إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقَٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِهِۦ صَفًّۭا كَأَنَّهُم بُنْيَٰنٌۭ مَّرْصُوصٌۭ
Indeed, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in a row as though they are a [single] structure joined firmly.
Introduction
This is āyah 4 of Sūrat As-Saff (The Ranks), the 109th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 28. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 109 of 114
- Surah
- As-Saff (61)
(All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth glorifieth Allah, and He is the Mighty, the Wise) [61:1-4]. Muhammad ibn Ja�far informed us> Muhammad ibn �Abd Allah ibn Zakariyya> Muhammad ibn �Abd al-Rahman al-Daghuli> Muhammad ibn Yahya> Muhammad ibn Kathir al-San�ani> al-Awza�i> Yahya ibn Abi Kathir> Abu Salamah> �Abd Allah ibn Salam who said: �We sat � a group of Companions of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace � and reminded each other. We said: �If only we knew the most beloved works to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, for we would then perform them�. Allah, exalted is He, therefore, revealed (Lo! Allah loveth them who battle for His cause in ranks, as if they were a solid structure) [61:4] up to the end of the Surah. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, read it to us�. (O ye who believe! Why say ye that which ye do not?) [61:2-4]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �Some Muslims used to say: �If we knew the most beloved works to Allah, exalted is He, we would spend our wealth and persons in their sake�. And so Allah, exalted is He, directed them to the most beloved works to Him, saying (Lo! Allah loveth them who battle for His cause in ranks, as if they were a solid structure�) But when Muslims were tested at the Battle of Uhud, they retreated, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (O ye who believe! Why say ye that which ye do not?)�.
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
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