Al-Anbiya

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الأنبياء Al-Anbiyāʼ The Prophets
Arabic text · English translation
Classification	Meccan
Position	Juzʼ 17
Hizb no.	33
No. of Rukus	7
No. of verses	112

Arabic text · English translation

Sūrat al-Anbiyāʼ (Arabic: سورة الأنبياء‎‎, "The Prophets") is the 21st sura (or chapter) of the Qur'an with 112 ayat. It is a Makkan sura. Its principal subject matter is prophets of the past, who also preached the same faith as Muhammad.

This sura was revealed in the Second Meccan Period and is listed as Number 65 according to the Nöldeke Chronology. Within its verses are found numerous evocations of earlier Judeo-Christian prophets. These examples help to emphasize and define Muhammad's role as a messenger within the Qur'anic context. Additionally, the incorporation of pre-existing Biblical and Judaic scriptures integrate Muhammad's prophetic mission into a larger religious framework, thus broadening the horizons of both the Qur'an as a text and Islam as a religious movement. The sura is thematically and stylistically characteristic of the Second Meccan Period. The verses identify the religious agency of Muhammad by relating him to preexisting Judeo-Christian figures, and from there illustrate common notional doctrines, such as: Islamic eschatology embodied in the Day of Judgment, the fates of the disbelievers and the believers, and the mercy of God. In terms of ordering and delivery, sura 21 contains a tripartite composition and traceable "ring structure", in which the path of revelation comes full circle through the sequence of three distinct parts. Consisting of 112 verses in total, The Prophets maintains the Qur'an's distinctive voice, in which the verses seem conscious of their own revelation and also depend on other Suras to illustrate particular messages. This clear self-referentiality, or "self-declaration", and intertextuality are perceptibly unique to the Qur'an and possess the book with a consciousness distinct from other religious texts.

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