The_Choice
Senator (1k+ posts)
Surah Al Munafiqun is the 63rd Surah of the Holy Quran. The meaning of Al Munafiqun is the Hypocrites, which is from the root word nifaq, which means hypocrisy. Generally, we have learned that this Surah was revealed for three main reasons: There were Munafiq individuals at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and we should know of them, Allah wanted to warn us from keeping the company of the Munafiqun, and Allah wanted to inform us to take heed that we, ourselves, could be of the Munafiqun. All three of these reasons can be related to this Surah, but to really know we have to do an in depth analysis of this Surah. We will take a look at the name of this Surah, period of revelation, origin and circumstances, and the overall meaning of this Surah and related verses elsewhere in the Noble Quran, Insha’Allah.
To begin, let’s take a look at the name of this Surah a little bit more. The name of this Surah is derived from a part of the first Ayah (verse) of this Surah which says, “Idha jaa kal-munafiqun” which means “When the hypocrites come to you”. In this Ayah we know that there were hypocrites in the time of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and that they were openly approaching him (SAW). We also realize that being a Munafiq is not a small thing. Rather, it is such a severe disease of the heart, that Allah mentions it in the Quran Himself! The Sahaba were extremely cautious and concerned about this disease affecting them and being counted as one of the Munafiqun, especially Abu Rib’i Hanzala (RA), and even Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) and ‘Umar ibn Al Khatab (RA), as illustrated in the stories from the Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) at the end of this study.
It is important to know the period of revelation, because it will help us better understand what was happening during that time. Click here to read further
