The longest of Makkan surahs and the first chronologically of the longest surahs. Araf refers to a wall dividing Jannah and Jahannam, whereupon the People of the Heights are waiting to enter Jannah. These are the sinful of the Muslim ummah, those with good deeds equal to bad deeds. There will be 3 camps of people on Day of Judgement: those destined for Jannah, those for Jahmman and those on the Araf.

Themes

• Struggle between right and wrong, truth and falsehood.
• Triumph of faith.
• Mans vanity.
• Learning from previous disbelieving nations.
• Allah SWT’s power: seven skies, divine throne, creation of sun, moon, stars
• Stories of 6 prophets: Nuh AS, Salih AS, Lot AS, Musa AS, Shuaib AS, Hud AS.

Selected Verses

2-3: Advice to humanity: follow what has been sent to you and what has been sent before.

6-7: Those who received the message will be questioned as will their messengers. Allah SWT will give a full account with full knowledge on the Day of Judgement.

8-9: Deeds will be weighed justly on that Day. Those whose scale is heavy with good deeds will be successful. Doomed will be those who denied His signs and whose deeds are light. 

11-25: Adam AS and Iblis (shaytan). Humans are an honoured creation. The angels were asked to bow down before us. Iblis knew the truth yet his pride and arrogance got the better of him. Refusing to prostrate before Adam AS caused him to be cast out from Paradise.

Allah SWT offered Iblis the chance to explain his reasoning. He believed he was better than Adam AS because of what he was made of, fire vs clay. Arrogance leads to downfall. Iblis turned to Allah SWT and asked dua for respite until the Day of Judgement. One should never despair of asking Allah SWT as He granted even Iblis his dua.

Iblis has lived the longest life, his only purpose being to mislead others due to his jealousy of mankind. He vowed to mislead mankind until the Day of Judgement, approaching them from their front, back, right and left. We must be vigilant against Iblis and his tribes. They can see and interact with us, not vice versa, but we have the advantage of Iman and Allah SWT’s help.

Blaming Allah SWT for our sins is satanic, just as Iblis blamed Allah SWT for his sin. Adam AS and Hawa RA acknowledged their sins (eating from the forbidden tree) and asked for forgiveness. The earth was made a residence and provision for us until the appointed Day: There you will live, there you will die and from there you will be resurrected. The children of Adam AS are all sinners, but we must acknowledge our sins, repent and ask for forgiveness.

26-33: Modesty. A tactic of shaytan is to promote nakedness. Clothing has been provided/gifted for the children of Adam AS such that we may dignify ourselves. We should wear our best clothing to the masjids. We should embrace the good of this world but not be wasteful or extravagant.

34: Each community has an appointed time on this earth which they cannot delay or advance even for a moment.

35-36: Those who shun evil and mend their ways will have no fear or grief. Those who receive Allah SWT’s revelations with denial and arrogance will reside in the Fire forever.

43: All bitterness will be removed from the hearts of those in Jannah. We can never be at peace if we have ill feeling, anger or hatred in our hearts. The people of Jannah will say: Praise be to Allah for guiding us to this. We would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us.

46-49: People on the heights will call out to both the people of Jannah and Jahannam. They are hoping to enter Jannah and ask Allah SWT for them not to enter Jahannam. Eventually they will enter Jannah.

54: Allah SWT created the heavens and the earth in six days (periods of times, eons) then established Himself on the Throne. He makes the day and night overlap in quick succession. He created the sun and moon and stars, all subjected by His command. The creation and the command belong to Him alone. Blessed is Allah, Lord of all the worlds.

59-64: Story of Prophet Nuh AS.

64-72: Story of Prophet Hud AS and the people of Ad.

73-79: Story of Prophet Salih AS and the people of Thamud.

80-84: Story of Prophet Lot AS and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

85-93: Story of Prophet Shuaib AS and the people of Midian.

All the prophets preached the oneness of Allah SWT, calling their people to worship Him alone. Most from amongst their people were disbelievers who transgressed against Allah SWT and His signs. A punishment then befell the people and their nations were destroyed. These stories highlight the struggle between good and evil. The Prophets preached moral messages according to the doings of the tribes, for example, homosexuality, greed, robbery, fraud. The rich and powerful rejected and mocked the message. The weak and lower classes accepted Islam seeing the truth and beauty of the message.

94-95: Whenever a Prophet was sent to a society, Allah SWT afflicted its disbelievers with suffering and adversity so that perhaps they would be humbled and turn back to Him. He then changed adversity to prosperity until they became proud and arrogant. Finally they were seized by surprise and destroyed.

96-100: The disbelievers were seized for what they used to commit. Do they feel secure that Allah SWT’s punishment would not come by day or by night? If Allah SWT wills He can punish them for their sins. Consider the modern day example of Covid. The whole world was affected. Economies were collapsing, people were dying, all within a matter of days. A communal punishment because of the state of society today.

103-155: Story of Prophet Musa AS and the magicians who became righteous. The people complained to Musa AS that they continue to be oppressed and blamed adversity on him. The Egyptians were given numerous chances to believe through the affliction and removal of plagues. Despite asking Musa AS to pray for the removal of plagues, they still did not believe so Allah SWT destroyed them by drowning them in the Red Sea.

143: Musa AS wanted to see Allah SWT. This is not possible in this world.

156: My punishment is for whoever I choose yet My Mercy encompasses everything.

163-166: Some Israelites were breaking the sabbath, some were warning others not to. The former were punished and the latter spared. We should never feel superior to others and should never stop warning the sinners.

169: Israelites who became lazy and arrogant, taking Allah SWT’s forgiveness for granted. Genuine repentance and fear of not being forgiven is essential. People who do not act according to their knowledge.

172-174: Allah SWT’S covenant with humanity, asking the children of Adam AS extracted from his loins to testify that He is their Lord.

178-179: Allah SWT guides and leaves to stray whom He wills. Many jinn and humans are destined for Jahannam. They have hearts that cannot understand, eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear and are entirely heedless.

187: Knowledge of the Final Hour is with Allah SWT alone.

191-198: Why do people associate false gods with Allah SWT? They are created, cannot see, speak, hear, hold or walk and cannot help themselves or others. Allah SWT alone is the Protector who has revealed the Quran.

199: Be tolerant, command what is right and ignore the ignorant.

201: The righteous recognise what is from shaytan, that is, bad/evil thoughts and act to remove them from their minds.

204: Listen attentively to the Quran when it is recited and be silent, so that you may be shown mercy.

205: Constant zikr of Allah SWT. 

206: The angels are not too proud to worship Him, they glorify Him and to Him they prostrate.