Name: The name of this surah is Al-Imran. Imran is the name of the father of Moses and Aaron. The name of this surah follows from the major topics discussed in it, namely the departure of prophethood from the Mosaic dispensation, a detailed narration about Jesus, the last prophet in that dispensation, and the erroneous beliefs adopted by his followers. The surah is comprised of twenty sections and two hundred verses.
Summary of the subject matter: In this surah, the erroneous beliefs of the Christian faith are refuted, and it is stated that Islam is a universal religion which will spread throughout the world. Mention is made of the battle of Uhad in which ostensibly the Muslims were not successful but hidden in this apparent failure was a great success. The great lesson for the Muslims was that there is no cause for despair even if the condition of the Muslims appears to be one of difficulty and distress as compared to the disbelievers. The fact is that there is a strong resemblance between the conditions of Muslims today vis a vis the Christians and that of the Muslims vis a vis the Quraish of the Prophet’s time. It may appear that Islam is crushed but underneath this misfortune there is a heap of grace.
In the first section, the Christian concept of Divinity is refuted, and it is explained that the Christians erred because they abandoned religious fundamentals for allegorical references. This explanation is given in a manner that also cautions the Muslims not to tread on this path in interpreting the Quran. Subsidiary matters should be subordinated to religious fundamentals which are stated in clear authoritative words, rather than subordinating the fundamentals to ancillary matters which are sometimes mentioned in figurative language. In the second section, it is stated that the Battle of Badar was a sign of Divine power as falsehood, with all the worldly power, on its side was vanquished by the truth. Monotheism that Christians have abandoned is stated to be the real foundation of all religions and it is incidentally predicted that monotheism will prevail in the end. The third section states the prophethood is now being taken away from Bani Israel and is being given to another nation that is deserving of it. The fourth section mentions some of the last chosen personalities of the Mosaic dispensation, namely Zacharias, his son John, and Mary. The fifth and sixth sections narrate the history of the birth, youth, old age, prophethood, teachings, signs, death etcetera of Jesus, and explain that Jesus was in no way more than a human being and those who chose to ignore evidence are invited to settle this matter through a prayer duel. In the seventh section, attention of the Christians is drawn towards the common principle of monotheism in all religions, and they are invited to accept this truth. This is accompanied by a narration of Abraham whose historical existence is admitted by Christians, Jews, the infidels of Arabia and the Muslims. The eighth section draws attention to the prophecy of “the like of Moses” and accuses the Ahle Kitab (the People of the Book) that just as they do not care about worldly trusts, they are also betraying the trust of Allah given to them in the form of the prophecy “the like of Moses.” The ninth section states that not only Moses but all the prophets of the world had prophesied the appearance of the Messenger of Allah, and hence the religion of Islam is the verifier of all of them. The tenth section informs us that not only is this prophet the Promised One of all prophets but the Sacred House at Makkah towards which he turns is the first House in the world for the worship of Allah. The eleventh section gives a prescription for how the Muslims can be successful in propagating this religion of goodness and virtue. To be successful, they must protect human rights, establish a united Muslim brotherhood, and not give up on calling people to Islam. The twelfth section gives the norms for relationship with the enemies of Islam. The thirteenth section describes the start of the Battle of Uhad and mentions the help promised by Allah. The fourteenth section mentions some broad principles of success. The fifteenth section informs us that regardless of the hardship that may befall a Muslim, they will not leave Islam for unbelief. The sixteenth section asserts that the privation and sorrow that inflicted the Muslims was the result of disobedience, but Allah forgave them. The seventeenth section declares that this battle distinguished the hypocrites from the believers and testifies to the sublime disposition of the Holy Prophet because of the open-hearted way in which he acted. The eighteenth section says that true believers are not overawed by the strength or the size of the enemy. The nineteenth section, while mentioning the absurd objections of the unbelievers, states that the Muslims will continue to receive harm off and on at the hands of Ahle Kitab and unbelievers, and the Muslims are advised to be patient. In the last section, Muslims are taught a supplication and given a promise of success and are told that they will only be successful if they remain fully prepared against the enemy.
Relationship of this surah with Surah Baqarah: The relationship between the two surahs is so intense that according to one hadith of Sahih Muslim the two are titled: الزھرادان which is the dual form of زھرا meaning white and shining. Both delve into the Unity of God and the proof of the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah from previous prophecies and from other sources. Because of the complimentary relationship of the two surahs, the Hadith classifies them as the arbitrator one of the other. Concisely, the relationship between the two surahs is that those things that were dealt with briefly in Surah Baqarah are taken up for detailed discussion in this Surah and those topics that were dealt with in detail in Surah Baqarah are referred to only briefly in this Surah. The address in Surah Baqarah is primarily to the Jews and to a lesser extent to the Christians. In this Surah, the address is predominantly to the Christians and to a lesser extent to the Jews. The narration in Surah Baqarah starts with Adam, who was the first prophet, and this Surah begins with the mention of Jesus, who is the last of national prophets. In Surah Baqarah Divine Unity is contrasted with idol worship and in this Surah the contrast of Divine Unity is with the divinity of Jesus. In Surah Baqarah, proof of Divine Unity is adduced from the evidence provided by scenes of nature and in this Surah proof is presented from human nature and the unanimous evidence of religions. Surah Baqarah mentions using the Sacred House as the direction of prayer and this Surah mentions it as the first House for the worship of Allah. Surah Baqarah lays down the necessity for war as a principle and in this Surah there is a detailed mention of one battle. Such comparisons can be made ad infinitum. The two Surahs are tied together in their beginning and end as well. Surah Baqarah starts with laying the rules for success, and Surah Al-Imran is ended with تفلحون (successful), as if the subject matter of the two is the same. On the other hand, Surah Baqarah was ended with: فَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡڪَـٰفِرِينَ (…so grant us victory over the disbelieving people), and Surah Al-Imran opens with a mention of the nation with which Islam was going to have its greatest competition, that is the Christian nation.
Period of revelation: The chronicle relationship of this surah with Surah Baqarah is the same as their arrangement in the Quran, that is, the major portion of this surah was revealed after the major portion of Surah Baqarah. Surah Baqarah was revealed in the first and second year after Hijrah, and this surah was revealed in the third year after Hijrah. The thirteenth section to almost the end of the surah narrates the events of the Battle of Uhad which took place in year 3 Hijrah. Hence this portion of the surah was revealed in 3 Hijra. In the first part of this surah Christianity is mentioned. The verse sanctioning mutual imprecation or prayer duel (مباہلہ ) is in this first part. The prayer duel is associated with the visit of the Christian delegation of Najran which took place in year 9 Hijrah. However, the portion of this surah containing the verse about the prayer duel was certainly not revealed in year 9 Hijrah because internal evidence indicates that this portion was revealed in the early Madinah period, and the Holy Prophet presented the matters in this earlier revealed portion of the surah to the Najran delegation. Apart from this, the principles established in this portion for contending with other religions, and in particular this verse:تَعَالَوۡاْ إِلَىٰ ڪَلِمَةٍ۬ سَوَآءِۭ بَيۡنَنَا وَبَيۡنَكُمۡ (…come to an equitable word between us and you) (3:64) are found in letters that the Holy Prophet wrote to the Caesar and others at the end of 6 Hijrah. So, this section was certainly revealed prior to 6 hijrah and the best estimate is that the revelation took place in 3 Hijrah. It is possible that only the verse sanctioning prayer duel was revealed during the visit of the Najran delegation.
Bayan-ul-Quran 