These are the opening verses of a surah revealed in Makkah which describes some aspects of the reception Islam received from the idolaters. It reports their facile answers to its arguments and signs, states their stubborn rejection of the truth and shows how they unashamedly pursued desire. The Qur’an also portrays their minds as sealed to divine guidance, straying in whatever direction their fancies led them. Yet the Qur’an continued to confront them with God’s signs, reminded them of God’s punishment and described His reward and His laws that operate in the universe.

As the surah describes those who opposed the message in Makkah, we see a group of people who insisted on going astray, who stubbornly rejected the truth and who were rude in their description of God and His revelations. Such people are described in the surah in the terms they deserve. They are also warned against God’s grievous and humiliating punishment.

We also see a group of people, perhaps belonging to those who received earlier revelations, who were given to ill thoughts and misjudgment. They paid little attention to the truth of faith and saw little difference between those who did evil and those who did good works. The surah makes it abundantly clear to them that there is a huge difference between these two types on God’s scales. It describes them as ill-judging and makes it clear that God judges all on the basis of absolute justice, which has been ingrained within the core of the universe since the beginning of creation.

We also see the person who has no criterion other than his own desire for judging anything. For this type, desire is the deity he worships and obeys. The surah wonders at such people and publicizes the fact that they are blind to the truth. Such people deny the life to come altogether, express grave doubts about the issue of resurrection and accountability and they stubbornly reject the truth asking for proofs that cannot be given in this life. The Qur’an directs such people to consider the signs and proofs already in place. They, however, remain oblivious to these.

It is possible to read all these descriptions as pointing to a single type of people. It is equally possible that they are different groups, all of which were opposed to the Islamic message during its period in Makkah. They would, thus, include some people to whom revelations were given in former times, but these would have been very small in number in Makkah at that time. Yet this reference to people of earlier revelations need not point to a particular group in Makkah; it may just be a pointer to a type of people that others should be made aware of.

Be that as it may, the Qur’an confronts these people, highlighting as it does their qualities and behavioral patterns. It describes for them God’s signs all over the universe and within themselves, warning them that they will have to face the reckoning on the Day of Judgement. It also cites what happened to communities before them when they abandoned divine faith.

In the first instance, God’s signs are put before them in a profound, effective and simple way: “Surely, in the heavens and the earth there are signs for those who believe. And in your own creation, and in the animals God scatters on earth there are signs for people of sure faith.” The surah then refers to other signs, showing them as blessings and favors granted by God, but the rejecters are oblivious to the message these impart.

The surah also shows the unbelievers what they will be like on the Day of Resurrection, which is something they deny altogether. The surah leaves absolutely no doubt about the fairness of the requital or each person’s individual responsibility. This fundamental principle is shown to be central in the way the universe came into existence and in the way it is maintained: “Whoever does what is right benefits himself; and whoever does evil causes himself harm. In the end to your Lord you will all return.” This is further clarified as the surah responds to those who do evil yet consider that they will be on an equal footing with those who believe in God and do good deeds.

In the way it addresses its subject matter, the surah is one single whole, but we have divided it into two parts for easier study. It begins with the two separate letters, Ha, Mim, adding a reference to the Qur’an: “This Book is bestowed from on high by God, the Almighty, the Wise.” It concludes by addressing all praise to God, the absolute Lord of all the universe. This glorification of Him contrasts with the attitude of those who remain oblivious to His signs and who ridicule His revelations: “All praise is due to God, the Lord of the heavens, the Lord of the earth and the Lord of all the worlds. His alone is all supremacy in the heavens and the earth. He alone is the Almighty, the Wise.”

The surah is characterized by its easy flow and a soft beat that contrasts with the strong rhythm of the preceding surah, Smoke. God, the Creator of people’s hearts and the One who has bestowed this Qur’an from on high, sometimes addresses people in a strong and hard way, at other times with gentle touches, and then again sometimes with a soft and quiet beat. He takes into account their different conditions, circumstances, attitudes and responses. His knowledge is absolute and His wisdom infinite.