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Structural Cohesion In The Quran [A Series]: Surah An-Nasr

Published

September 22, 2023

This is a continuation of a series on the structure and organization of the Quran. The goal is to help the reader appreciate the amazing coherence of Allah’s word and dismantle the myth of the “random” and “unorganized” Quran.

سُورَة النَّصر

Sūrat an-Nasr

Sūrat an-Nasr (The Great Help) is a very short sūrah that some scholars argue is the last complete sūrah that was revealed¹ to the Messenger ﷺ and as such is a Madinan sūrah. It discusses the Messenger’s victory over the disbelievers of Arabia and the consequences of what Allah’s help entails.

When the contents are observed more closely, it appears that the sūrah forms a simple ring structure.

A – When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest, (1)

B – And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes, (2)

A’ – Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance. (3)

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[A]/[A’] – The beginning of the sūrah reminds the Messenger ﷺ of the help and victory he was given by Allah ﷻ, which correlates with the ending exhorting the Messenger ﷺ to turn back to Allah ﷻ in worship. The pairing of a gift from Allah ﷻ with an enjoinment to worship is a recurring motif throughout the Quran (most famously in the linear flow of Sūrat al-Kawthar). The message is clear; the way we show gratitude to Allah ﷻ is by increasing in our worship and obedience of Him.

[B] – At the center of this sūrah appears to be the final piece of this formula. When Muslims express gratitude through our worship and obedience, then Allah ﷻ allows the religion to spread as a result. And the linear flow of the sūrah would dictate that if we see Islam spreading, then we should again express gratitude through worship, thus creating a positive feedback loop of aid, victory and devotion to Allah ﷻ. This is most easily seen in the dispersion of the message of Islam in the first few generations after the Messenger’s death.

And Allah ﷻ knows best.

*If the study of the Quran’s structure interests you, please check out Heavenly Order for many more examples of the Quran’s amazing organization and coherence.

– Structural Cohesion In The Quran [A Series]: Surah Al-Asr

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Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

Related Topics:Featured Islam Quran Spirituality structural cohesion series tafseer tafsir

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Munir Eltal

Munir Eltal has a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and an Arabic Certificate from Bayyinah Institute. He is currently a Project Manager for a medical device company in Southern California. He studies at Institute of Knowledge (IOK) in Diamond Bar, CA through their full-time seminary program. He also teaches Arabic at IOK for their part-time seminary program. He runs the weekly blog, Heavenly Order, where he researches the organization, structure, and cohesion of the ayahs and surahs of the Quran.