89- Surat Alfajr/Tafseer
30 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)
A'auzu Bellahi mena ash-shytani ar-rajim
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Bismi Ellahi Ar-rhmani Ar-rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Wa-alfajr (1).
By the dawn.
Wa-layalin ashr (2).
And by the ten nights.
Wa-alshaf'e wa-alwatr (3).
And by the even and the odd.
Wa al-laili iza yasr (4).
And by the night when it passes.
Hal fee zaleka qasamun lezi hejr (5).
Is there in that an oath for a man of sense?
Alam tara kayfa fa-ala Rabbuka be-ad (6).
Did not you see how Your Lord dealt with Ad?.
Erama zati alemad (7).
Of Iram, who had lofty pillars.
Allati lam yukhlaq methluha fee albilad (8).
The like of whom had never been created in the lands.
Wa thamuda allazina jabu alsakhra bel-wad (9).
And Thamud, who carved out the rocks in the valley.
Wa fer-awna zee al-awtad (10).
And Pharaoh, owner of the stakes.
Allazina taghaww fee albelad (11).
All of whom oppressed in the lands.
Fa aktharu feeha alfasad (12).
And increased therein the corruption.
Fa sabba alayhim Rabbuka sawta azab (13).
So Your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment.
Inna Rabbaka la-bil-mersad (14).
Indeed, Your Lord is in observation.
Fa-amma alinsanu iza ma-btalahu Rabbuhu fa-akramahu wa na'amahu fa-yaqulu Rabbi akraman (15).
And as for man, when His Lord tests him, and honors and favors him, he says my Lord has honored me.
Wa-amma iza ma-btalahu faqadara alayhi rezqahu fa-yaqulu Rabbi ahanan (16).
But when He tests him, and restricts his provision, he says my Lord has humiliated me.
Kalla bal la tukremuna alyateem (17).
Nay! But you do not honor the orphan.
Wa la tahadduna ala ta-amee almiskeen (18).
And you do not encourage one another to feed the needy.
Wa ta'kuluna alturatha aklan lamma (19).
And you devour the inheritance, devouring it altogether.
Wa tuhebbuna almala hubban jamma (20).
And you love wealth with immense love.
Kalla iza dukkati alardu dakkan dakka (21).
Nay! When the earth has been crushed, complete crushing.
Wa ja-a Rabbuka wa almalaku saffan saffa (22).
And Your Lord has come, and the Angels rank upon rank.
Wa jee'a yawma-izin be-jahannama, yawma-izin ytazakkaru alinsanu wa anna lahu alzekra (23).
That day Hellfire will be brought, that day man will remember, but what good to him will be the remembrance?.
Yaqulu ya-laytani qaddamtu le-hayati (24).
He will say O! I wish I had sent forth for my life.
Fa yawma-izin la you-azzebu azabahu ahad (25).
So on that day, none will punish as His punishment.
Wa-la youthequ wathaqahu ahad (26).
And none will bind as His binding.
Ya-ayyatuha alnafsu almutma-ennah (27).
O reassured soul.
Erje-e ela Rabbiki radiyatan mardiyyah (28).
Return to Your Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing.
Fa-dkhuli fee ebadi (29).
And Enter among My servants.
Wa-dkhuli jannati (30).
And Enter My paradise.
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Alfajr begins with five oaths, and Allah swears by them for what they have of superiority over other things, where He swears by Alfajr, and the ten nights, and Alshaf' and alwatr, and the night when it passes. But there is a great controversy between the commentators in determining what the ten nights is, and according to it they determined the other four oaths.
Allah Almighty says in the first four verses (1-4) "By the dawn, and by the ten nights, and by the even and the odd, and by the night when it passes", that is, Allah swears by Alfajr prayer (the Dawn), then swears by the first ten nights of the month of Zul-Hijjah, which include the day of Arafah (the ninth day), and Allah's Messenger, Muhammad (PBUH), said about them in narration of Ibn Abbas: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these days", Then Allah swears by the even (Shaf') and the odd (Witr), and it was said that they refer to the prayers in general, or the night prayer in particular, as Nafi' reported that Ibn Umar said: "While the Prophet (PBUH) was on the pulpit, a man asked Him how to offer the night prayer, He (PBUH) replied Pray two Rak'ahs at a time, and then two, and so on, and if one fears the approach of Fajr, Pray one Rak'ahs, and that will be the Witr of all the Rak'ahs which he has offered, Ibn Umar added, the last Rak'ah of the night prayer should be Witr (Odd), for the Prophet (PBUH) ordered it to be so" (Sahih Albukhari 472). Then Allah swears by the night when it moves away.
Allah says in the next verse (5) "Is there in that an oath for a man of sense?", that is, Allah assures that these oaths are sufficient for he who has a mind, because his mind will prevent him from committing sins that deserve the painful torment that Allah has inflicted on the previous nations.
Allah Almighty says in the next three verses (6-8) "Did not You see how Your Lord dealt with Ad?, of Iram, who had lofty pillars, the like of whom had never been created in the lands", that is, Ad was the people of the Prophet Hud, peace be upon Him, and they are possessors of lofty pillars, and the like of whom had never been created in the lands, as Allah says Aya (15) of Surat Fussilat {Then as for Ad they were arrogant in the earth without right and they said who is greater than us in might?}.
Allah Almighty says in the next verse (9) "And Thamud, who carved out the rocks in the valley", that is, Thamud was the people of the Prophet Salih, they carved out the rocks in the valley, and they used that rocks for building their homes, as Allah says in Aya (74) of Surat Ala'araf {And carve from the mountains houses},And carve from the mountains homes", and Allah says in Aya (17) of Surat Fussilat {And as for Thamud, We guided them but they preferred the blindness over the guidance}.
Allah Almighty says in the next three verses (9-11) "And Pharaoh, owner of the stakes, all of whom oppressed in the lands, and increased therein the corruption", that is, the people of Pharaoh were tyrants and they transgressed in the lands, and afflicted the children of Israel with the worst torment. Pharaoh was the most tyrant and the most arrogant and he said to his people {I am your lord, the most high} as mentioned in Aya (24) of Surat Alnazi'at.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (12,13) "So Your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment, indeed, Your Lord is in observation.", that is, Allah punished Ad, Thamud, and the people of Pharaoh with various kinds of punishment, as for Ad, they were destroyed by screaming violent wind (SuratAlhaqqah Aya 6), as for Thamud, they were destroyed by overpowering blast (Surat Alhaqqah Aya 6), and as for the Pharaoh and his soldiers, Allah drowned them in the sea (Surat Alqasas Aya 40). And Allah monitors His creation in what they do, and He will reward each of them for his efforts in the worldly life, and in the hereafter.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (15,16) "And as for man, when His Lord tests him, and honors and favors him, he says my Lord has honored me, But when He tests him, and restricts his provision, he says my Lord has humiliated me", that is, then Allah tells about a false belief of man about, as man thinks that his provision is an honor from Allah, and when Allah straitens his provision, he thinks that Allah humiliated him, but in fact, it is nothing but a test from Allah for man, and then the truthful will be distinguished from the liar. The provision is a source of arrogance and tyranny for some people, as Allah says in Aya (27) of Surat Alshura {And if Allah extended the provision for his servants, they would have transgressed on the earth, but He sends down what He wills in measure, indeed, He is of His servants All-Aware, All-Seeing}, therefore, preventing a person from obtaining provision is better for him, and Allah does not humiliate him as he thinks.
Allah Almighty says in the next four verses (17-20) "Nay! But you do not honor the orphan, and you do not encourage one another to feed the needy, and you devour the inheritance, devouring it altogether, and you love wealth with immense love", that is, Allah shows four forms of mankind's transgression, which are related to provision, the first is that they do not do good to the orphans, who have no means of earning a living and whose fathers have died while they are weak and young, before reaching puberty and being able to earn a living, as Ali bin Abi Talib reported: "I memorized from Allah's Messenger (PBUH) that there is no orphanhood after puberty, and there is no silence for the whole day till the night" (Sunan Abi Dawood 2873), and they did they do good to the needy, and did not urge people to feed them, and the needy are those who do not find enough food, clothing, or a shelter, but they do not ask the people anything despite their intense need, so they are given what will meet their needs, and Allah's Messenger said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "The needy is not the one who asks a morsel or two from the others, but the needy is the one who has nothing and is shamed to beg from people" (Sahih Albukhari 1476).
The third transgression is that they devour the inheritance, eating it altogether, and they do not care if it is their right or the right of others, and Allah commanded people not to eat up each others property by false means in many verses of the Holy Quran e.g. Surat Albaqarah Aya 188, Surat Alnisa' Ayat 10,29. Whereas the fourth transgression is that man loves wealth, immense love, and he does not spend in the way of Allah, and Allah threatens those who do not spend in His way with a painful torment as mentioned in Aya (34) of Surat Altawbah {and those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in the way of Allah, Give them tidings of a painful punishment}.
Allah Almighty says in the next four verses (21-24) "Nay! When the earth has been crushed, complete crushing, and Your Lord has come, and the Angels rank upon rank, that day Hellfire will be brought, that day man will remember, but what good to him will be the remembrance?, he will say O! I wish I had sent forth for my life", that is, Allah describes some scenes of the day of resurrection, as the earth will be crushed into pieces and it will be leveled, then Allah will come to judge between His creation, and the Angels will come in rows by rows, and Hellfire will be brought, and the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said in narration of Ibn Mas'ud: "Hellfire be brought on that day with seventy thousand reins, with each rein seventy thousand Angels dragging it" (Sahih Muslim 2842). And then man will remember what he did in his life, but the remembrance will not benefit him that day, and he will wish that he had sent forth some righteous deeds in order to save him from Hellfire.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (21-24) "So on that day, none will punish as His punishment, and none will bind as His binding", that is, on the day of resurrection, none will punish as Allah's punishment for the infidels, and none will cuff as Allah's shackling, and none will be more cruel than the Angels of Hell to those who disbelief in their Lord, and Allah described them in Aya (6) of Surat Altahrim saying {O you who believed! Save yourselves, and your families from a fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are Angels, harsh and severe, who never disobey Allah in what He commanded them, but they do what they are commanded}.
Allah Almighty says in the next four verses (21-24) "O reassured soul, Return to Your Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing, and Enter among My servants, and Enter My paradise", that is, Allah gives glad tiding to those who are reassured by faith in Allah, and believe His Messenger and His Books, and believe in the day of resurrection, so they obey Allah in what He has commanded, and avoid what He has forbidden, saying that it will be said to them on the day of resurrection O reassured soul, Return to Your Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing, and Enter among My servants, and Enter My paradise, so they will enter Paradise on the day of resurrection, and they will be pleased with Allah and Allah will be pleased with them as Allah says on Aya (8) of Surat Albayyinah{ Their reward with their Lord is gardens of Eden beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever, Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him, that is for whoever has feared his Lord}.