Adapted from Tafsir Ibn Ashur

Themes and purpose:

This surah begins with a strong warning to heedless humanity that the reckoning is near, and it establishes the truth of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) messengership and the divine origin of the Quran. It affirms Monotheism and the Resurrection through the evidences of creation and through recounting the histories of many prophets—paralleling their circumstances and the stance of their peoples to the Prophet’s (ﷺ) own situation with his people—showing how Allah gives victory to His messengers over their peoples, answers their supplications, and grants the ultimate good end to the believers.

Context of Revelation:

Era: Makkan by unanimous agreement. Some suggested that ayah 44 is Madinan.

Chronology: It has been counted as the 71st surah in order of revelation (in the chronology of Jabir ibn Zayd), revealed after Fuṣṣilat and before al-Naḥl. This would place it in the late Makkan era, among the last surahs revealed before the Emigration to Madinah.

Context: The surah addresses the polytheists’ secret plots and mockery of the Prophet (ﷺ) in the backdrop of the Muslims’ growing numbers by comparing his mission with the mission of past prophets. It is possible that it was revealed when some of the people of Madinah had already accepted Islam.

Name and Ayah Count:

Name: The surah’s established name is "Sūrat al-Anbiyā’" (The Prophets). It has no other name. It is named this because it mentions the names of sixteen prophets, a number exceeded only by Sūrat al-Anʿām (which mentions 18).

Virtue: Abdullah ibn Mas’ud counted it among al-ʿItāq al-Ūwal—early surahs of exceptional stature that he learned first and valued most.

Ayah Count: 111 ayahs (Madīnah, Makkah, Shām, Baṣrah) or 112 (Kūfah).

Surah Overview:

• Warning of the imminent Resurrection and confirming its inevitability. [1-2]
• Warning against denying the Quran and the Messenger, and exposing the dismissive speech of the deniers. [3–6, 10, 50]
• Establishing the truth of the Prophet (ﷺ) by reminding them that all messengers brought the same foundational message, all were human, and all faced similar rejection. [3, 7-8, 25]
• Warning humanity by recalling the destruction of past nations who rejected their messengers. [11, 44]
• Proving Monotheism by arguing that the order of the cosmos cannot stand with a multiplicity of gods; strong rebuttal of all claims of offspring or partners for Allah by declaring Allah’s transcendence. [21-29, 43]
• Hinting that beyond this life is a more perfected life of recompense. [18, 47, 97–103]
• Pointing to creation as evidence of the Creator, and to His governance and signs in the heavens and earth. [30–33]
• Reminder that all created beings are destined for extinction and that life is a trial. [34–35]
• Warning not to be deceived by the delay of punishment: it may come suddenly; and mentioning the opening of Gog and Magog as a sign linked to the approach of the Hour. [37–41, 96–97]
• Detailing the prayers and struggles of numerous prophets (Nuh, Ibrahim, Lut, Yunus, Musa, etc.) and how Allah answered their calls. [48-91]
• Affirming that the message of all messengers was fundamentally one in its core principles. [92]
• Concluding by affirming that the final victory and good end belong to the believers in this world and the next. [105, 112]
• Praising the Quran and asserting the Prophet (ﷺ) is a "mercy to the worlds". [106-107]