تَنزِيلٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
[This is] a revelation from the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful -
Introduction
This is āyah 2 of Sūrat Fussilat (Explained in Detail), the 61st sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 24. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 61 of 114
- Surah
- Fussilat (41)
A sending down from the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. This Qur'an was sent down by the Lord whose name is the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. He is the All-Merciful through kindly acts, the Ever-Merciful through lights; the All-Merciful through blessings, the Ever-Merciful through protection from sin; the All-Merciful through self-disclosure, the Ever-Merciful through befriending; the All-Merciful through alleviating acts of worship, the Ever-Merciful through verifying the most beautiful and an increase [10:26]. When the ocean of mercy sends up the waves of generosity and forgiveness, all slips and acts of disobedience cease to exist and come to nothing, for the slip is the attribute of what was not and then came to be, and the mercy is the attribute of what always was and always will be. How can what was not, then came to be, stand up to what always was and always will be?
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
No community resources for this verse yet.