Surah An-Naml is one of the Mathani given to the Prophet ﷺ in place of the Gospel, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’; no hadith specific to its virtues is cited. It is the only surah of the Qur’an that contains the basmalah twice, and it speaks of Allah’s all-encompassing knowledge and of Moses, David and Solomon with the ant, the hoopoe and the Queen of Sheba.
It is one of the Mathani, given to the Prophet ﷺ in place of the Gospel, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’: “… in place of the Gospel I was given the Mathani.”
It is the only surah of the Qur’an that contains the basmalah, “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”, twice.
It opens with praise of the Qur’an and of the believers who are certain of the Hereafter, and its aim is to remind the Prophet ﷺ of the blessing of the Qur’an, the gratitude it calls for and patience in conveying it.
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
أعطيت مكان التوراة السبع الطوال، وأعطيت مكان الزبور المئين، وأعطيت مكان الإنجيل المثاني، وفضلت بالمفصل
I was given in place of the Torah the seven long surahs, in place of the Psalms the Mi’in, in place of the Gospel the Mathani, and I was favoured with the Mufassal.
Main purpose: To remind the Prophet ﷺ of the blessing of the Qur’an, the gratitude it calls for and patience in conveying it.
An-Naml is entirely Meccan, by consensus according to Al-Qurtubi; it is the 27th in the order of the Qur’an, revealed after Ash-Shu’ara, and has ninety-three verses. It is named after the verse “Until, when they came to the valley of the ants, an ant said…”, and is also called the surah of “Solomon” and of “the Hoopoe”, since the words ant and hoopoe appear in no other surah.
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
