Sura Quraish (Quraish :Custodians of the Ka'aba)

Explaination of Sura Quraish
Sura Quraish (Quraish :Custodians of the Ka'aba)

(106:1) As the Quraish become accustomed,
(106:2) (that is,) accustomed to their journeys in the winter and the summer.
(106:3) so they should worship the Lord of this House(kaba),
(106:4) who has fed them against hunger and made them secure against fear.

Explaination

To understand the Surah well it is essential that one should keep the historical background relevant to the contents of this Surah and of Surah Al-Fil in view.

This Meccan Sura is, indeed, the supplement to the preceding one; Sura Fil. The verses of the Sura are a clear evidence for this idea. They describe the blessings the Quraish tribe were given to enjoy; might they be thankful to Him and worship Him, the Lord of the Sacred House (Ka'ba) from which they obtained all their honour and high social status.

In the previous Sura (Fil) the story of the destruction of the possessors of the elephant and Abrahah's army, who came to Mecca intending to destroy the Ka'ba and obliterate that Sacred House, was stated. In the first verse of this Sura which is, in fact, the supplement to it, followed to the idea that 'We destroyed the companions of the elephant and made them like straw eaten up' before the advent of the Prophet of Islam (s),


"(We maintain for them) their trading caravans by winter and summer."

The purpose of the unifying and familiarity of the Quraish may be due to their love for their sacred land. The political and economical importance of the Holy Shrine (Ka'ba), for the Quraish, then secure from the invasions of the hostile tribes in the Arabian Peninsula thus made them monopolize the trade of the area from the North to the South and vice-versa.


In the summer, they used to go to Syria which had moderate weather and in winter to Yemen where they enjoyed a warm climate, for the purposes of trade, and it was by Allah's Grace that they travelled safe and undisturbed on their journeys, otherwise, the routes were not safe and none could travel without being plundered and suffering death and destruction or suffering heavy losses. (Of course, for the same love, they did not leave Mecca to settle in these places ).

It was the position of the Quraish with regard to their connection with their services to the Holy Ka'ba that they received, by the Will of Allah, the security and honour from the people. He planned to keep them safe, by His Grace, for the advent of Islam and the holy Prophet (s) to emerge from that tribe and in that sacred land.

But, the same tribe, the Quraish, whose protection, safety and honour was due to the Holy Ka'ba being in their city and they being its guardians, later became the prime enemies of Islam. At the beginning, the main cause of their opposition, to the advent of Islam, was the fear of losing their supremacy in the political and economical fields


So let them worship the Lord of this House (Ka'ba)".

"Who fed them against hunger and secured them from fear".


And has made them safe from fear.) meaning, He favors them with safety and gentleness, so they should single Him out for worship alone, without any partner. They should not worship any idol, rival or statue besides Him. Therefore, whoever accepts this command, Allah will give him safety in both this life and the Hereafter. However, whoever disobeys Him, He will remove both of them from him. This is as Allah says,

﴿وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلاً قَرْيَةً كَانَتْ ءَامِنَةً مُّطْمَئِنَّةً يَأْتِيهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًا مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ فَكَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ اللَّهِ فَأَذَاقَهَا اللَّهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَصْنَعُونَ - وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَأَخَذَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَهُمْ ظَـلِمُونَ ﴾


(And Allah puts forward the example of a township, that dwelt secure and well-content: its provision coming to it in abundance from every place, but it denied the favors of Allah. So, Allah made it taste extreme of hunger and fear, because of that which they used to do. And verily, there had come unto them a Messenger from among themselves, but they denied him, so the torment overtook them while they were wrongdoers.) (16:112-113)


When the Quraish had been granted such great blessings; security in trade for gaining profit and in life for being honoured, they should have gratefully worshipped the Lord of the Ka'ba, Who, inspite of their land being only a desert and thus unproductive, provides them with every kind of good food and the other provisions of life, through merchandise and the pilgrimage, which is brought to their very door. And Allah had protected them from the most formidable enemy, Abrahah.

This was an open admonition to the Quraish who, at the start of the ministry of the holy Prophet (s), had been the most persistent enemies of the apostle of Allah and the message of the Unity of the Lord which he preached. It was as well as a warning inviting their attention to the Mighty power of Allah Who could also destroy them and humiliate them as He did with their mighty foe, Abrahah.

The sura gives us lesson to thank Allah for all the blessing and to spend our life in total obedience of Allah. We are created to worship Allah, And this is not simply in prayer, fasting and hajj, but in every action we do.Allah says:

Wa ma khalaqta al-jinn wal ins illa liy`abudun.ma ureedu minhum min rizqin wa ureedu an yu`imun. inna Allahu hua ar-razzaqa dhul quwwat il-mateen -

Allah says:

And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).I seek not any Rizq( provision) from them (i.e. provision for themselves or for My creatures) nor do I ask that they should feed Me (i.e. feed themselves or My creatures). Surely, Allah is the All-Provider (Razzaq), Owner of Power (Zul-Quwa), the Most Strong.

Quran Sura 51-Adh-Dhairyat Ayut 56-58


IT IS CLEAR FROM The ABOVE AYUT THAT IT IS OUR OBLIGATION to live a life of total obedience to the Almighty God. This duty is described in the Holy Qur’an as Ibadah, which is often inaccurately translated as worship or prayers. However, the true meaning of the term Ibadah can only be understood if we combine two apparently unrelated concepts: one is surrender, obedience, submission; the other is love, adoration, devotion. Total and unconditional compliance to all Divine injunctions is obviously required; at the same time, this compliance ought to be with a spirit of wholehearted devotion and love for the Creator.The Holy Qur’an teaches us that the faithful are those who love the Almighty God over everyone and everything else. When we love our Lord, we find it easy to obey Him.

This is the end of the Tafsir of Surah Quraysh, and all praise and thanks are due to Allah.
Related links

http://www.quranenglish.com/tafheem_quran/106.htm

http://www.qtafsir.com/

http://www.themodernreligion.com/basic/charac/thanks.html