| Verses | Description |
| 10:1-20 | God guides the human spirit in wondrous ways, if man will have Faith and put his trust in God: mankind is one |
| 10:21-40 | All things good, beautiful, and useful are from God; instead of ephemeral good seek the eternal Home of Peace from God through His Book |
| 10:41-70 | The Truth of God must not be shut out of our souls: Revelations and Prophets are sent to teach us: we must accept them and reject falsehood |
| 10:71-92 | God works throughout His creation with Mercy and Justic: repent before it is too late |
| 10:93-109 | Be patient and strive with constancy: God's Plan is righteous, and for the good of His creatures |
Chronologically this Surah and the five that follow (Surahs 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15) are closely connected, and were revealed in the late Makkan period, as the great event of the Hijrah was gradually approaching down the stream of Time. But their chronology has no particular significance.
On the other hand their arrangement in the gradation of Qur'anic teaching fits in with the subject matter. Surah 8 and Surah 9 were mainly concerned with the first questions that arose on the formation of the new and organized Community of Islam in its conflict with those who wished to suppress or destroy it or use force to prevent its growth and the consolidation of its ideals. (See Introductions to those Surahs). The present group leads us to the questions that face us when external hostility has been met, and our relations to God have to be considered from a higher standpoint than that of self-preservation. How does revelation work? What is the meaning of divine grace and its withdrawal? How do the Messengers of God deliver their Message? How should we receive it?
All these questions revolve around the revelation of the Qur'an and each Surah of this group except the 13th has the Abbreviated letters Alif, Lam, Ra', attached to it. Surah 13 has the letters, Alif, Lam, Mim, Ra', and we shall discuss this variation when we come to Surah 13.
The Abbreviated Letters are mystic symbols, about whose meaning there is no authoritative explanation. If the theory advanced in n.25 to 2:1 has any validity, and the present group, Alif, Lam, Ra', is cognate to the group Alif, Lam, Mim, we have to consider and form some idea in our minds as to the probable meaning of the variation. We took Alif, Lam, Mim to be a symbol of those Surahs that eal with the beginning, the middle, and the end of man's spiritual history -- the origin, the present position, and the things to come in the Last Days (eschatology, to use a theological term).
We took Alif, Lam, to stand as symbols of matter, and therefore we can understand the absence of Mim, the symbol standing for such matter. In its place comes Ra', which is phonetically allied to Lam. Lam is produced by the impact of the tongue to the front of the palate, and Ra' to the middle of the palate. In many languages the letter Lam and Ra' are interchangeable, e.g., in Arabic, Al Rahman becomes ar-Rahman, and Ra' in imperfect enunciation Lam, in Chinese lallations.
If Lam is a symbol of present-day things looking to the future, we may take Ra' as a symbol of present-day things looking within, i.e., into the interior of the organization of the Ummah. And this symbolism fits in with the subject matter of the Surahs in question. But no one should be dogmatic in speculation about mystic Symbols.
Let us now consider Surah 10 alone. The central theme is that God's wonderful Creation must not be viewed by us as a creation of material things only, once made and finished with. Most wonderful of all is how He reveals Himself to men through Prophets and Scriptures; how prophets are rejected by men, and the Message disbelieved until it is too late for repentance; and how, as in the case of Yunus (Jonah) and his people, even the rejection (when the repentance supervenes) does not prevent God's grace and mercy from working, and how far that working is beyond man's comprehension.
1- The wonderful working of the Spirit through man by revelation seems like magic to men; yet they could find Signs and Messages from Him in the sun and the moon and the constantly varying yet regular phenomena of nature, from which men should take a lesson of constancy and Faith. (10:1-20)
Shining Forth [10:1-20] Men may wonder that a man like unto them should bring a Message from God, but God's Message shines forth through all nature and creation. He guides the human spirit, if only man will have Faith and put his hope in God. Wonderful are God's relations with man, yet man is ungrateful and runs to fancies and fanciful gods. Glory to the One True God, Who made mankind as One, and holds alone the secrets of the Unseen in His great and good Universal Plan.2- All the goodness or beauty that man meets in the life around him proceeds from God. Yet man is blind and will not understand. (10:21-40)
Running After the Ephemeral [10:21-40] The good, the beautiful, and the useful in man's life are derived from God; yet man is ungrateful. He runs after the ephemeral things of this life; yet they are no better than the green of the fields, that lasts for a season before it perish! God's call is to an eternal Home of Peace. Will ye not answer it? Know ye not that it is He Who sustains and cherishes? No partner has He. And He speaks to His creatures and guides them through His wonderful Book unmatched.3- As all things and beings proceed from God, so will they return to Him, and He is ever true. Why then does ungrateful man make untrue phantoms for himself instead of rejoicing in the good news which He sends? (10:41-70)
Shutting Out the Truth [10:41-70] Men but wrong their own souls in shutting out the truth of God. To Him will be their return. They have been warned at all times and among all peoples by chosen Prophets of God, whom they have flouted. The Day will come when they will see the majesty, the glory, the goodness, and the justice of God. But they invent fancies and falsehoods. Let not their blasphemies and falsehoods grieve the men of God: for falsehoods and false ones will never prosper.4- God revealed Himself through Noah, but Noah's people rejected him and perished. He spoke through Moses to Pharaoh, but Pharaoh was stiff-necked and arrogant, and when he repented at all, it was too late. (10:71-92)
Falsehood & Pride [10:71-92] God works in His world -- in mercy for His servants, and in just punishment for those who do wrong. Thus was it in Noah's story, for he worked unselfishly for his people, though rejected by them. So was it with Moses: he preached to Pharaoh and the Egyptians; but most of them preferred falsehood and pride to the Truth of God, and perished. Even Pharaoh's confession of God at the last was too late, as his life had been spent in luxury, pride, and oppression.5- Everywhere want of faith causes people to perish. But the people of Yunus repented, and God saved them by His wonderful grace. So God will deliver the Believers. When the Truth comes from God, follow it and be patient, for God is the most righteous of Judges. (10:93-109)
A New Lease on Life [10:93-109] God's purpose of Mercy and Forgiveness was shown in the mission of Jonah, when Nineveh was pardoned on repentance, and given a new lease of life. We must be patient and strive with constancy and perseverance, for all suffering and sorrow as well as all bounties proceed from God, Whose plan is righteous and for the good of His creatures.