Juz 17 Takeaway: Life Is a Test – Are You Prepared?

Surah Al-Anibya, which means the Prophets, is a long surah with 112 ayahs. The main themes of this surah are Tawheed, Shirk, and the Prophets. As per the last few surahs, Allah SWT uses this surah again to address the people of Makkah and their disbelief of Prophet Muhammad SAWS being a messenger of Allah SWT. Allah SWT also addresses something important in the first few ayahs of Surah Al-Anbiya: obsession with the material world. Allah SWT tells us that He has created this dunya not as a pastime for us, but as a serious test. Allah SWT is in control, and if He wasn’t, this entire world would be nothing but chaos and destruction.

Allah SWT reiterates His Oneness in the ayahs that follow. Having Tawheed, believing that Allah SWT is the One and Only is something we should all have. Allah SWT gives us many examples in this surah of disbelievers that performed Shirk (associating partners with Allah) by worshipping and relying on idols and people and things other than Allah SWT. The heavens, the earth, humans, we were all created by Allah alone. Nothing in this world happens without Allah’s will and that is where true tawheed lies.

Allah SWT talks about the prophets and their trials. Allah SWT tells us about Prophet Ibrahim and how He saved him from the fire he was thrown into. We learn about how Prophet Lut, Nuh, Musa, Dawood and Suleiman, Prophet Zakariya, and Prophet Yunus. Allah talks about Prophet Ayuub and the immense sickness and disease he experienced and Maryam (AS) who had a child without ever having a man touch her. All of these amazing people, these Prophets and people of Allah SWT went through so much hardship and suffered at the hands of their own community members. But it was Allah SWT who, after their hardships, gave them ease and protection.

In Ayah 92 and 93, Allah SWT says:

O prophets! Indeed, this religion of yours is only one, and I am your Lord, so worship Me alone. Yet the people have divided it into sects. But to Us they will all return.

— Quran (21:92-93)

Allah SWT tells the Prophets, and us by extension, that there has only ever been one religion and one Allah. We should be worshipping only Him and whoever creates their own religions and divides the Ummah into different groups will be punished.

My favorite ayahs are actually the duas of two prophets; Prophet Yunus and Prophet Zakariya. While Prophet Yunus was trapped inside the whale, he made a specific dua to Allah SWT acknowledging his errors and remembering that there is only One Allah. Prophet Zakariya, on the other hand, would cry out to Allah and beg Him for a child, a successor, knowing that it would only be through the will of Allah that he would be able to have one.

And remember when the Man of the Whale stormed off from his city in a rage, thinking We would not restrain him. Then in the veils of darkness, he cried out, “There is no god worthy of worship except You. Glory be to You! I have certainly done wrong” … And remember when Zachariah cried out to his Lord, “My Lord! Do not leave me childless, though You are the Best of Successors.”

— Quran (21:87, 89)

The might of Allah SWT and the fate of disbelievers

Surah Al-Hajj has 78 ayahs and is named after the Hajj, the sacred pilgrimage we as Muslims must complete at least once in our lives. Allah SWT begins the surah with a harsh punishment for the disbelievers on the day of resurrection. Pregnant women will not want their babies, breastfeeding women will cast aside their children, and people will appear to be drunk even though they haven’t been drinking. The day of resurrection will be a fearful and terrifying day for the disbelievers.

Then Allah SWT goes into ayah 3 to 7 where He speaks about how He has created humans from clay, then a drop of sperm, which then turns into a clot of blood, then a lump of flesh, and finally a child is born after nine months in the womb. Similarly, Allah SWT can bring a barren and dry land to life with just a bit of rain which then produces all types of vegetation. Allah SWT truly is the Almighty. He is the Truth and He is the One who has power over everything.

Allah SWT then addresses the name of the surah, Al-Hajj, when He tasked Prophet Ibrahim to build the Ka’bah and call people from near and far to perform Tawaf, pray Salah and sacrifice an animal. SubhanAllah, Muslims to this day flock the blessed city of Makkah each year to perform the pilgrimage that Prophet Ibrahim (AS) prayed for.

The theme of tawheed and the mightiness of Allah SWT continues to be prevalent in this surah. In Ayah 65 and 66, Allah SWT brings about a beautiful example of the sea and the sky. Boats and ships, so large it’s unfathomable can only float on the ocean because of Allah’s command. The sky is not falling down on us because of Allah’s command. Everything that happens on this earth is because of Allah’s command. He is the one who has given us life and He is the one who will take it, and then give it back to us in the Akhirah.

Do you not see that Allah has subjected to you whatever is in the earth as well as the ships that sail through the sea by His command? He keeps the sky from falling down on the earth except by His permission. Surely Allah is Ever Gracious and Most Merciful to humanity. And He is the One Who gave you life, then will cause you to die, and then will bring you back to life. But surely humankind is ever ungrateful.

— Quran (22: 65-66)

My favorite ayahs have to be the following because of the absolute truth in what Allah is saying. Idols, statues, animals, spirits, whatever it is that others worship, they cannot so much as swat a tiny fly away. How is it that people are able to worship things that have absolutely no power to help anything? These ayahs really make you think about the absurdity of worshipping anything or anyone besides the Almighty Allah SWT.

Oh, humanity! A lesson is set forth, so listen to it carefully: those idols you invoke besides Allah can never create so much as a fly, even if they all were to come together for that. And if a fly were to snatch anything away from them, they cannot even retrieve it from the fly. How powerless are those who invoke and those invoked! They have not shown Allah the reverence He deserves. Surely Allah is All-Powerful, Almighty.

— Quran (22:73-74)

What about you? What are your favorite verses from Juz 17? Let us know by tagging us on all social media platforms or sliding into our DMs!