Adapted from Tafsir Ibn Ashur

Themes and purpose:

This Makkan surah is a profound warning that consoles the Prophet (ﷺ) against the rejection he faced. Its purpose is to affirm Monotheism and the Resurrection by recounting the struggles of six major prophets and the terrifying destruction of their nations, all culminating in the weighty command to the believers: "Be steadfast."

Context of Revelation:

Era: Makkan. It has been suggested that some verses are Madinan but the stronger view is that it is entirely Makkan.

Time: The well-known chronological list (of Jābir ibn Zayd) places this surah after Yūnus. However, Ibn ʿĀshūr supports the view that it was revealed before Sūrat Yūnus, as Hūd [13] gives a challenge to produce ten surahs, while Yūnus [38] makes a challenge to produce a single surah, and according to most scholars, the challenge to produce ten surahs came before the challenge to produce a single surah.

Context: It was revealed in the late Makkan period, amid intense hostility from the Quraysh. Its central command, "Be steadfast" [112], and its detailed accounts of ancient nations were meant to console and strengthen the Prophet (ﷺ) during severe hardship and confront the Quraysh.

Name and Ayah Count:

Name: "Sūrat Hūd". It has no other known name. It is named for the Prophet Hūd, whose name is repeated five times and whose story is detailed more extensively here than elsewhere. It also serves to distinguish it from the other Alif-Lām-Rā surahs.

Virtue: It is the surah the Prophet (ﷺ) famously said "made my hair gray," due to the severity of its warnings and the profound responsibility of the command to "be steadfast."

Ayah Count: 123 (Kūfan, Baṣran), 122 (Shāmī; also the early Madīnan count), or 121 (the later Madīnan count).
Surah Overview:

• Hinting at the inimitability of the Quran, and the related challenge. [1, 13-14]
• Praising the Quran and prohibiting the worship of any other than Allah. [1-2]
• Warning polytheists of a great punishment and giving glad tidings to believers of a good end. [2-3]
• Proving the Resurrection and establishing Allah’s encompassing knowledge and governance of creation. [4-7]
• Consoling the Prophet (ﷺ) regarding the disbelievers' demands for specific miracles (e.g., a treasure or an angel). [12]
• Using the Quran itself as sufficient proof, proving the deniers are losers in the Hereafter. [17-24]
• Detailed accounts of the struggles of past nations and their destruction (Nūḥ, Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Ibrāhīm, Lūṭ, Shuʿayb, Mūsā). [25-99]
• Uniquely detailing the Great Flood and its subsiding. [40-44]
• The central command to the Prophet and his followers to "be steadfast" (istiqāmah) and not incline toward the wrongdoers. [112-113]
• Commanding the establishment of prayer and patience. [114-115]
• Press forward in calling to positive change, for no community will be destroyed while its people are working to achieve reform. [116–117]