Al-Rahman-55

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakata.....
Surah Ar-Rahman

Al-Rahman is the glorious name of Allah which reflects His extraordinary compassion and mercy for His creatures; and Surah Al-Rahman is an expression of Allah's countless blessings and favors on us, which are spread over this entire universe; and are not confined merely to this world but also go far beyond these physical boundaries into the eternal life of the hereafter.
If we make a list of these blessings in order of superiority, beginning with the most important thing of our life..what would that be? For different individuals it could be a different thing according to what they value most in their lives. But have you ever wondered, what is the absolutely best gift of love and mercy which Allah has bestowed on Mankind? The answer to this question is right here in the opening verses of Surah Al-Rahman:

"The Most Compassionate (Allah). Has taught (you mankind) the Qur'an." (55:1,2)
The Quran is to our life what the heart is to the human being. If the heart stops working then the body dies even if all other things are in first class condition. Similarly if we are not on the true guidance of the Quran, nothing else is going to benefit us at all. Therefore Allah has reminded us here that we should stop taking this book for granted and open our eyes to the fact that this is the supreme knowledge, wisdom, and cure of hearts..coming directly from the Lord. What a great injustice it is if we keep ourselves deprived from this treasure.

Another thing that we take for granted is our own creation. We are so rushed into the endless chores of our existence that we seldom think of the fact that Allah has created us..planned our lives, gave us individual characteristics, talents, abilities, physical attributesand most important of all: the power of speech.

"Created man and taught him how to convey his feelings and thoughts". (55:3,4)

We all know that human beings hold a distinguished position in the universe because of their intelligence but have you ever considered that if Allah had not taught us the art to express our thoughts and feelings, our thinking abilities would have been useless. But look at how we are using this ability.chatting endlessly about inconsequential things, arguing on the same issues over and over again, back biting, telling lies, making false accusations, spreading rumors, making fun of others.so many sins; all through speech. And even those few people who refrain from these acts seldom think that true appreciation of this great blessing is  to use it for the sake of Allah.

In fact being a truly faithful slave of Allah requires complete submission. The whole universe is following Allah's laws..Look at the sun and the moon how they are glorifying their Lord through their eternal submission, along with the stars and the vegetation spread across the earth:

.. Surah Ar-Rahman... There are soooooooo many ppl around us... who keeps comparing one self with others who are more gifted than themselves... I was one among such... but after reading its meaning.. it really touched my heart.... I hope this will help some of my bro or sis... too to understand the vast gifts of the Almighty Allah..... I wont b posting it all at a time... but gradually.... for now... only Revelation... plzzzzz read through it.... It will help u all... & also try to fwd this to ur relatives & frnds....
This Surah consists of 78 verses, 351 sentences, 1,636 letters and 3 Ruku's.
Name

This Surah is entitled Ar Rahman, the word with which it begins. This title, however, deeply relates to the subject matter of the Surah too, for in it, from the beginning to the end, the manifestations and fruits of Allah's attribute of mercy and grace have been mentioned.
Period of Revelation

The commentators generally hold the view that this is a Makki Surah, though according to some traditions which have been cited on the authority of Hadrat Abdullah bin Abbas, Ikrimah and Qatadah, it was revealed at Madinah. But, firstly, there are also some other traditions from these very authorities, which contradict this view; secondly, its subject matter bears a closer resemblance with the Makki Surahs than with the Madani Surahs; rather it appears to belong to the very early Makkah period. However, there are several authentic traditions which testify that it had been revealed in Makkah itself many years before the hijra.

Musnad Ahmad contains a tradition from Hadarat Asma, daughter of Abu Bakr (may Allah bless them both), to the effect: "I saw the Messenger of Allah offering his Prayers in the sacred precincts of the Ka'bah facing the corner in which the "Black Stone" is fixed. This relates to the time when the Divine Command, fasda bi-ma tumar ("So, proclaim publicly, O Prophet, what you are being commanded") had not yet been revealed. The polytheists at that time were hearing the words, Fa-biayyi alaa'i Rabbi kuma tukadhdhi ban, being recited by him in the Prayer." This shows than this Surah had been sent down even before Surah Al-Hijr.

Al-Bazzar, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Al-Mundhir, Daraqutni (in Al Afrad), Ibn Marduyah and Ibn Al Khatib (in At- Tarikh) have related, on the authority of Hadrat Abdullah bin Umar, that once the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Aliah be upon him) recited Surah Ar-Rahman himself, or heard it recited before him: then he said to the people: How is it that I am not hearing from you the kind of good answer that the jinn had given to their Lord? When the people asked what it was he replied: "As I recited the Divine Words, Fa bi-ayyi alaa'i Rabbi-kuma tukadhdhiban, the jinn in response would repeat the words La bi shai'in min ni'mati Rabbi-na nukadhdhib: 'We do not deny any of our Lord's blessings'."

A similar theme has been related by Tirmidhi, Hakim and Hafiz Abu Bakr al-Bazzar from Hadrat Jabir bin Abdullah. Their tradition contains these words: "When the people kept silent on hearing the Surah Ar-Rahman, the Holy Prophet said, 'I recited this very Surah before the jinn in the night when they had gathered together to hear the Quran. They responded to it better than you have. As I recited the Divine Words, Fa bi ayyi alaa'i Rabbikuma tukadhdhiban ("O jinn and men, which blessings of your Lord will you deny?") they would respond to it, saying: "O our Lord, do not deny any of your blessings Praise is for You alone"
This tradition indicates that on the occasion of the incident that bas been related in Surah Al Ahqaf (vv. 29- 32) of the jinn's hearing the Quran from the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); he was reciting Surah Ar Rahman in the Prayer. This happened in the 10th year of the Prophethood when the Holy Prophet had halted at Makkah on his way back from Ta'if. Although in some other traditions it has been reported that the Holy Prophet did not know then that the jinn were hearing him recite the Quran, but afterwards Allah had informed him of this, it is not unreasonable to suppose that just as Allah had informed him of the jinn's hearing the Quran so also Allah Himself might have told him as to what answer they were giving on hearing Surah Ar Rahman.

These traditions only indicate that Surah Ar Rahman had been revealed even before Surahs Al-Hijr and Al-Ahqaf. Besides, we come across another tradition which shows that it is one of those Surahs which were the earliest Revelations at Makkah. Ibn Ishaq has related this on the authority of Hadrat Urwah bin Zubair: The Companions one day said to one another: "The Quraish have never heard any one recite the Quran publicly to them, and who would read out the Divine Word aloud to them? Hadrat Abdullah bin Masud said that he would. The Companions expressed the apprehension that he might be subjected to a harsh treatment and said that it should better be done by a person of a powerful family, who would protect him if the Quraish tried to subject him to violence. Hadrat Abdullah said: 'Let me alone: my Protector is Allah.' So early next morning he went to the Ka'bah while the Quraish chiefs were sitting in their respective conferences. Hadrat Abdullah arrived at the Maqam (station of Abraham) and began to recite Surah Ar-Rahman raising his voice as he did so. The Quraish first tried for a while to understand what he was saying. Then, when they ealized that it was the Word that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was representing as the Word of God, they fell upon him and began to hit him in the face. But Hadrat Abdullah was not deterred: he continued to receive the slaps and to read the Quran as long as he could. At last, when he returned with a swollen face, the Companions said that they apprehended the same. He replied: 'God's enemies were never so light for me as they were today. If you say I'll recite the Quran to them again tomorrow.' They all said, 'No, you have done enough; you have made them listen to what they didn't want to hear.'" (Ibn Hisham, vol. 1, p. 336).

This surah is a beautiful gift which ALLAH subhan-a-talah has given to us. It is the key to the peace of mind. This surah is the most peacefull thing in this world. I hope ALLAH subhan-a-talah grant us all the faith to recite t his surah. AMIEN