Special features of the Surah
There is consensus among the commentators that this Surah was revealed in Makkah. However, Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ and Qatadah ؓ contend that three of its verses are Madani and rest of the Surah is Makkan. Yet Qurtubi and a few others maintain that the Surah itself is Madani and only a few verses are Makkan.
The gist of the subject matter of the Surah is to describe and define the greatness of the Holy Qur'an and the truth of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، to which there were doubts expressed by the unbelievers. The Surah contains answers to their objections.
Commentary
تَبَارَكَ (25:1) is derived from بَرَکَہ ، meaning abundance of a good thing. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ` e' ' has explained that the meaning of the first verse is that all blessings are from Allah alone. فُرْقَانَ (Furgan, translated above as 'criterion' )is a title of the Qur'an and its meaning is to distinguish. The Holy Qur'an by its very nature distinguishes between right and wrong, and differentiates, through miracles between the right people and the wrong ones, hence it is called as Furqan.
لِلْعَالَمِينَ (warner to the worlds - 25:1). This proves that the Holy Prophet ﷺ prophethood was for the entire universe and not just for a certain community or time, as was the case with other prophets. In a Hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has pointed out six special features about his prophethood. One of the special features is the universality of his prophethood i.e. it is for all ages and all people.