92- Surat Al-Lail/Tafseer
21 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi Ellahi Alrhmani Alraheem
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Wa al-laili iza yaghsha (1).
By the night when it covers.
Wa al-nahari iza tajalla (2).
And by the day when it appears.
Wa ma khalaqa alzakara wal-auntha (3).
And by He who created the male and the female.
Inna sa'yakum la-shatta (4).
Indeed, your efforts are diverse.
Fa-amma man a'tta wa-ttaqa (5).
As for the one who gives and fears.
Wa saddaqa bil-husna (6).
And believes in the best.
Fasa-nuyassiruhu lil-yousra (7).
We will ease him towards the ease.
Wa-amma man bakhela wa-staghna (8).
But as for the one who is stingy, and sees himself self-sufficient.
Wa kazzaba bil-husna (9).
And denies the best.
Fasa-nuyassiruhu lil-ausra (10).
We will ease him to the hardship.
Wa ma youghni anhu maluhu iza taradda (11).
His wealth will not avail him when he falls.
Inna alaiyna lal-huda (12).
Indeed, upon Us is the guidance.
Wa inna lana lal-akherata wal-aula (13).
And indeed, to Us belongs the Hereafter and the first.
Fa-anzartukum naran talazza (14).
So, I have warned you of a blazing Fire.
La yaslaha illa al-ashqa (15).
None will burn therein but the most wretched one.
Allazi kazzaba wa tawalla (16).
The one who denied and turned away.
Wa sa-youjannabuha al-atqa (17).
And the most righteous one will avoid it.
Allazi you'tee malahu yatazakka (18).
He who gives his wealth to purify himself.
Wa ma le-ahadin endahu men ne'matin tugza (19).
And no one has any favor upon him for which he would reward him.
Ella ebtigha-a wajhi Rabbihi al-a'la (20).
Except seeking the countenance of his Lord, the Most High.
Wala-sawfa yarda (21).
And he will be satisfied.
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Al-Lail presents two different endeavors of man in the worldly life, the first of which is the effort of those who spend in the way of Allah, seeking the countenance of their Lord, and the second are those who have been deluded by the worldly life, and do not believe in the day of resurrection. Surat Al-Lail is one of the four Surahs that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) commanded Mu'adh bin Jabal to recite when he leads people in the prayer (Imam) in order not to prolong the prayer, as Jabir bin Abdullah reported: "Mu'adh bin Jabal Al-Ansari led his companions in Ishaa prayer (Evening prayer) and prolonged it for them. A person separated himself from us and prayed alone, Mu'adh was informed of this, and he remarked that he was a hypocrite, when his saying was conveyed to the man, he went to Allah's Messenger (PBUH) and informed Him of what Mu'adh had said, upon this Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said to him Do you want to be a person putting people to trial?, when you lead people in prayer Recite {Wa alshamsi wa duhaha: By the sun and its brightness, Surat Alshams}, {Sabehi esma Rabbika al-a'la: Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High, Surat Al-A'la}, {Eqra'a besmi Rabbika allazi khalaq: Read in the Name of Your Lord who created, Surat Al-Alaq}, and {Wa al-laili iza yaghsha: By the night when it covers, the current Surah}" (Sahih Muslim 465 b).
Allah swears in the first three verses by three oaths and says "By the night when it covers, and by the day when it appears, and by He who created the male and the female", where Allah swears with the night and the day, and the male and the female, and these oaths came to show a fact of man's endeavor in the worldly life in the fourth verse "Indeed, your efforts are diverse". It is as if Allah says as your day is divided into night and day, and you are divided into male and female, likewise, man's endeavor in the worldly life is divided into the team of ease, and the team of hardship as will come later.
The verses 5 up to 10 describe the two efforts of man, and they are divided into the team of ease (the happy), and the team of hardship (the miserable), and as narrated by Ali, may Allah be blessed with him: "While we were in a funeral procession in Baqi' Algharqad, Allah's Messenger (PBUH) came and sat down, and we sat around Him, He has a small stick in His hand, and He bent His head and started scraping the ground with it, He then said there is none among you, and no created soul but has his place written for him either in paradise or in Hellfire, and also has his happy or miserable fate (in the Hereafter) written for him, a man said O Allah's Messenger! Shall we depend upon what is written for us and give up doing good deeds?, for whoever among us is destined to be fortunate (in the Hereafter), will join the fortunate people and whoever among us is destined to be miserable will do such deeds as are characteristic of the people who are destined to misery, the Prophet said those who are destined to be happy will find it easy and pleasant to do the deeds that are characteristic of those destined to happiness, while those who are to be among the miserable will find it easy to do the deeds that are characteristic of those destined to misery", then He recited As for the one who gives and fears, and believes in the best" (Sahih Albukhari 4948).
The first team is the happy ones, and they have three good characteristics, as they spend in the way of Allah and give what Allah commanded them to give, and they fear Allah and fear His punishment if they disobeyed Him, and they believe in the best, so they believe in their reward with their Lord, and it was said that the best (Alhusna) refers to Paradise as Alhusna is one of its names. And Allah will decree His mercy for those who fear Him, and give Zakat, and those who believe in His verses, as mentioned in Aya (156) of Surat Ala'raf .
So Allah will ease them towards the ease, so they will find it easy and pleasant to do the deeds characteristic of those destined to happiness, and then their reward will be as Allah says in Surat Yunus Aya (26) {For those who do good is the best and more}.
But as for the second team, they are the miserable and they have three evil characteristic, as they are niggardly, they see themselves self-sufficient, and they deny the best, so they are stingy with their wealth and considers themselves to be in no need of their Lord, and they deny their reward with their Lord or deny the existence of Paradise, as the best (Alhusna) is one of its names. So Allah will guide them to the extreme hardship, and they will find it easy to do the deeds of those destined to misery.
The wealth of the miserable ones will not avail them when they fall in Hellfire, for Allah says in Aya (38) of Surat Muhammad {Here you are, those who are called to spend in the way of Allah, but some of you are stingy, and whoever is stingy, then He only is stingy to himself, and Allah is Free of need, while you are the needy}.
Then Allah says Indeed, upon Us is the guidance, so Allah shows the way of guidance and the way of misguidance, and man has to decide which way to take, and Allah will make it easy to do the deeds of the happy or of the wretched, for Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Dharr Alghifarri that Allah says in the Hadith Qudsi: "O My servant, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you" (Sahih Muslim 2577).
And as Allah eases the path of man in the worldly life, the reward in the Hereafter will be according to the path he has chosen, thereupon, the fate in the worldly life and in the hereafter is with Allah alone, so Allah says in the thirteenth verse that to Him belongs the Hereafter and the first life, then Allah warns against the flaming fire on the day of resurrection in the next verse (14).
The blazing fire will be for the most wretched one, and it will burn him for he denied the verses of his Lord, and turned away, and did not believe in them (Ayat 15,16). But the most righteous one will avoid it, for he gives his wealth to purify himself, while no one has conferred any favor upon him for which he would reward him, he gives his wealth without any purpose or any benefit except seeking the countenance of Allah and drawing closer to Him, the Most High (Ayat 17-20), And it was said that the most righteous refers to Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, as He used to spend His wealth in the way of Allah.
The last verse is a glad tiding for the one who spends his wealth in the way of Allah, as Allah assures that he will be satisfied, and his reward will be in the worldly life and in the hereafter. As for the worldly life, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "Every day two Angels come down from Heaven and one of them says: O Allah! Compensate every person who spends in Your cause, and the other Angel says: O Allah! Destroy every miser" (Sahih Albukhari 1442), and Allah's Messenger (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Hurayrah that Allah says in the Hadith Qudsi: "O son of Adam! Spend (on charity), and I shall spend on you" (Sahih Albukhari 5352). And as for the Hereafter, spending in the way of Allah will save man from Hellfire and the Prophet (PBUH0 said in narration of Adi Bin Hatim: "Save yourself from Hellfire even by giving half a date-fruit in charity" (Sahih Albukhari 1417).