Islam Guidance

Introduction

In the Name of Allah,the Beneficent,the Merciful
Sura Inshirah
(The expansion)
No. 94 (8 Verses)
Contents of the Sura:
It is commonly said that this Sura was revealed soon after Sura Duha, and its contents confirm this, since, again in this Sura, some of the Divine Bounties are counted for the holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.). In fact, there were three important Bounties mentioned in the previous Sura (Duha), and, there are three magnificent Bounties mentioned in Inshirah, too. Those Bounties were of material and spiritual Bounties, whereas these, in this Sura, are all of the spiritual ones. The theme, in this Sura, mainly pivots on three different subjects:
The first is the expression of these triple Bounties; the second is the good news for the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) informing him that his burden and difficulties of his prophetic mission will be removed soon; and the third is that attention should be paid to Allah, alone, and be hopeful and encouraged in worship and supplication to Him.

As it was mentioned before, according to the traditions of Ahlul-Bait (p.b.u.th.) these two Suras are considered as one and, then, in recitation of prayers, both of them are recited to form one complete Sura.
A careful examination of the contents of these two Suras leaves no doubt that they are quite closely related to each other. Again, a similar case is found for Sura Fil and Sura Quraish which will be dealt with later.
The above statements make it clear that this Sura (Inshirah) has been revealed in Mecca, but with regard to the verse: "And We exalted for you your reputation", some believe that it has been revealed in Medina when the name of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) and Islam had been known everywhere. But, this statement is not enough to prove their idea, because the Prophet (p.b.u.h.), with all the problems that he had in Mecca was completely known and his rise and invitation to Islam were talked about everywhere and in most gatherings, and also his reputation was spread in all parts of Arabia, especially in Medina, by the annual gathering of Hajj pilgrims.
The Virtue in Studying Sura lnshirah:
On the virtue of studying this Sura, the holy Prophet is reported to have said:
"He who recites this Sura will be rewarded the same as the one who met Mohammad unhappy and brought the grief out from his heart. (1)
 
(1) Majma'-al-Bayan, vol. 10, p. 507.

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