Surah Quraysh

About Surah Quraysh

Named after the tribe that held Makkah and its sanctuary, this is one of the few surahs titled after a people rather than a subject or a word from its imagery. It is short enough, and close enough in theme, that a number of early scholars read it as continuing directly from Al-Fil: the House was protected, and because it was protected the tribe living around it could trade in safety. Quraysh were merchants, and safety on the roads was the entire basis of what they had.

The four ayahs name the two great journeys, the caravan of winter and the caravan of summer (106:2), usually understood as the runs south towards Yemen and north towards Syria. Then comes the conclusion drawn from them: let them worship the Lord of this House (106:3), the One who fed them against hunger and secured them against fear (106:4). The reasoning is commercial before it is theological. It does not open with a proof of God's existence. It opens with a ledger the audience already kept and asks where the entries on it came from.