The Spider

This surah teaches us that life is full of tests and that we should be patient in difficult times.

Tests show us who is truly strong or weak in faith.

Nuh (A.S.), Ibrahim (A.S.), Lut (A.S.), and Shu'aib (A.S.) are mentioned as role models because of their patience.

The idol-worshippers are criticized for their lies against the truth.

Stories of destroyed peoples are mentioned as a warning to the idol-worshippers.

Allah does not wrong people; they wrong themselves.

Some people remember Allah only in difficult times, but they quickly turn their backs on Him as soon as He makes things easy for them.

The believers are praised for putting their trust in Allah and supporting His cause.

If you are not able to practice Islam in one place, you can always move to another place. Remember: you are not a tree!

The earth is large with many resources.

Allah promises to continue to provide for the believers, just like He provides for the rest of His creation.

Instead of planting cotton and continuing to lose the fight against the beetle, the farmers decided to plant other things like peanuts. Coffee County soon became the largest producer of peanuts in America, and the farmers made much more money from peanuts than they did from cotton. To thank this insect for changing their economy, the people of Enterprise made a statue of a person holding up a beetle in 1919. The lesson here is: if something doesn't work out even though you have done your best, maybe try something else. It might be better for you.

This surah was revealed when the early Muslims were going through a very difficult time in Makkah. The Prophet (ﷺ) tried every possible way to win the Makkans over to Islam, but nothing seemed to work. Long before the people of Enterprise, the Prophet (ﷺ) realized that if Makkah wasn't a good land for Islam, the Muslims should try another land. Later when the Muslims moved to Madinah, Islam became very strong and soon spread to many other places. This move from Makkah to Madinah changed the history of the world.

At the beginning, some of the companions didn't want to move to Madinah. They were not sure why Allah would allow bad things to happen to them in Makkah. How could the idol-worshippers abuse them, even though they did nothing wrong? They only worshipped Allah and tried to live a decent life as Muslims. So Allah sent down this surah to teach them to be patient and to trust that Allah will do what is best for them. Everyone is tested in this life in different ways. Some are tested with their health (physical, mental, emotional, etc.), some are tested with their wealth, some are tested with their family, and some are tested with their faith.

These tests are meant to show if the person is a true believer or not. The believers are asked to learn a lesson from the patience of Nuh, Ibrahim, Lut, and Musa (A.S.), who are mentioned in this surah. All of these prophets had to move from one place to another for their faith. Allah promises to take care of the believers, and asks them to move to another place if they cannot practice their faith freely. In the end, the believers always win, and the wicked are punished. {Recorded by Imam Al-Qurtubi}

As we mentioned in Surah Qaf (50), the Arabic alphabet has 29 letters; 14 of them appear as individual letters or in groups at the beginning of 29 surahs, like Alif-Lam-Mim, Ha-Mim, Ya-Sin, Sad, and Nun. Imam Ibn Kathir says in his explanation of Surah 2:1, these 14 letters can be arranged into an Arabic sentence that translates to: "A wise text with authority, full of wonders." Although Muslim scholars have tried to explain these 14 letters, no one knows their true meaning except Allah.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A strong believer is better and more loved by Allah than a weak believer, even though there is goodness in both. Seek what is good for you. Put your trust in Allah. And never give up. If something bad happens to you, do not say, 'If I did this, that could have happened.' Instead, say, 'This is what Allah has decided, and Allah does what He wants,' because the word 'if' opens the door for Satan (Shaytan) to whisper." {Recorded by Imam Muslim}

This hadith teaches us that Allah loves the Muslim who is strong in their faith, education, fitness, wealth, and social life. We should do what is good for us and others, and not waste our time and energy on harmful or meaningless activities and discussions. We should always put our trust in Allah and never lose hope. We should be patient in difficult times. We should always trust that Allah does what is best for us, even if we don't understand the wisdom behind it. Regret will not change the past, but will ruin the present and the future. We shouldn't allow Shaytan to trick us.

This life is full of tests. Everyone is tested, no matter how good they are. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that no one is tested more than prophets. {Recorded by Imam Ahmad} If you think you shouldn't be tested because you are a good person, you will be like the guy who stands in front of a bull, thinking that the bull will not attack him because he's a vegetarian!

The word 'test' (fitnah in Arabic), comes from 'fatana', which means to melt gold in the fire so we can get pure gold and remove the junk. As Allah says in verses 2-3, the main purpose of tests is to show those who are true in faith (like pure gold) and those with weak faith.

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (R.A.) accepted Islam around the age of 17, and he was one of the 10 companions who were told by the Prophet (ﷺ) that they were going to Jannah. Sa'd (R.A.) said that he was always good to his mother, but when he accepted Islam she got very mad at him. She threatened, "If you don't leave this new religion, I will not eat or drink until I die and people will say, 'Shame on you for killing your mother!'" He begged her: "Please, don't do that because I'll never leave Islam." However, she didn't listen to him and starved herself for 3 days, until she became very weak. He complained to the Prophet (ﷺ) about his mother, so verse 8 of this surah was revealed.

Sa'd (R.A.) said to his mother, "My dear mom! Even if you had 100 souls and they left your body one by one, I'd never give up my faith. So, it's up to you if you want to eat or not." Eventually, when she felt he was very serious about Islam, she started to eat and drink again. {Recorded by Imam Muslim and Imam At-Tirmidhi}

Like Sa'd (R.A.), even prophets had to deal with family members who were disbelievers. That was probably one of the biggest challenges that prophets had to go through. The reason is that people would say, "If this man was really a prophet, his family would be the first to believe in his message." Other people would use this as an excuse for not believing. Most of the prophets mentioned in this surah had some close relatives who rejected them: the father of Ibrahim (A.S.) was a disbeliever; the son and wife of Nuh (A.S.) were disbelievers; the wife of Lut (A.S.) was a disbeliever; and Abu Lahab, the uncle of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), was a disbeliever.

The father didn't like their evil plan and said to both of them, "Guys! What is the point of making this poor man suffer? If you go to hifz school, let people see the Quran in your actions. How about we put 3 golden dinars inside his shoes and watch him from behind that big tree?" They agreed to the idea.

When the old man finished salah, he went to get his shoes and was surprised to find the gold in his shoes. The farmer started to cry. He said, "Alhamdu-lillah for answering my du'a. My wife has been sick, and I couldn't afford to buy her medicine." Seeing this, the father and his kids got very emotional. The father said, "Isn't this much better than pranking him and making him miserable just for fun?"

In the same way, the people of Ibrahim (A.S.) worshipped idols for generations. They just followed their parents blindly. When Ibrahim (A.S.) tried to correct them, they refused to change, because they were comfortable doing what their friends and parents were doing. Eventually, Ibrahim (A.S.) destroyed their powerless idols. His angry people wanted to take revenge by burning him, but Allah saved him from the fire (21:51-71).

Allah also saved Lut (A.S.), Shu'aib (A.S.), Musa (A.S.), as well as other prophets, and He destroyed their enemies. This is a message to the abused Muslims that Allah is always there to protect them if they put their trust in Him. {Recorded by Imam Ibn Kathir & Imam Al-Qurtubi}

The Prophet (ﷺ) told his little cousin, 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (R.A.), "O young man! Let me teach you some words (of advice). Keep Allah in mind, and He will protect you. Keep Allah in mind, and He will always be there for you. If you ask for something, ask from Allah. And if you seek help, seek help from Allah. You should know that if the people of the world came together to benefit you, they can't benefit you unless Allah has written so. And if they came together to harm you, they can't harm you unless Allah has written so. The pens have been lifted, and the pages have dried." {Recorded by Imam At-Tirmidhi}

In another version, he said, "Keep Allah in mind, and He will always be there for you. Get to know Allah in good times, and He will take care of you in difficult times. Know that what missed you couldn't have happened to you, and what happened to you couldn't have missed you. Know that with patience comes victory, and with difficulty comes relief, and with hardship comes ease." {Recorded by Imam Ahmad}

The Makkans worshipped idols, hoping that they would provide for them and protect them in this life and defend them in the Next Life. Many of them couldn't understand that those idols were powerless. They should have worshipped Allah—the only Creator, Provider, and Protector. They used to carry their main idol to the battlefield for support. When they lost in one of the battles and had to run away, they couldn't carry it back. One of them shouted at the idol: "Hello! You didn't do anything to help us. At least help us carry you back!"

'Amr ibn Al-Jamooh was the chief of the tribe of Banu Salamah. He had an idol called Manaf, which he used to worship and honour. His son accepted Islam secretly and wanted to show his father that this idol was useless. So he covered Manaf with filth and threw it in a ditch upside down. 'Amr was very mad when he saw his favourite idol humiliated like that. He cleaned and perfumed it, and put a sword in its hand for protection. However, the idol was disrespected again, so he shouted at Manaf, "Come on! Can you please help yourself? Even a goat would defend itself!" Shortly after, he found the idol broken and tied to a dead dog and ditched in a filthy hole. Eventually, 'Amr realized that his idol was powerless, so he ended up accepting Islam. {Recorded by Imam Ibn Hisham in his Sirah}

In verses 41-44, the idol-worshippers are told that those powerless idols cannot shelter them, just like a weak web cannot shelter a spider. {Recorded by Imam Ibn Kathir & Imam Al-Qurtubi}

Allah criticizes the Makkans for worshipping those idols made from wood and stone. From the outside, those idols have no real hands, legs, eyes, or ears (7:195). From the inside, they have no life, power, or minds. They are cold, dead (16:20-21), and can't take care of their followers or even themselves (7:197).

NASA hired a man with no education or training whatsoever to lead its space missions. Even though he couldn't read or write, he authored a detailed manual for sending astronauts to space, bringing them back safe, and fixing the most complicated technical issues. He even knew the secrets of space that nobody had known before him, predicted future discoveries, and corrected mistakes in earlier manuals. All space experts were challenged to write a manual similar to his, but they failed. He won the Nobel Prize in physics, and has been honoured by Time magazine as the greatest expert on space technology, artificial intelligence, and rocket science of all time.

Wait a minute! Who in the world would believe such a story? To be honest, I just made it up to introduce the following question on who wrote the Quran.

Someone may ask, "How do we know that the author of the Quran is Allah, not Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)?" That's a very good question. Let's think about the following points: Verse 48 below says that the Prophet (ﷺ) couldn't read or write. If he could, the idol-worshippers would have said, "He must have copied this Quran from other holy books."

Even though the Quran was revealed to a prophet who couldn't read or write, the book is perfectly consistent and it doesn't contradict itself.

If he was the author of the Quran, why did he suddenly reveal it at the age of 40? He never mentioned a single verse before that age (10:16).

To prove that the Quran wasn't written by Muhammad (ﷺ), Allah challenged the masters of Arabic, who were able to read and write, to produce even one surah like the surahs of the Quran, but they failed—even though the shortest surah (108) is only 3 verses long!

If the Prophet (ﷺ) was the author of the Quran, he would have mentioned the most difficult moments of his life in the book, including the death of his wife Khadijah and 6 out of his 7 children.

He (ﷺ) wouldn't have also mentioned some of the verses that criticize some things that he did. Imagine if a president or an important person writes a book about his or her own life. They would probably tell us how awesome they are. They would likely never criticize themselves in the book. However, Allah corrects the Prophet (ﷺ) several times in the Quran. For example, when he (ﷺ) didn't give his full attention to 'Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum (80:1-10); when he (ﷺ) banned himself from something that was allowed for him (66:1-2); and when he (ﷺ) forgot to say 'insha'Allah' (18:23).

Anyone who understands Arabic can easily tell the difference in style between the Quran and hadith. Both the meaning and words of the Quran were revealed by Allah. As for hadith, the meaning is from Allah, but the Prophet (ﷺ) delivered it in his own words.

Why would he (ﷺ) make up the Quran? For money or authority? As we will see in Surah 41, the idol-worshippers already offered him these things, but he refused and was willing to die for his message.

In some cases, like when his wife 'Aishah (R.A.) was falsely accused, he (ﷺ) had to wait for a month until Allah sent a few verses (24:11-26) to clarify the situation. Why didn't he just make them up in 10 minutes?

Even his worst enemies agreed that he (ﷺ) never lied to any human being. How could he then lie about Allah?

We know that the Prophet (ﷺ) lived in the desert almost 1,500 years ago with no education or civilization. Arabia was filled with war, poverty, crime, and abuse. How could one man start a civilization that has changed the world? How could he (ﷺ) change his companions to be the best generation? How could he (ﷺ) create a small state that was able to defeat the Romans and the Persians, the biggest superpowers of his time?

How in the world could he (ﷺ) come up with these perfect teachings on family laws, inheritance laws, women's rights, human rights, animal rights, diet, health, business, counselling, politics, history, and more? Millions of Muslims (including doctors, engineers, scientists, business people, and teachers) have benefited from his great teachings and legacy.

If he never went to school, how could he (ﷺ) come up with scientific facts that were not known at his time, but have only been discovered in the last 200 years? How did he know that the universe is expanding (51:47)? How did he (ﷺ) know about the development of the baby inside the mother (22:7 and 23:12-14)? How did he (ﷺ) know that the earth was round (39:5) and it rotates (27:88)? How did he (ﷺ) know that the sun and the moon travel in orbits (36:40)? How did he (ﷺ) know about the layers of waves in the depths of the ocean (24:40)? How did he (ﷺ) know that a person's chest would be squeezed by pressure if they went up in space (6:125)?

As we will see in Surah 30, how could he (ﷺ) tell future events, which later happened exactly as he said? How did he (ﷺ) know that the Romans would turn their defeat into victory over the Persians in 3-9 years (30:1-5)? How did he (ﷺ) know that Abu Lahab was going to die 10 years later as a disbeliever, even though many of Abu Lahab's friends ended up accepting Islam (111:1-5)?

How did he (ﷺ) know some details that were not mentioned in any book before him? He (ﷺ) even corrected some of the mistakes in those books, even though he (ﷺ) never read them. How did he (ﷺ) know the 3 miracles of 'Isa (A.S.) in the Quran that are not in the Bible: 1) how 'Isa (A.S.) spoke when he was only a few days old to defend his mother, 2) when he (A.S.) created birds out of clay and they became real birds, 3) and when he (A.S.) brought down a table full of food from heaven for his companions (5:110-115)? How did he (ﷺ) know the story of Musa (A.S.) and Al-Khidr (A.S.) (18:60-82), which is not mentioned in the Bible? How did he (ﷺ) know that the ruler of Egypt at the time of Yusuf (A.S.) was a 'King,' not a 'Pharaoh' as the Bible incorrectly stated?

It wasn't possible for the Prophet (ﷺ) to copy previous books because he (ﷺ) couldn't read or write and those books were not in Arabic anyway. If he (ﷺ) copied them, how did he (ﷺ) only take the facts and leave the mistakes? I remember the true story of a student who copied everything on the answer sheet of another student, including his name! Based on these points, it is clear that it would have been impossible for the Prophet (ﷺ) to produce the Quran. Therefore, it must have been revealed to him by Allah.

The idol-worshippers said that they didn't accept the Quran as a proof for Muhammad's (ﷺ) prophethood. Instead, they demanded a 'solid' miracle, like the staff of Musa (A.S.). As Muslims, we believe that every prophet came to his local community. Musa (A.S.) came to his people, 'Isa (A.S.) came to his people, Salih (A.S.) came to his people, Hud (A.S.) came to his people, and so on. Every prophet performed a miracle that was relevant to what his people were good at. So Musa (A.S.) challenged Pharaoh's clever magicians with his staff, and 'Isa (A.S.) challenged the doctors of his time by giving life to the dead.

What makes Muhammad (ﷺ) unique is that he is a universal prophet (7:158 and 34:28). The miracles of Musa (A.S.) and 'Isa (A.S.) lasted for a short time, but the main miracle of Muhammad (ﷺ) will stay till the end of time, always proving that he has been sent by Allah. The Makkans (who were the masters of Arabic) should have been able to recognize the Quran as a miracle. It was in their own language, but was something they couldn't match. {Recorded by Imam Ibn Kathir & Imam Al-Qurtubi}

Someone may ask, "The Quran is a great miracle, but did the Prophet (ﷺ) perform any other miracles?" The Prophet (ﷺ) performed many miracles. Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim says in his book 'Ighathat Al-Lahfan' that there are over 1,000 miracles that were performed by the Prophet (ﷺ). These miracles are listed in many authentic books.

Below are a few of those miracles performed by the Prophet (ﷺ): Splitting the moon (54:1 & recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari); Al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj, the journey from Makkah to Jerusalem, then to the heavens and back, all during the same night (17:1, 53:3-18 & recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari, Imam Muslim, & Imam Ahmad); multiplying food, water, and milk (recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Ahmad); water gushing from between his fingers when his companions couldn't find water (recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim); healing the sick (recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari); stones were heard praising Allah in his hands (recorded by Imam At-Tabarani); and telling future events that later came true, as we will see at the beginning of the next Surah.

The idol-worshippers were giving Muslims a very hard time in Makkah for years. When things got worse, the Prophet (ﷺ) asked his companions to flee from abuse in Makkah and move to Madinah. Some of them asked, "Who will take care of us there? Who will feed us?" So verse 29:60 was revealed, telling them to learn from animals and birds. They don't walk around carrying money or fridges, but Allah always provides for them and takes care of them. {Recorded by Imam Al-Qurtubi}

The Prophet (ﷺ) says, "If you put your trust in Allah the way you should, He will provide for you just like He provides for birds. They leave in the morning with their bellies empty, and return in the evening with their bellies full." {Recorded by Imam At-Tirmidhi}

The idol-worshippers never ran out of excuses for not believing in Allah. According to 28:57, they argued that if they followed Islam they would be removed from their land. Allah responded by telling them to open their eyes and see how Allah made Makkah a safe place, whereas other cities were always in danger. If someone entered the Sacred House, no one could harm them. They already knew how Allah protected the city from the Army of the Elephants (105:1-5).

Makkah is surrounded by mountains, in the middle of the desert, with no rivers or lakes. The area is extremely hot in the summer. Still, the people who live there have many businesses and resources, including fruits that come from other places. If Allah took good care of them even when they worshipped false gods, do they think He is going to let them down if they accept Him as their only God?