Tafsir 67 : A commentary of Surah Al-Mulk

by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips

The Beauty of the Qur'an is such that miracles cannot truly be understood until one contemplates every verse of every surah, this alone makes tafsir one of the most amazing sciences of Islam. Surah Al-Mulk is a chapter of the Qur'an which would be recited every night by the Prophet (peace be upon Him), in its midst are deep meanings which highlight the purpose of our creation, as well as entailing the message of Islam. In this book, the author takes the reader on a wonderful journey through the gardens of the first surah in the 29th juz of the Qur'an.

211 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips was born in Jamaica, but grew up in Canada where he accepted Islam in 1972. He completed a diploma in Arabic and a B.A. from the College of Theology (Usool-ud-Deen) at the Islamic University of Madeenah in 1979. At the University of Riyadh, College of Education, he completed a M.A. in Islamic Theology in 1985 and in the department of Islamic Studies at the University of Wales, U.K. he also completed a Ph.D. in Islamic Theology in 1994. He taught Islamic Education and Arabic in private schools in Riyadh for over ten years and for the past three year he has been lecturing M.Ed. students in the Islamic Studies department of Shariff Kabunsuan Islamic University in Cotabato City, Mindanao, Philippines. Since 1994 he has founded and directed The Islamic Information Center in Dubai, U.A.E. and the Department of Foreign Languages at Dar al Fatah Islamic Press in Sharjah, U.A.E. ' to 'Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips was born in Kingston, Jamaica, but grew up in Canada where he accepted Islam in 1972. He completed a diploma in Arabic and a B.A. from the College of Theology (Usool-ud-Deen) at the Islamic University of Madeenah in 1979. At the University of Riyadh, College of Education, he completed a M.A. in Islamic Theology in 1985 and in the department of Islamic Studies at the University of Wales, U.K. he also completed a Ph.D. in Islamic Theology in 1994. He taught Islamic Education and Arabic in private schools in Riyadh for over ten years and for the past three years he has been lecturing M.Ed. students in the Islamic Studies department of Shariff Kabunsuan Islamic University in Cotabato City, Mindanao, Philippines. Since 1994 he has founded and directed The Islamic Information Center in Dubai, U.A.E. and the Department of Foreign Languages at Dar al Fatah Islamic Press in Sharjah, U.A.E.

Reviews

[Whimsicalmaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book to understand why surah Al-Mulk will become a protector from punishment of the grave.

This book is not exactly a tafsir book. Dr Philips explained the surah with Quranic verses and hadiths that are related to each ayah. For all the Quranic verses and hadiths mentioned in this book, there is brief commentary and sometimes longer elaboration.

The nice thing about this book is it has a lot of space in every page for us to write notes on the sides. The language used is also quite simple and the whole book is easy to understand. It helps those of us who are planning to memorize the surah.

Although there’s not much details about the linguistic aspect of all the ayah in surah Al-Mulk, the book did answer my question on why will this surah become a protector for us. There are numerous ayah in this surah that talks about the day of judgment, and on top of that, Dr Philips added other Quranic verses that narrate to us the situation of the judgment day. It is enough for us to remember to be more careful in our lives, to consider everything that we are going to do, and to be deliberate in our decisions.

We also know that surah Al-Mulk is full of reminders about the signs of Allah’s Power and Majesty. They should make our hearts more firm that He is the Only One who deserves to be worshipped.

To recite surah Al-Mulk everyday means we are reminded to live our lives only worshipping Allah, and have taqwa no matter what we do. With that, we hope that Allah SWT will protect us from the punishment of the grave, and ultimately from hellfire.

[Yusuf Iman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rather dry and repetitive commentary on the Surah. Phillips, true to his salafi ways, never ventures into any kind of creative or challenging interpretation. This is not good or bad; it depends on what the reader is looking for.

I prefer Sayyid Qutb's commentary on the Quran, even though it is less scholarly and more personal.