Brief introduction to Sūrat al-Burūj

Dear Islamic brothers! Sūrat al-Burūj is a short chapter of the Quran found in its 30^th part. It contains only 1 rukūꜤ and 22 verses. The word burūj itself refers to constellations. The first verse refers to the sky, which contains constellations, thus giving this chapter its name.

The start of this chapter makes mention of a hugely significant event.

Allah announced:

قُتِلَ اَصْحٰبُ الْاُخْدُوْدِ ۙ(۴) النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُوْدِ ۙ(۵) اِذْ ھُمْ عَلَیْہَا قُعُوْدٌ ۙ(۶) وَّ ھُمْ عَلٰی مَا یَفْعَلُوْنَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ شُہُوْدٌ  ؕ(۷) وَ مَا نَقَمُوْا مِنْہُمْ  اِلَّاۤ  اَنْ یُّؤْمِنُوْا بِاللّٰہِ الْعَزِیْزِ  الْحَمِیْدِ ۙ(۸)

Woe to the people of the ditch. of the blazing fire. When they were sitting around it. And they themselves are witnesses to what they were doing to the believers. And they were only averse to this that they (Muslims) embraced faith in Allah, the Most-Exalted, the Most-Praiseworthy.^[1]

The People of the Ditch

These verses speak about the People of the Ditch. Who were these people and what is their story? Details of this can be found in Saḥīḥ Muslim, a renowned book of hadith. This narration is lengthy, and is summarised as follows:

A king from a previous nation claimed to be God. People began worshipping him, but they were destined to be guided. This guidance began for them when Allah allowed a young man from that nation to sit with a believing and righteous man. This leading to the young man reciting the kalima and entering the true religion.