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Chapter 37

The Ranged Onesal-Ṣaffāt ( الصافات )

182 verses • revealed at Meccan

»The surah that opens with the oath of the Divine One swearing by the angels arrayed before Him in devotional ranks, The Ranged Ones—thereafter, by other angels propelling the clouds, dispelling evil, and reciting God’s praise. It takes its name from verse 1, which refers to a gropu of angels as “those ranged (ṣāffāt) in ranks”. The central point of this surah is the unity of God (verse 4 and verse 180 ff.) and the refutation of the pagan belief that the angels were daughters of God and worthy of worship. The angels themselves are quoted to refute this (verse 164 ff.). The prophethood of Muḥammad, is affirmed, as is the Hereafter. There are two supporting sections: the scenes in the Hereafter (verse 19 ff.) and the stories of earlier prophets (verse 75 ff.).«

The surah is also known as Devotional Ranks, Drawn Up In Ranks, Ranged in Order, Ranged in Rows, The Rangers, The Ranks, Those Ranged in Ranks, Those in Ranks, Who Stand Arrayed in Rows

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

Yusuf Ali: In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1
وَالصّافّاتِ صَفًّا

Yusuf Ali

By1 those who range themselves in ranks,2
  • At a later stage, we shall study the general meaning of the adjurations in the Qur-ān indicated by the particle wa. See App. XI, p. 1694. Here we may note that the last Sūra (Ya Sin) practically began with the adjuration “by the Qur-ān, full of wisdom”, emphasising the fact that Revelation was the evidence by which we could learn the highest wisdom of the spiritual world. Here our attention is called in three verses or clauses, to three definite attitudes which illustrate the triumph of Good and the frustration of Evil. See the notes following.
  • Two questions arise: (1) are the doers of the three things noted in verses 1-3 the same persons, whose actions or qualities are differently described, or are they three distinct sets of persons? (2) in either case, who are they? As to (1) the most authoritative view is that the three clauses describe the same set of persons in different aspects. As to (2) some take them to refer to angels, and others understand by them the good men, the men of God, who strive and range themselves in God’s service. The words are perfectly general, and I interpret them to refer to both classes. The feminine form is grammatically used in Arabic idiom for the indefinite plural. In 37:165 below, the word saffun is used in the definite plural, and seems to be spoken by these beings, angels or men of God or both, according to how we interpret this verse.