afraid. In Madyan, exhausted and a stranger, he waters the flocks of two women who cannot compete at the well, then prays a short, complete supplication — and is met with shelter, marriage, and years of honest work before he is called back.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr
فَسَقَىٰ لَهُمَا ثُمَّ تَوَلَّىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلظِّلِّ فَقَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى لِمَآ أَنزَلْتَ إِلَىَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌ
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So he watered [their flocks] for them; then he went back to the shade and said, "My Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You would send down to me, in need."
From the tafsīr
'My Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You send down to me, in need' (āyah 24) is one of the most complete supplications — said while he had nothing, asking for anything good at all, without specifying.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
Mūsā's fleeing was not a rejection of his mission but a man reckoning with the consequence of an unintended killing; Allah still calls it a favour that saved him, and later still commissions him as a messenger.
Cited toAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān
Key takeaways
- A single sincere prayer, said with nothing left to offer, can be the turning point of an entire life.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr
- Fleeing a mistake in fear does not disqualify someone from being chosen afterward.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr
- Modesty and restraint (the daughter walking with shyness, āyah 25) is honoured, not mocked, by the Qurʾān.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Ibn Kathīr
Reflect
When did asking for 'whatever good' — without specifying — open a door you could not have planned?
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Question 1 of 2
How does the surah frame Mūsā's flight from Egypt?
Question 2 of 2
Why is the duʿāʾ of āyah 24 considered exceptional?
The fire, the staff, and 'I am indeed a messenger'
Returning toward Egypt with his family, Mūsā sees a fire at the valley of Ṭuwā and is called directly by Allah, given the sign of the staff and his radiant hand, and sent — with Hārūn as support — to Firʿawn, who dismisses the message and calls his people to nothing but himself.
Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr
فَلَمَّآ أَتَىٰهَا نُودِىَ مِن شَـٰطِئِ ٱلْوَادِ ٱلْأَيْمَنِ فِى ٱلْبُقْعَةِ ٱلْمُبَـٰرَكَةِ مِنَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ أَن يَـٰمُوسَىٰٓ إِنِّىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
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But when he came to it, he was called from the right side of the valley in a blessed spot - from the tree, "O Moses, indeed I am Allāh, Lord of the worlds."
From the tafsīr
'I am Allah, Lord of the worlds' (āyah 30) came directly, without intermediary, from a tree in the blessed valley — establishing Mūsā's prophethood at its most explicit before any other prophet is described this way in the Qurʾān.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
Asking for Hārūn to be sent with him (āyah 34) shows that seeking capable support in conveying truth is sound wisdom, not lack of trust in Allah.
Cited toAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān
Key takeaways
- The call to prophethood came at Mūsā's lowest point of exile, not at a moment of strength.
Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr
- Requesting help to carry a heavy responsibility is a Prophetic practice, not a weakness.
Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr
- Firʿawn's claim 'I do not know you a god other than myself' (āyah 38) is the logical endpoint of unchecked tyranny.
Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān; Ibn Kathīr
Reflect
What responsibility are you carrying alone that would be lighter, and more honest, shared?
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Question 1 of 2
What stands out in the divine address of 28:30?
Question 2 of 2
What was the reason behind Mūsā's request for Hārūn's support?
Qārūn: wealth as a test that can consume its holder
Qārūn, from Mūsā's own people, is given such wealth that its keys alone were a burden for strong men to carry, yet claims it came 'only from knowledge I have.' Warned to seek the Hereafter without forgetting his share of this world, he instead flaunts it — and is swallowed into the earth, wealth and all, while those who had envied him recognise how close they came to the same fate.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
وَٱبْتَغِ فِيمَآ ءَاتَىٰكَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلدَّارَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ ۖ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَأَحْسِن كَمَآ أَحْسَنَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ ۖ وَلَا تَبْغِ ٱلْفَسَادَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُفْسِدِينَ
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But seek, through that which Allāh has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allāh has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allāh does not like corrupters."
قَالَ إِنَّمَآ أُوتِيتُهُۥ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ عِندِىٓ ۚ أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِن قَبْلِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا ۚ وَلَا يُسْـَٔلُ عَن ذُنُوبِهِمُ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ
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He said, "I was only given it because of knowledge I have." Did he not know that Allāh had destroyed before him of generations those who were greater than him in power and greater in accumulation [of wealth]? But the criminals, about their sins, will not be asked.
From the tafsīr
'This was only given to me because of knowledge I have' (āyah 78) is the claim of every person who forgets that provision is a trial, not a reward for merit — a claim Allah rebuts by destroying him with the very earth he stood upon.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
Āyah 77 — 'seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter, but do not forget your share of this world' — is cited as a foundational verse balancing worship and worldly engagement, neither renouncing the world nor being consumed by it.
Cited toAl-Qurṭubī
Key takeaways
- Wealth is repeatedly described in the Qurʾān as a trial (fitnah), never as proof of divine favour by itself.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- 'Knowledge I have' as an explanation for success is an old form of self-congratulation that erases Allah's role.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- The Qurʾān pairs the pursuit of the Hereafter with a due share of this world — the balance itself is the instruction.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- Those who envied Qārūn's fate a moment earlier immediately recognise it could have been them — proximity to a test does not guarantee wisdom about it.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
Reflect
What blessing are you at risk of crediting to your own skill rather than to Allah's giving?
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Question 1 of 2
What does āyah 77 instruct regarding wealth and the Hereafter?
Question 2 of 2
What is wrong with Qārūn's explanation for his wealth in āyah 78?
A place of return, and the promise kept
The surah closes by naming who the Hereafter's home is truly for — those who seek neither exaltation nor corruption on earth — and gives the Prophet ﷺ, weighed down by rejection, a direct personal promise: the One who imposed the Qurʾān upon him will return him to a place of return, and every face will perish except His.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِى فَرَضَ عَلَيْكَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ لَرَآدُّكَ إِلَىٰ مَعَادٍ ۚ قُل رَّبِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَن جَآءَ بِٱلْهُدَىٰ وَمَنْ هُوَ فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ
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Indeed, [O Muḥammad], He who imposed upon you the Qur’ān will take you back to a place of return. Say, "My Lord is most knowing of who brings guidance and who is in clear error."
وَلَا تَدْعُ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا ءَاخَرَ ۘ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ كُلُّ شَىْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُۥ ۚ لَهُ ٱلْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
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And do not invoke with Allāh another deity. There is no deity except Him. Everything will be destroyed except His Face. His is the judgement, and to Him you will be returned.
From the tafsīr
'Indeed, He who imposed upon you the Qurʾān will surely return you to a place of return' (āyah 85): Ibn Kathīr cites the authentic narration from Ibn ʿAbbās in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī that 'a place of return' (maʿād) refers to Makkah, promising the Prophet ﷺ his return to the city, while also noting interpretations referring to the Day of Resurrection.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
'Everything will perish except His Face' (āyah 88) is among the clearest Qurʾānic statements of Allah's sole, permanent existence — the final anchor after an entire surah of rising and falling powers, Firʿawn and Qārūn alike.
Cited toAl-Qurṭubī
Key takeaways
- A promise of return can be given in the very moment of departure — the Qurʾān answers homesickness with a guarantee, not a dismissal.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- The 'home of the Hereafter' is explicitly for those who do not seek superiority or corruption — a moral filter, not a status one.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- The surah that opened with Firʿawn's tyranny and Qārūn's wealth closes on the one thing that outlasts both: the Face of Allah.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
Reflect
What have you been treating as permanent that this surah has just called perishable?
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Question 1 of 2
Who does āyah 83 identify as recipients of the home of the Hereafter?
Question 2 of 2
What occasion is linked to 28:85?
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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.
و ح ي
āyāt 7, 30, 45to inspire or reveal, often swiftly and quietly
- أَوْحَىٰhe inspired / revealed
- وَحْيrevelation
- الوَحْيُthe revelation (the Qurʾān)
ه د ي
āyāt 22, 56, 85to guide gently toward a goal
- هُدًىguidance
- يَهْدِيhe guides
- اهْتَدَىٰhe sought and found guidance
ع ل و
āyāt 4, 83to rise, become high, exalt oneself
- عَلَاhe exalted himself
- عُلُوّhaughtiness, tyranny
- الأَعْلَىٰthe Most High
خ ي ر
āyāt 24, 60, 68, 80goodness, that which is beneficial
- خَيْرgood
- خَيْرَاتgood deeds
- خِيَرَةthe choice, the best
ن س ي
āyāt 77to forget, to leave behind unintentionally
- نَسِيَhe forgot
- نِسْيَانforgetfulness
- مَنْسِيّforgotten
ع ل م
āyāt 30, 78, 80knowledge, to know
- عِلْمknowledge
- عَالِمone who knows, scholar
- عَٰلَمِينthe worlds
ر د د
āyāt 7, 13, 85to return, bring back
- رَدَّhe returned [something]
- رَآدّone who returns
- مَرْدُودreturned, sent back
و ج ه
āyāt 88face, direction, the essence one turns toward
- وَجْهface
- وِجْهَةdirection faced
- تَوَجَّهَhe turned himself toward
Carry this with you
- The weak whom tyrants target are exactly whom Allah plans to make leaders.
- A mistake followed by sincere fear and flight does not disqualify anyone from being chosen afterward.
- One honest prayer for 'any good' from a place of complete need can turn an entire life.
- Guidance belongs to Allah alone — no one, however beloved, can guide by wanting it for someone else.
- Wealth given by Allah is a test to be balanced, not proof of merit or a licence to forget the Hereafter.
- Seeking capable help to carry a heavy task is wisdom, following the example of the prophets.
- Homesickness and hardship do not cancel Allah's promises — they are often exactly where those promises are given.
- Every power that exalts itself in the land — Firʿawn's throne or Qārūn's treasury — ends, while only Allah's Face remains.
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.
Sources behind Sūrah Al-Qasas
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.
Ḥadīth4
Tafsīr20
- Al-Qurṭubī
- Al-Qurṭubī on 28:7
- Al-Qurṭubī on 28:77
- Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān
- Al-Saʿdī on 28:34
- Al-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān
- Al-Ṭabarī on 28:15–21
- Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān
- cited by al-Ṭabarī and Ibn Kathīr on 28:85
- Ibn Kathīr
- Ibn Kathīr on 28:24
- Ibn Kathīr on 28:30
- Ibn Kathīr on 28:4–6
- Ibn Kathīr on 28:78
- Ibn Kathīr on 28:83
- Ibn Kathīr on 28:85
- Ibn Kathīr, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, on the 'Year of Sorrow'
- Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm
- Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr on 28:4–6
- Reported by al-Wāḥidī in Asbāb al-Nuzūl and cited in classical tafsīrs (al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, and Ibn Kathīr on 28:85)
Seerah & history1
- Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah
Other references1
- Reported by Ibn ʿAbbās
Full exam — the whole surah, from memory
Every question from every theme, interleaved and reworded. Interleaving is what turns recognition into recall. Each answer updates your review schedule, your mistakes list and your mastery score for that theme.
Al-Qasas — full exam
1 / 10 · 0 correct
10 questions across 5 themes.
Al-Qasas · The fire, the staff, and 'I am indeed a messenger'
Why does Mūsā ask for his brother in the mission?
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