No authentic hadith attributes a specific virtue to it; Surah Ar-Rum is one of the Mathani given to the Prophet ﷺ in place of the Gospel, according to the good hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’. It opens by foretelling the Romans’ victory over the Persians within a few years, then sets out many proofs of Allah’s oneness and power.
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’: “… and I was given the Mathani in place of the Gospel.”
The surah opens with the Romans’ defeat by the Persians and promises that they will prevail within a few years, to the believers’ joy; the Romans later did prevail, as the Qur’an had foretold.
It presents twelve proofs of Allah’s oneness and power, beginning with “Among His signs is that He created you from dust”, and calls for devoting oneself to the religion in pure monotheism, according to the natural disposition upon which Allah created people.
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 the seven long surahs in place of the Torah, the Mi’in in place of the Psalms, the Mathani in place of the Gospel, and I was favoured with the Mufassal.
Main purpose: To affirm that Allah alone governs all affairs and to set out His laws in His creation.
Ar-Rum is the 30th surah in the order of the Qur’an and the 84th in order of revelation, revealed after Al-Inshiqaq and before Al-’Ankabut; it is entirely Meccan by consensus and has sixty verses. According to At-Tirmidhi and others, from Ibn Abbas, the idolaters wished for the victory of the Persians, who were idol-worshippers, and the Muslims for that of the Romans, who were People of the Book; then the verses “Alif-Lam-Mim. The Romans have been defeated…” up to “… and on that day the believers will rejoice” were revealed.
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
