Ar-Rum

The chapter begins by noting the recent defeat of the Byzantine Empire to the Sasanian Empire in Jerusalem, near the Dead Sea. This defeat posed a significant theological and sociological problem for the early Muslim community because the Byzantines were Christians (considered to be "People of the Book" from the Islamic viewpoint) while the Sassanids who defeated them were Zoroastrians. Ar-Rum is in part a response to the non-Muslim Arab Meccans, who took the Sassanid victory as a sign that the traditional polytheistic practices would win out over the monotheism of the Abrahamic religions.Maḥallī, Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, Suyūṭī, and Ṣafī al-Raḥmān Mubārakfūrī. 2002. Tafsīr al-Jalālayn. Riyāḍ: Dār al-Salām. In the third and fourth verses, the Muslim community is promised that the Byzantines will reverse their defeat into a victory and retake Jerusalem "in a few years' time".Abdel Haleem, M. A. 2004. The Qurʼan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 257.

{{quote|{{Cite Quran|30|2|end=5|t=Laleh Bakhtiar|q=The Romans were vanquished in the closer region, and they, after being vanquished, will prevail within a certain number of years. To God belongs the command before and after. And that day, ones who believe will be glad with the help of God. He helps whom He wills. And He is The Almighty, The Compassionate.}}}}

Muslims believe this prophecy was fulfilled with Heraclius' campaign of 622, a Byzantine military counter-offensive that resulted in a crushing defeat for the Sassanids in Anatolia, and cite it as an example of the miraculous nature of the Quran.{{cite book|author1=Norman Geisler|author2=Abdul Saleeb|author-link1=Norman Geisler|title=Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Cross|date=2002|publisher=Baker Books|isbn=9780801064302|page=107|edition=revised}}{{cite book|author1=Uday Shanker|title=Internal Unity Of All Religions|date=1992|publisher=Enkay Publishers|isbn=9788185148441|page=129}}

• 1-5 Prophecy concerning the ultimate triumph of the Romans over the Persians
• 6-7 God's power manifest in nature
• 8-9 The Quraysh heed not the warnings of God
• 10-12 The despair of the infidels in the resurrection
• 13-15 The righteous and the wicked shall be separated on the Day of Judgement
• 16-17 God to be worshipped at stated periods
• 18 The changes in nature a proof of the resurrection
• 19-26 Various signs of God's omnipotence
• 27-28 The idolaters convinced of folly by reference to their own customs
• 29-31 Muhammad exhorted to follow the orthodox faith and to avoid idolatry
• 32-35 The ingratitude of idolaters, who call on God in adversity but forget him in prosperity
• 36-38 Muslims exhorted to charity
• 39 The idols unable to create and preserve life
• 40-41 God's judgements follow man's iniquity
• 42 Exhortation to repentance before the judgment
• 42-44 The separation of the wicked and the just on Judgement Day; rewards and punishments
• 45 God's goodness in his providence a sign to men
• 46 Those who rejected the former prophets were punished
• 47-49 God's mercy manifest in his works
• 50 A blasting wind sufficient to harden the hearts of the unbelievers
• 51-52 Muhammad unable to make the deaf to hear or the blind to see
• 53 God the Creator
• 54-57 Believers and unbelievers on the resurrection day
• 58 The parables of the Quran rejected
• 59 Unbelievers are given over to blindness
• 60 Muhammad encouraged to steadfastness in the true religion{{cite book |last1=Wherry |first1=Elwood Morris |author1-link=Elwood Morris Wherry |title=A Complete Index to Sale's Text, Preliminary Discourse, and Notes |date=1896 |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co |location=London}} {{PD-notice}}

Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), it is an earlier "Meccan surah", which means it is believed to have been revealed in Mecca, instead of later in Medina. Parts of Q30:38-50 are preserved in the Ṣan‘ā’1 lower text.Behnam Sadeghi & Mohsen Goudarzi, "[https://bible-quran.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Sadeghi-Goudarzi-sana-Origins-of-the-Quran.pdf Sana'a and the Origins of the Qu'ran]", Der Islam, 87 (2012), 37.

According to Theodor Nöldeke, the surah of ar-Rum was the second-to-last Meccan surah and the 84th surah chronologically; however, he argues its 17th ayah was revealed during the Medinan period.{{cite book|author=Theodor Nöldeke|title=Sketches from Eastern History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0TZtAAAAMAAJ|year=1892|publisher=A. and C. Black}} While the first ayah of the surah refers to the defeat of the Byzantine Empire at the hands of the Sasanian Empire near Damascus in the spring of 614.

According to al-Tabari, it refers to the Battle of Adhri'at in 614, but this battle is ignored in other sources.{{cite book |last1=Bakhīt |first1=Muḥammad ʻAdnān |last2=ʻAbbās |first2=Iḥsān |title=Bilād al-Shām fī ṣadr al-Islām: 24-30 Jumādá al-Ākhirah 1405 H/16-22 Ādhār 1985 : al-nadwah al-thānīyah min aʻmāl al-Muʼtamar al-Dawlī al-Rābiʻ li-Tārīkh Bilād al-Shām |date=1987 |publisher=al-Jāmiʻah al-Urdunīyah |page=109 |language=en}}

In his tafsir, entitled "In the Shade of the Qur'an", Sayyid Qutb divides the surah into two halves, verses 1–32 and verses 33–60.Qutb, Sayyid. In the shade of the Quran. Vol. 13. Alexandria, Va.: Al Saadawi Publications, 1997. Each section begins with an assertion of God's grace and mercy and ends with encouragement for Muhammad and his community.

;First Section: "Signs to Reflect Upon"

• {{cite quran|30|1-6|style=nosup|expand=no}} "The Natural Bond of Faith" Notes the Byzantine defeat and prophesies a coming victory promised by God
• {{cite quran|30|1-5|style=nosup|expand=no}} "To Whom Power Belongs" Declares the truth of the universe
• {{cite quran|30|8-10|style=nosup|expand=no}} "Invitation to Reflect" Reminds the believers of the fates of other disobedient communities
• {{cite quran|30|11-16|style=nosup|expand=no}} "Two Divergent Wars" Describes the Last Judgment
• {{cite quran|30|17-27|style=nosup|expand=no}} "Scene of God's Glory", "The Cycle of Life and Death", and "Man and the Universe" Offers praise for God and all His powers and signs
• {{cite quran|30|28|style=nosup|expand=no}} "Analogy Drawn from Human Life" Uses a metaphor about slavery to condemn the sin of shirk
• {{cite quran|30|29-32|style=nosup|expand=no}} "Concluding Directive to Prophet" Urges the listeners to turn to the truth and resist dividing into sects

;Second Section: "Bringing Life out of the Dead"

• {{cite quran|30|33-39|style=nosup|expand=no}} "Vacillating Conditions" Reassures the Muslim community of God's mercy and grace for true believers and offers suggestions for behavior like giving to the needy or avoiding usury
• {{cite quran|30|40-45|style=nosup|expand=no}} "Corruption and Pollution" Reminds people of the promise of resurrection at the Last Judgment and the fates of polytheist communities
• {{cite quran|30|47-54|style=nosup|expand=no}} "Aspects of God's Grace" Emphasizes resurrection as one of signs of God's mercy and grace when believers lose hope
• {{cite quran|30|52-57|style=nosup|expand=no}} "The Different Stages of Man's Life" Describes the weakness and folly of man and the fate of evildoers at the Last Judgment
• {{cite quran|30|58-59|style=nosup|expand=no}} "No Change of Position" Decries the nonbelievers who refuse to listen to Muhammad but asserts that God leads astray who he wills
• {{cite quran|30|60|style=nosup|expand=no}} Urges Muhammad and his community to persevere

The main theme of this surah is the contrast between monotheism and polytheism. In addition to making logical arguments against ascribing partners to God, several verses outline the differing fate for idolaters and believers. The unity of God is also emphasized with descriptions of the glory of God through illustrations of His wondrous signs and His miraculous creation. This means that the main lessons of this surah is not to make partners to Allah, and to always have the fate of a believer.

Surah 30 includes a verse comparing the association of partners with God, which is the sin of shirk, to the relationship between a master and his slaves.

{{quote|{{Cite Quran|30|28|t=Laleh Bakhtiar|q=He propounds a parable for you from yourselves. Have you—among those whom your right hands possessed—ascribed associates in what We provided you so that you share as equals and you fear them like your awe for each other? Thus, We explain distinctly the signs to a folk who are reasonable.}}}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/30/2/ Q30:2], 50+ translations, islamawakened.com
• {{wikisource-inline|The Holy Qur'an (Maulana Muhammad Ali)/30. The Romans}}
• [https://quran.com/30 Quran 30] Clear Quran translation

{{Sura|30|Al-Ankabut|Luqman}}

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Rum

Category:Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628

Rum