Surah Al-Ma’arij (“Sa’ala sa’il”) belongs to the Mufassal, by which the Prophet ﷺ was favoured over the other prophets. It is one of the “similar” surahs (an-naza’ir) that he paired in a single rak’ah: he recited it with An-Nazi’at, according to the authentic hadith of Ibn Mas’ud, and it was among the surahs he read in the night prayer.
The Prophet ﷺ used to recite similar surahs two in each rak’ah, including “Sa’ala sa’il” with An-Nazi’at; it is among the surahs he read in the night prayer.
Authentic (sahih)Abu Dawud (1396); the hadith originates in Al-Bukhari (775) and Muslim (822)
It belongs to the Mufassal, given to the Prophet ﷺ as an extra gift and by which he was favoured over the other prophets, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’: “… and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
The surah affirms that the Day of Resurrection is a truth that will come to pass and describes its terrors; from man, who is anxious by nature, it excepts those who are constant in their prayer, give Allah’s due from their wealth and believe in the Day of Judgement.
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
لكن النبي ﷺ كان يقرأ النظائر السورتين في ركعة، (الرحمن والنجم) في ركعة … و(سأل سائل والنازعات) في ركعة، و(ويل للمطففين وعبس) في ركعة …
But the Prophet ﷺ used to recite the similar surahs (an-naza’ir) two in each rak’ah: Ar-Rahman and An-Najm in one rak’ah … “Sa’ala sa’il” (Al-Ma’arij) and An-Nazi’at in one rak’ah, “Woe to the defrauders” and ’Abasa in one rak’ah …
Main purpose: To describe the state of creation and its recompense on the Day of Resurrection.
Al-Ma’arij is an entirely Meccan surah, the 70th in the order of the Qur’an and the 78th in the order of revelation, revealed after Al-Haqqah and before An-Naba. It has forty-four verses in most copies of the Qur’an and forty-three in the Syrian copy. It is also called “Sa’ala sa’il”, and As-Suyuti mentions in Al-Itqan the name “Al-Waqi’”: all these words appear in the surah.
Tafsir of Surah Al-Ma’arij Listen to Al-Ma’arij by other reciters
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
