Az-Zukhruf ("Ornaments of Gold, Luxury") is the 43rd chapter It contains 89 verses
Named after the golden ornaments recognized in verse 35 and again in verse 53, this surah dates back to the Second Meccan Period before the Prophet Muhammad’s migration to Medina.
Ornaments of Gold is a Surah that acts as a reminder to believers that the goodness of God cannot be found within wealth and material power. The surah rejects the claim of disbelievers that prophets, leaders and worthy figures should be marked by their riches and thereby empowers them to refrain from temptations, indulgences and distractions. The surah warns disbelievers who succumb to the “mere enjoyments of this life” (Q43:17) [4] of a terrible and tormented afterlife and it encourages believers to relish not in riches but in their faith and love of God. The surah also repeatedly addresses the fact that the angels are not God's daughters but his faithful servants (Q43:19).[5] The possibility of Jesus being the literal son of God is also rejected within verses 63-64.[6]
Summary
- 1-3 The Arabic Quran copied from a divine original
- 4-7 Former nations, like the Quraish, rejected the prophets
- 8-14 Idolaters acknowledge God to be creator, yet worship the creature
- 15-18 The Arabs hate female offspring, and yet attribute such to God
- 19-24 Idolaters vainly excuse their unbelief by saying they will follow the religion of their fathers
- 25-27 Abraham rejected the idolatry of his fathers
- 28-29 God prospered the idolatrous Quraish until a prophet came, and now they reject him
- 30-31 The unbelievers rebuked for saying they would have received the Quran from some great man
- 32-34 Poverty only permitted to save men from idolatry
- 35-38 Devils are constituted the companions of infidels, who lead them to destruction
- 39-44 Muhammad exhorted to remain steadfast in faith notwithstanding the unbelief of his countrymen
- 45-56 Moses rejected with contempt by Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who were drowned
- 57-58 The Arab idolaters justified their idolatry by reference to the Christian worship of Jesus
- 59-64 But Jesus did not say he was a god, but was a servant and a prophet of God
- 65-67 Unbelievers warned of approaching judgment
- 68-73 The joys of Paradise reserved for Muslims and their wives
- 74-78 The damned shall vainly seek relief in annihilation
- 79-80 Angels record the secret plottings of infidels
- 81-82 If God had a son, Muhammad would be the first to worship him
- 83-87 God knoweth the folly of idolaters
- 88-89 Muhammad commanded to turn aside from the unbelieving Quraish
The Ornaments of Gold ends with a flourish of praise and exaltations of God. “He who is God in heaven and God on Earth; He is the All Wise, the All Knowing”