You are here: Home » Chapter 38 » Verse 1 » Translation
← Sura 38 →
← Aya 1 →

Chapter 38

ṢādṢād ( ص )

88 verses • revealed at Meccan

»The surah that opens with the single discrete Arabic letter Ṣād. It takes its name from the letter Ṣād, as mentioned in verse 1. This surah mentions previous prophets in support and encouragement for Muḥammad, and makes a clear link between the arrogance displayed by the disbelievers of Mecca, previous generations, and Iblis, the original rebel. The first and last verses assert the truth and nobility of the Quran.«

The surah is also known as Saad

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

Muhammad Asad: In The Name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:

1
ص ۚ وَالقُرآنِ ذِي الذِّكرِ

Muhammad Asad

REVEALED comparatively early - probably towards the end of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth year of the Prophet's mission - this surah is devoted almost entirely to the problem of divine guidance and its rejection by those who are "lost in false pride, and (hence] deeply in the wrong" (verse 2). The only "title" or, rather, key-word - applied to this surah since the earliest times is the letter s (Sad) which introduces: the first verse.
Sad.1 CONSIDER2 this Qur'an, endowed with all that one ought to remember!3
  • See Appendix II.
  • For an explanation of this rendering of the adjurative particle wa, see first half of note 23 on 74:32.
  • Or: "endowed with eminence" (Zamakhshari), since the term dhikr (ht., "reminder" or "remembrance") has also the connotation of "that which is remembered"' i.e., "renown", "fame" and, tropically, "eminence". As regards the rendering preferred by me, see 21:10, where the phrase fihi dhikrukum (relating, as above, to the Qur'an) has been translated as "wherein is found all that you ought to bear in mind", i.e., in order to attain to dignity and happiness.