What is the main theme of Surah al Mumtahina?

Surah Mumtahina is the surah number 60 in the holy Quran with only 13 verses that carry many lessons to us.

One of its famous verses is the dua of the Prophet Abraham (peace and blessings be upon him):

“رَّبَّنَا عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ ٤”

“Our Lord! In You we trust. And to You, we ˹always˺ turn. And to You is the final return.” [surah Al-Mumtahanah, 4]

Why was the surah revealed and what is it about? Let’s find out.

Why was Surah Mumtahina revealed?

In the book Asbāb al-Nuzūl by Alī ibn Ahmad al-Wāhidī he wrote about the reason for the revelation of the surah Mumtahina:

(O ye who believe! Choose not My enemy and your enemy for allies…) [60:1].

A group of Qur’anic exegetes said: “This verse was revealed about Hatib ibn Abi Balta’ah. It happened that Sarah, the client of Abu ‘Amr ibn Sayfi ibn Hashim ibn ‘Abd Manaf traveled from Mecca to Medina to see the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and found him getting ready to conquer Mecca. He asked her: ‘Have you come as a Muslim?’

When she answered in the negative, he asked: ‘What has brought you here, then?’ She said: ‘You were my family, my clan, and my patrons; I am in desperate need and have come so that you give me and clothe me’.

He said: ‘What happened to all the youths of Mecca’, he asked her this because she was a singer. She said: ‘No one has ever requested anything from me after the Battle of Badr!’

The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, encouraged the Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib and the Banu’l-Muttalib to be generous to her. They clothed her, gave her money, and provided her with a mount.

Hatib ibn Abi Balta’ah then got in touch with her, gave her ten pieces of gold, and gave her a letter to hand over to the people of Mecca.

He wrote in this letter: ‘From Hatib to the people of Mecca: The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, is about to attack you, so take precautions’.

Sarah left and Gabriel, peace be upon him, came down and informed the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, of what Hatib had done.

What is surah Mumtahina about?

Here are the main topics discussed in the surah Mumtahina:

1- Allah instructs the believers not to have any relation of love and friendship with the disbelievers who are hostile to Islam. Also, Muslims are allowed to deal with disbelievers who are not hostile to Islam and Muslims.  

“O believers! Do not take My enemies and yours as trusted allies, showing them affection even though they deny what has come to you of the truth. They drove the Messenger and yourselves out ˹of Mecca˺, simply for your belief in Allah, your Lord. If you ˹truly˺ emigrated1 to struggle in My cause and seek My pleasure, ˹then do not take them as allies,˺ disclosing secrets ˹of the believers˺ to the pagans out of affection for them, when I know best whatever you conceal and whatever you reveal. And whoever of you does this has truly strayed from the Right Way.

If they gain the upper hand over you, they would be your ˹open˺ enemies, unleashing their hands and tongues to harm you, and wishing that you would abandon faith.

Neither your relatives nor children will benefit you on Judgment Day—He will decide between you ˹all˺. For Allah is All-Seeing of what you do.” [surah Mumtahina, 1:3]

2- The story of the prophet Abraham and the believers, and how they dissociated themselves from the disbelievers.

“You already have an excellent example in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people, “We totally dissociate ourselves from you and ˹shun˺ whatever ˹idols˺ you worship besides Allah. We reject you. The enmity and hatred that has arisen between us and you will last until you believe in Allah alone.” The only exception is when Abraham said to his father, “I will seek forgiveness for you,˹” adding, “but˺ I cannot protect you from Allah at all.” ˹The believers prayed,˺ “Our Lord! In You we trust. And to You, we ˹always˺ turn. And to You is the final return.

Our Lord! Do not subject us to the persecution of the disbelievers. Forgive us, our Lord! You ˹alone˺ are truly the Almighty, All-Wise.”

You certainly have an excellent example in them for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day. But whoever turns away, then surely Allah ˹alone˺ is the Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.” [surah Mumtahina, 4:6]

 

3-  Allah instructs the prophet and Muslims to test the faith of the women who migrated from Makkah to Madinah to convert to Islam, and if they are truthful not to return them to the disbelievers.

“O believers! When the believing women come to you as emigrants,1 test their intentions—their faith is best known to Allah—and if you find them to be believers, then do not send them back to the disbelievers. These ˹women˺ are not lawful ˹wives˺ for the disbelievers, nor are the disbelievers lawful ˹husbands˺ for them. ˹But˺ repay the disbelievers whatever ˹dowries˺ they had paid. And there is no blame on you if you marry these ˹women˺ as long as you pay them their dowries. And do not hold on to marriage with polytheistic women.2 ˹But˺ demand ˹repayment of˺ whatever ˹dowries˺ you had paid, and let the disbelievers do the same. That is the judgment of Allah—He judges between you. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” [surah Mumtahina, 10]

 

4- Allah instructed the prophet to ask the women who convert to Islam to pledge that they will refrain from doing major sins.  

“O Prophet! When the believing women come to you, pledging to you that they will neither associate anything with Allah ˹in worship˺, nor steal, nor fornicate, nor kill their children, nor falsely attribute ˹illegitimate˺ children to their husbands,1 nor disobey you in what is right, then accept their pledge, and ask Allah to forgive them. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [surah Mumtahina, 12]

5- To be kind and not to fight the disbelievers who didn’t fight or drive them out of their homes.

“Allah does not forbid you from dealing kindly and fairly with those who have neither fought nor driven you out of your homes. Surely Allah loves those who are fair.

Allah only forbids you from befriending those who have fought you for ˹your˺ faith, driven you out of your homes, or supported ˹others˺ in doing so. And whoever takes them as friends, then it is they who are the ˹true˺ wrongdoers.” [surah Mumtahina, 8:9]

 

When was Surah Mumtahina revealed?

One of the incidents mentioned in Surah Mumtahina is the Muslim women who emigrated from Makkah to Madinah and how their faith should be tested. One of the conditions of the Truce is that if any man from Quraish went to the prophet to convert to Islam he should be returned back to them, but the prophet didn’t know if also women should return to the disbelievers. Therefore, Allah revealed this verse. And when the verse was revealed the prophet didn’t let women return to the disbelievers again.

This shows that surah Al-Mumtahanah was revealed in the time between the Truce of Hudaibiyah and the Conquest of Makkah.

Why the surah was named Al-Mumtahanah?

The surah was named Al-Mumtahanah because in verse number 10 the prophet was told to test the faith of the women who emigrated to Madina to convert to Islam.

“O believers! When the believing women come to you as emigrants,1 test their intentions—their faith is best known to Allah—and if you find them to be believers, then do not send them back to the disbelievers. These ˹women˺ are not lawful ˹wives˺ for the disbelievers, nor are the disbelievers lawful ˹husbands˺ for them. ˹But˺ repay the disbelievers whatever ˹dowries˺ they had paid. And there is no blame on you if you marry these ˹women˺ as long as you pay them their dowries. And do not hold on to marriage with polytheistic women.2 ˹But˺ demand ˹repayment of˺ whatever ˹dowries˺ you had paid, and let the disbelievers do the same. That is the judgment of Allah—He judges between you. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”

 

Is surah al Mumtahina Makki or Madani?

Surah Mumtahanah is a Madani surah, it was revealed to the prophet during his residence in Madinah.

In which para is surah al Mumtahina?

surah al Mumtahanah is in para number 28, it’s the surah number 60 in the holy Quran and took its name from verse number 10.

How to memorize surah al Mumtahina?

To memorize surah al Mumtahina the first thing you should do is to read the full surah slowly. Then take the first verse and repeat it a couple of times, when you finish, try to recite it by heart. When you make it move to the second verse and repeat the process. When you finish memorizing it, try to recite the two verses by heart, and if you succeed go to the next verse, and when you finish the third verse recite the three verses by heart and do the same until you memorize the full surah.

 

Hadith on surah al Mumtahina.

There are no authentic hadiths about the benefits and virtues of Surah Mumtahina.

Surah Mumtahina benefits. 

Surah Mumtahina has many benefits for us and carries many lessons to its reader. We learn from it that men and women are equal in Islam there are no differences between them and no superiority or position of dominance for either group. Muslim men are not allowed to marry unbeliever women and Muslim women are forbidden from their men. Additionally, learn from it to be devoted and loyal to Allah.

Also, from the surah we learn that Islam is a religion of peace, forgiveness, and kindness. And that all prophets came with the same message which is complete devotion and submission to Allah. 

 

Some of its benefits include:

• Taking the infidels who are hostile to Islam as allies and not leaking the Muslim news to them because it’s a major sin.
• Even if the infidels were our families or friends, we can’t disclose the secrets of the believers to them or be their allies.
• Allah told us the story of the prophet Abraham as an example for us to learn from. He and the believers dissociated themselves from the disbelievers and what they worship when Allah told him so.

“You already have an excellent example in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people, “We totally dissociate ourselves from you and ˹shun˺ whatever ˹idols˺ you worship besides Allah. We reject you. The enmity and hatred that has arisen between us and you will last until you believe in Allah alone.” The only exception is when Abraham said to his father, “I will seek forgiveness for you,˹” adding, “but˺ I cannot protect you from Allah at all.” ˹The believers prayed,˺ “Our Lord! In You we trust. And to You, we ˹always˺ turn. And to You is the final return.”

 

Surah Mumtahina dua.

Here’s the Dua of Prophet Abraham (peace and blessings be upon him):

“رَّبَّنَا عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ ٤”

“Our Lord! In You we trust. And to You, we ˹always˺ turn. And to You is the final return.” [surah Al-Mumtahanah, 4]

Surah Mumtahina summary.

Surah e Mumtahina was revealed to the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after the treaty of Hudeybiyah and before the conquest of Makkah. Some of the major topics discussed in the surah include:

1- telling the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims not to take the enemies of Allah and Muslims as allies because they only wish them harm. Allah also told the believers to be kind and fairly with the disbelievers who didn’t fight or drive them out of their homes.

2- Allah gave the prophet Ibrahim and his companions as an example to the believers.

3- instructing the prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) to test the faith of the women who become believers. If they’re truthful then not to return them to their unbelieving husbands.

 

That’s it for today’s article, I hope you found it useful, for more information or if you have any questions visit our website Noor Academy.

 

 

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