Surah 61
Surah As-Saf (The Ranks)
الصف
Also written: Saff
Surah As-Saf (الصف) is surah 61 of the 114 surahs of the Quran. It has 14 ayahs, was revealed in Medina (Medinan), and its name means “The Ranks”.
- Number
- 61
- Ayahs
- 14
- Revelation
- Medinan
- Meaning
- The Ranks
Names, meaning and Meccan/Medinan classification as listed in the quran-json dataset.
About Surah As-Saf
As-Saf, “The Ranks”, is a short Medinan surah that challenges believers to match their words with their actions and praises those who stand together in God’s cause like a solid, joined structure. It recalls Moses and Jesus, affirms that God will complete His light, and offers a “transaction” that leads to forgiveness and Paradise.
Main themes
- Saying what you do not do (61:2–3): a direct rebuke — it is greatly hateful to God that people say what they do not act on.
- The ranks (61:4): God loves those who strive in His cause in ranks, as if they were a building whose bricks are firmly joined. The surah takes its name from this image.
- Moses and Jesus (61:5–6): Moses asks his people why they hurt him; Jesus tells the Children of Israel he confirms the Torah and brings good news of a messenger to come after him, named Ahmad — a name of the Prophet Muhammad.
- God’s light (61:8–9): those who want to put out God’s light with their mouths will not succeed.
- The best transaction (61:10–13): faith in God and His Messenger and striving with wealth and self, rewarded with forgiveness, gardens and a near victory.
The closing call
The last verse (61:14) asks believers to be “helpers of God”, just as the disciples of Jesus answered his call. A narration in at-Tirmidhi, reported by Abdullah ibn Salam, says a group of companions wished to know which deed God loves most, and the Prophet recited this surah to them from beginning to end; many scholars accept this report as authentic.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does the Quran mention the name Ahmad?
- In Surah As-Saf, verse 6, where Jesus gives good news of a messenger to come after him named Ahmad.
- Why is it called As-Saf?
- After verse 4, which praises those who stand in God's cause in ranks like a firmly joined structure.
- How many verses are in Surah As-Saf?
- 14.
- How many ayahs are in Surah As-Saf?
- Surah As-Saf has 14 ayahs. It is surah number 61 in the Quran and is Medinan.
- Can I read Surah As-Saf in English or save it as a PDF?
- Yes. This page shows the Arabic text of every ayah with the Saheeh International English meaning under it. Use “Print / Save as PDF” for a clean printable copy that you can save as a PDF file from your browser.
- Is Surah As-Saf the same as Surah Saff?
- Yes. Saff and As-Saf are different English spellings of the same surah name, الصف.
Summaries describe the surah’s content and commonly cited reports for general readers; they are not a tafsir or a religious ruling.
Making a video of Surah As-Saf
Surah As-Saf has 14 ayahs, so most videos use a passage from it rather than the whole surah. Choose the ayahs you want on the new-project page; one to five ayahs suit a Reel or Short, while longer passages work better in 16:9 for YouTube.
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Surah As-Saf in Arabic with English meaning
Arabic: Uthmani script from The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia (quranenc.com), Uthmani script, via quran-json (CC-BY-SA 4.0), shown as in the verified dataset; open-tanween marks use the equivalent codepoints this font draws, as in the editor. English meaning: Saheeh International (tanzil.net). A translation conveys the meaning; it is not the Quran itself.
سَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِۖ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ ١
61:1Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth exalts Allah, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفۡعَلُونَ ٢
61:2O you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do
كَبُرَ مَقۡتًا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُواْ مَا لَا تَفۡعَلُونَ ٣
61:3Great is hatred in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقَٰتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِهِۦ صَفࣰّا كَأَنَّهُم بُنۡيَٰنࣱ مَّرۡصُوصࣱ ٤
61:4Indeed, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in a row as though they are a [single] structure joined firmly
وَإِذۡ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوۡمِهِۦ يَٰقَوۡمِ لِمَ تُؤۡذُونَنِي وَقَد تَّعۡلَمُونَ أَنِّي رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيۡكُمۡۖ فَلَمَّا زَاغُوٓاْ أَزَاغَ ٱللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمۡۚ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهۡدِي ٱلۡقَوۡمَ ٱلۡفَٰسِقِينَ ٥
61:5And [mention, O Muhammad], when Moses said to his people, "O my people, why do you harm me while you certainly know that I am the messenger of Allah to you?" And when they deviated, Allah caused their hearts to deviate. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people
وَإِذۡ قَالَ عِيسَى ٱبۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ يَٰبَنِيٓ إِسۡرَـٰٓءِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيۡكُم مُّصَدِّقࣰا لِّمَا بَيۡنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةِ وَمُبَشِّرَۢا بِرَسُولࣲ يَأۡتِي مِنۢ بَعۡدِي ٱسۡمُهُۥٓ أَحۡمَدُۖ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم بِٱلۡبَيِّنَٰتِ قَالُواْ هَٰذَا سِحۡرࣱ مُّبِينࣱ ٦
61:6And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad." But when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, "This is obvious magic
وَمَنۡ أَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفۡتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلۡكَذِبَ وَهُوَ يُدۡعَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلۡإِسۡلَٰمِۚ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهۡدِي ٱلۡقَوۡمَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ ٧
61:7And who is more unjust than one who invents about Allah untruth while he is being invited to Islam. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people
يُرِيدُونَ لِيُطۡفِـُٔواْ نُورَ ٱللَّهِ بِأَفۡوَٰهِهِمۡ وَٱللَّهُ مُتِمُّ نُورِهِۦ وَلَوۡ كَرِهَ ٱلۡكَٰفِرُونَ ٨
61:8They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it
هُوَ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَرۡسَلَ رَسُولَهُۥ بِٱلۡهُدَىٰ وَدِينِ ٱلۡحَقِّ لِيُظۡهِرَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلدِّينِ كُلِّهِۦ وَلَوۡ كَرِهَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكُونَ ٩
61:9It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although those who associate others with Allah dislike it
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ هَلۡ أَدُلُّكُمۡ عَلَىٰ تِجَٰرَةࣲ تُنجِيكُم مِّنۡ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمࣲ ١٠
61:10O you who have believed, shall I guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment
تُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَتُجَٰهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ بِأَمۡوَٰلِكُمۡ وَأَنفُسِكُمۡۚ ذَٰلِكُمۡ خَيۡرࣱ لَّكُمۡ إِن كُنتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُونَ ١١
61:11[It is that] you believe in Allah and His Messenger and strive in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives. That is best for you, if you should know
يَغۡفِرۡ لَكُمۡ ذُنُوبَكُمۡ وَيُدۡخِلۡكُمۡ جَنَّـٰتࣲ تَجۡرِي مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُ وَمَسَٰكِنَ طَيِّبَةࣰ فِي جَنَّـٰتِ عَدۡنࣲۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلۡفَوۡزُ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ ١٢
61:12He will forgive for you your sins and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence. That is the great attainment
وَأُخۡرَىٰ تُحِبُّونَهَاۖ نَصۡرࣱ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَفَتۡحࣱ قَرِيبࣱۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ ١٣
61:13And [you will obtain] another [favor] that you love - victory from Allah and an imminent conquest; and give good tidings to the believers
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُونُوٓاْ أَنصَارَ ٱللَّهِ كَمَا قَالَ عِيسَى ٱبۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ لِلۡحَوَارِيِّـۧنَ مَنۡ أَنصَارِيٓ إِلَى ٱللَّهِۖ قَالَ ٱلۡحَوَارِيُّونَ نَحۡنُ أَنصَارُ ٱللَّهِۖ فَـَٔامَنَت طَّآئِفَةࣱ مِّنۢ بَنِيٓ إِسۡرَـٰٓءِيلَ وَكَفَرَت طَّآئِفَةࣱۖ فَأَيَّدۡنَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ عَلَىٰ عَدُوِّهِمۡ فَأَصۡبَحُواْ ظَٰهِرِينَ ١٤
61:14O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah, as when Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the disciples, "Who are my supporters for Allah?" The disciples said, "We are supporters of Allah." And a faction of the Children of Israel believed and a faction disbelieved. So We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they became dominant