Central Theme and Relationship with Preceding and Succeeding
Sūrahs
This sūrah along with the succeeding one: Alam Nashrah form
a pair. In both these sūrahs, the Prophet (sws) is assured that he will succeed
in the mission he has been entrusted with by the Almighty. All the hardships he
is now facing will come to an end. This subject is also discussed in previous
sūrahs. However, it is discussed in a subsidiary manner. In these sūrahs, it is
discussed as the primary subject. It is as if in the backdrop of both these
sūrahs, all the phases of his life are brought before him. The style of
assurance adopted in both sūrahs reflect their period of revelation. It is
evident from Sūrah Duhā that it was revealed in that part of the Makkan period
in which the Prophet (sws) was facing intense opposition; so intense was it that
he became dejected at not seeing room for any progress of his mission; on the
other hand, it is evident from Sūrah Alam Nashrah that it was revealed in the
period when in spite of strong opposition some signs of success had started to
manifest.
Analysis of the Sūrah
Following is the sequence of the discourse of the sūrah:
Initially, signs in the world around man are cited to show
that just as for the material development of this world, the heat and light of
the day are needed and so are the coldness and darkness of the night similarly,
for the development of hidden potentials in a person, it is essential to make
him pass through both ease and difficulty and sorrow and happiness. People who
understand the importance of such trials for their training and instruction and
also benefit from them, develop their latent qualities through them and those
who do not know how to come to grips with such circumstances or because of their
feeble and frail nature do not take advantage of these circumstances which have
been destined for them deprive themselves of this high place which no one can
achieve unless he passes this test.
After a delineation of this principle, the Prophet (sws) is
addressed and given assurance that the trial he is passing through is not
because Almighty has no concern for him or because He is angry with him. It is
part of the greater trial which is essential for the moral development of a
person.
He is then given glad tidings of the fact that the period
through which he is currently passing is a prelude to better times in which His
gracious Lord will bless him with success which will make him happy.
After this, an indication is made of some of the phases of
his life which occurred before prophethood or occurred in its beginning which
were apparently tough and from which the Almighty led him out. Such was this
divine help that the whole world became accessible to him and he was also
blessed spiritually.
At the end, he is guided to fulfill the obligations towards
these favours bestowed on him. This is also a passing comment on people who have
been mentioned in previous sūrahs who after being blessed with favours became
proud and usurped the rights of God’s creatures.
Text and Translation
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَاَن الرَحِيِم
وَالضُّحَى (١)
وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى (٢)
مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَى (٣)
وَلَلْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنْ الْأُولَى (٤)
وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى (٥)
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَى (٦)
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى (٧)
وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَى (٨)
فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ (٩)
وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ (١٠)
وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ (١١)
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful.
The time of mid-morning bears witness and the night when it
becomes still that your Lord has not abandoned you nor is He displeased with
you, and the coming period shall be better for you than the previous one. And
your Lord will give you such that you shall be pleased. (1-5)
Did He not find you an orphan and gave you shelter? And
found you wandering and guided you? And found you in need and enriched you?
(6-8)
So, be not unjust to the orphan and scold not the one who
asks and proclaim the favour of your Lord. (9-11)
Explanation
وَالضُّحَى
وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى (١-٢)
(The time of mid-morning bears witness and the night when it
becomes still.)
الضُّحَى refers to the time of
mid-morning when people begin their daily routines and after resting the whole
night start their day with a new vigour.
The Qur’ān has presented the night as an evidence on
various aspects depending upon the context, as is evident from this tafsīr. Here
the words إِذَا سَجَى qualify it. The word
سَجَى means “to become stationary” and “to come to a
standstill”. This shows that that part of the night is implied here which
becomes still and silent from the noise and clatter of the day and of the early
part of the night and is able to provide comfort to man. In other words, in
contrast to the part of the day which is referred to by the word
الضُّحَى, the words وَاللَّيْلِ
إِذَا سَجَى refer to the corresponding part of the night.
A little deliberation shows that the day and the night are
totally different from one another with regard to their outlook, nature and the
effects they produce; however, despite this difference, man needs both, and this
world, in its collective capacity, also needs both the night and the day for its
sustenance. It is God’s great mercy that He created the night with the day and
the day with the night, and both work in compliment with each other to keep this
world in existence. The Qur’ān has referred to this complimentary nature of day
and night at various instances:
هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُواْ فِيهِ
وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا (٦٧:١٠)
He it is who has made the night dark for you so that you
can receive comfort in it and made the day bright. (10:67)
وَمِن رَّحْمَتِهِ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ
لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ (٧٣:٢٨)
And of His mercy is that He has made the night and day
so that you can receive comfort in the night and seek His bounty in the day so
that you become grateful [to Him]. (28:73)
مَا وَدَّعَكَ
رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَى (٣)
(That your Lord has not abandoned you nor is he displeased with
you.)
It is to validate this premise that oaths are sworn by
various phenomena of the physical world in the previous verses. The implication
is that just as in this world the heat and light of the sun are essential and so
are the darkness and stillness of the night, in a similar manner, the trials of
happiness and sorrow, ease and difficulty, affluence and poverty are essential
for the spiritual and moral development of man. It is through these
circumstances that the Almighty tests a person whether he becomes thankful in
hard times and patient in bad ones. In other words, the Prophet (sws) is assured
that if at that time he was facing stiff opposition and had little following and
meager resources and divine guidance and revelation were also not to his
satisfaction, then this does not mean that his Lord had abandoned him or was
displeased with him: these circumstances are a trial and test to train and
instruct him in order to fully prepare him to bear his responsibilities.
All this content which is sounding assurance to the Prophet
(sws) is implied in this verse. This content is also evident from the previous
verse and the succeeding ones as well as the next sūrah also. However, to give
due consideration to brevity, in the compliment of oath (muqsam ‘alayh) only
that part of the assurance has found mention which the Prophet (sws) needed the
most at that time: he has been assured that the circumstances he was facing at
that time do no relate to the fact that the Almighty had become indifferent to
him or was unhappy with him. He was facing these trying circumstances in
accordance with the practice and law of the Almighty regarding training and
instruction.
It should be kept in consideration that in the Makkan
period, when the opposition from the Quraysh became pronounced, the Prophet (sws)
became worried that perhaps some of his own errors or strategic mistakes might
have caused this augmentation in their animosity. This might have made the
Almighty angry as a result and he was facing these trying circumstances as a
wrath of God. This feeling of course was very burdensome as is evident from the
following verse of the next sūrah: وَوَضَعْنَا عَنكَ وِزْرَكَ
الَّذِي أَنقَضَ ظَهْرَكَ
٩٤:
٢-٣) ) (and relieved you of the burden which
weighed your back? (94:2-3))
Quite naturally, he would wait anxiously for divine
revelation in this state of worry because it was the only thing which could show
him light and it was through it that he could estimate whether he was fulfilling
his obligation of preaching to the satisfaction of the Almighty or if something
was amiss in discharging this duty or if he was committing some strategic
mistake in this matter. As far as the time of revelation is concerned, it is
based entirely on the wisdom of the Almighty. It is not necessary that a
revelation descend when the Prophet (sws) is worried or anxious. Consequently,
in such circumstances his worries would naturally double while waiting for a
revelation. This worry of the Prophet (sws) has been mentioned in many places in
the Makkan sūrahs and we have been referring to it. Those who would like to know
the details should look up the tafsīrs of Sūrah Tāhā and Sūrah Qiyāmah.
The assurance sounded in these verses relate to the
circumstances just mentioned. It is not necessary that this verse had been
revealed in response to the taunt of the disbelievers that the Lord of this
person had forsaken him. When, in the first place, did the disbelievers accept
the fact that the Prophet (sws) or the message he preached had something to do
with God and that He would send revelations to him. They would regard the
Prophet (sws) to be a poet and a soothsayer. Moreover, only the Prophet (sws)
experienced the coming of a revelation or the lack of it. How would the
disbelievers have known whether the Prophet (sws) would be receiving a
revelation or a break had occurred in it. As far as preaching and propagation
are concerned, not for a day did the Prophet (sws) desist from them. How could
then the disbelievers have taunted him that he no longer was serving the
Almighty in the capacity of a Messenger or that the Almighty had forsaken him.
وَلَلْآخِرَةُ
خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنْ الْأُولَى (٤)
(and the coming period shall be better for you than the previous
one)
Here the words آخِرَةُ and
أُولَى do not refer to the terms the “Hereafter” and
“the Herein” respectively. They are general in their connotation: they refer to
the initial or later period of the preaching mission or to its present and
future state.
This verse is an explanation of the assurance sounded by
the previous verse: the current circumstances will soon change and the future
will be better than the past and the present. These glad tidings of a better
future are given by the Qur’ān both openly and tacitly at many places. In the
ancient scriptures also, the predictions which are mentioned about his advent
cite the parable that the beginning of his preaching would resemble a mustard
seed which indeed is very small but outgrows all other vegetable plants when it
sprouts so much so that birds build their nests on it.
The glad tidings sounded by the word
خَيْرٌ are comprehensive in nature. It gathers in it the aspects of
supremacy and victory of Islam, the conquest of Makkah, humiliation of the
enemies and people entering the folds of Islam in multitudes. All these aspects
are mentioned in the previous sūrahs. The next sūrah also alludes to them and
they will also be found in Sūrah Nasr.
وَلَسَفوْفَ
يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى (٥)
(And your Lord will give you so that you shall be pleased.)
Although it is not mentioned what the Almighty will give,
however, intrinsic indications show that it refers to the
خَيْرٌ whose glad tidings are given in the previous verse and which
embraces all those successes and triumphs that were notched up by Islam in later
years. Since these triumphs were yet to materialize, the second object of the
verb يُعْطِيكَ has been suppressed in this verse;
however, the word فَتَرْضَى has hinted at the fact
that the Almighty will bless him so much in this regard that he will become very
happy. This one word comprehensively embraces what a whole book cannot
encompass.
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَى
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَى (٦-٨)
(Did He not find you an orphan and gave you shelter? And found
you wandering and guided you? and found you in need and enriched you?)
It is stated in verse four that the Prophet’s future will
be better than what he is encountering now. Here, in this verse, some examples
are cited from the Prophet’s life to emphasize this fact. He is asked to ponder
on his own life to see a grand picture in this regard.
First of all, a reference is given to him being an orphan.
Being an orphan is no less a problem in itself and if a society is also so
uncaring about orphans as the Arab society was in those days, then an orphan is
left with no place to go. The Qur’ān has described this aspect of the Arab
society in the previous verses. Thus it is said: كَلَّا بَل
لَّا تُكْرِمُونَ الْيَتِيمَ (١٧:٨٩) (Nay! But you do not respect the
orphans, (89:17)). Similarly, while referring to certain individuals of the
Prophet’s own family, it is said: فَذَلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ
الْيَتِيمَ (٢:١٠٧) (He is the one who shoves the orphan, (102:2)).
However, in the case of the Prophet (sws), it was a sheer
blessing on the part of the Almighty that though his father did not leave behind
much of a legacy, his grandfather and after him, his paternal uncle brought him
up with great respect and affection. In normal circumstances, it is not at all
rare to find a grandfather and an uncle feeling affection for their orphaned
grandson and nephew and in fact is an obvious requirement of human nature;
however, in the morally bereft society of Arabia, the existence of such feelings
was indeed rare and it would not have been possible unless the Almighty bestowed
a reflection of His love on an orphan the way He did in the case of Moses (sws)
so that he was brought up in the very palace of his greatest enemy: the Pharaoh.
The words وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى
refer to the spiritual favour of the Almighty on the Prophet (sws) which he
received in the later part of his life.
It is known that the Prophet’s upright nature was not for a
moment satisfied with the religious customs and traditions he inherited from his
forefathers and there was no other guidance available also which could satisfy
him. The condition of the followers of various divine religions that existed in
his surroundings is apparent from Sūrah Baqarah, Sūrah Āl-i ‘Imrān and other
Madīnan sūrahs: such was the distorted shape of their faith and deeds that a
person searching for the truth could not obtain any guidance from them. This
situation had made him very anxious and this anxiety is referred to by the words
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى. The word
ضَالًّ here does not refer to a person who is led away
from the truth; it refers to a person who is in search for the truth. The
prophets of God have an upright nature even before they are given the
responsibility of prophethood. Even in the early part of their lives they never
deviate from the obvious norms of human nature; however, human nature can only
guide a person in broad areas of faith and deeds. It cannot explain all the
corollaries and consequences of all articles of faith nor is it capable enough
to define the exact limits of all deeds and morals. Therefore even an upright
person who lives by the guidance provided by his nature still needs to know the
attributes of God and the requirements of faith in the attributes of the God on
whose existence his heart bears evidence. He wants to know the obligations which
he owes to His creator and how he should discharge them. He also wants to know
how he should lead his life in such a disciplined manner that even the distant
aspects of his life are spent in subservience to God. Unless these questions are
answered, a person does not receive real satisfaction and neither is he able to
establish a relationship with the Almighty on the right footings. These were the
questions which bombarded the Prophet (sws) in the phase of his life referred to
by the words وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا . Obviously this state
of his can neither be regarded as error nor of guidance. In precise words, this
state of his reflects his effort to seek the truth. In other words, it is as if
a person is standing on a crossroad and is unable to decide the path he should
adopt. Before being given the responsibility of prophethood, the Prophet (sws)
would be actually contemplating all these questions in the secluded cave of Hirā.
Some books do describe the state of people who were
followers of the Dīn-i Hanīfī that some of these remained so perplexed that they
would sit and lean against the walls of the Baytullāh and since there was no
means for them to know the manner in which they could worship the Almighty, they
would express their yearning to worship the Almighty the way He wanted. This
must also be the situation the Prophet (sws) would have been facing until he was
blessed with divine guidance. Consequently, the Qur’ān has referred to this
state of the Prophet (sws) in the following words:وَكَذَلِكَ
أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا مَا كُنتَ تَدْرِي مَا الْكِتَابُ
وَلَا الْإِيمَانُ وَلَكِن جَعَلْنَاهُ نُورًا نَّهْدِي بِهِ مَنْ نَّشَاء مِنْ
عِبَادِنَا (٥٢:٤٢) (Thus have We inspired you with a spirit which is from
among Our directives. Neither were you aware of the scripture nor of faith. But
we made this revelation a light whereby We guide those of Our servants We
desire, (42:52)). In Sūrah Yūsuf, this state is expressed by the word
غفلة in the verse وَإِن كُنتَ مِن
قَبْلِهِ لَمِنَ الْغَافِلِينَ (٣:١٢) (and in indeed before this you were
among those are not aware, (12:3)).
In the verse وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا
فَأَغْنَى the needy and affluent referred to are more related to the
spiritual realm than the material one. If a person’s heart is devoid of faith,
then such a person is a needy person even if he has the treasures of the world,
and if his heart is radiant with faith then he is a rich person even if he wears
the clothes made from animal hides and lives on wild honey and locusts like the
Prophet John (sws). It is to this reality that the famous adage
الغنى غنى القلب (real affluence is the affluence of
the heart) refers to. This real affluence is gained through faith, a true
comprehension of the Almighty and through the light of guidance provided by the
Book of God. He who has not been able to lay hands on this wealth can never
quench his thirst for material wealth and he who is anxious for this wealth
always yearns for more.
This world is a place of material resources and hence man
is in need of these resources. If in some way the wealth of Khadijah (rta) was
able to benefit the Prophet (sws), then this was her own good fortune and also
that of her wealth which can seldom be achieved by any other person and by the
wealth he possesses. However, the affluence referred to here is not achieved
through wealth only as alluded to earlier; it is primarily a consequence of the
guidance mentioned in the previous verse and whose real manifestation is the
sharh sadr (inner satisfaction) whose details are afforded in the next sūrah,
Sūrah Alam Nashrah, which forms a pair with Sūrah Duhā. People who have regarded
the affluence mentioned in this verse as the affluence attained on the basis of
wealth have only been able to grasp the apparent; however, the reality in this
regard is beyond the apparent – it cannot be seen; it can only be understood.
Here I have contented myself with brief hints on this issue. In the last verse
of this sūrah, and in Sūrah Alam Nashrah, I will discuss some of its veiled
aspects.
فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ
وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ
(٩-١١)
(So, be not unjust to the orphan and scold not the one who asks
and proclaim the favour of your Lord.)
This is a mention of the obligation one owes to the favours
mentioned in the previous verses. The style adopted is actually a critical
comment on people who have been described in previous sūrahs as those who
instead of showing gratitude on the favours of God they have been blessed with
vainly think that they were actually entitled to what they have received. The
Almighty counsels the Prophet (sws) that he should not adopt this attitude and
just as He gave him refuge as an orphan, he should also give refuge to the
orphans of the society, show affection to them and safeguard their rights. I
have already explained under the verse وَتَأْكُلُونَ
التُّرَاثَ أَكْلًا لَّمًّا (١٩:٨٩) (and you greedily devour the
inheritance of weak, (89:19))
that in pre-Islamic times powerful heirs and relatives would usurp the rights of
weak heirs and orphans and would seize all the inheritance a person would leave
behind. The words فَلَا تَقْهَرْ refer to this
situation. They mean that the Prophet (sws) should not snub orphans and usurp
their rights thinking them to be weak individuals of the society. It is obvious
that the Prophet (sws) has not been admonished by these words because there was
a possibility that he might commit such injustice; in fact, these words sound a
warning in an indirect manner to the influential among the Quraysh who have been
rebuked in the previous sūrahs for such violations of rights. But instead of
reforming themselves, these people set about to oppose the Prophet (sws). In
this sūrah, these people are ignored and the Prophet (sws) is told that whatever
attitude they adopt they should be left to themselves; he must however protect
the rights of the orphans.
The words وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا
تَنْهَرْ state the right of the favour mentioned in the verse
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى. The word
سَائِل (he who asks) here is not used in its limited
meaning. It is used here rather comprehensively. Whether a person asks for food
and clothing or for intellectual guidance or for religious guidance or of any
other thing, he should be guided the utmost, and if this is not possible for
some reason then the Prophet (sws) should express his inability in a very kind
manner and never scold such people. The implication is that the Prophet (sws)
should remember that he too underwent a period in his life when he was an
embodiment of questions and these questions had severely bothered him; at last,
the Almighty relieved him of all his worries and answered all his questions.
This entails that the Prophet (sws) should also treat with kindness those who
ask. He should not adopt the attitude of people who when blessed with riches
treat the poor and needy with harshness and who when put through some trial say
that the Almighty has humiliated them; at that time they do not remember how
they themselves humiliated their own brethren.
The words وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ
فَحَدِّثْ express the obligation imposed on the Prophet (sws) as a result
of what is stated earlier in وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَى.
I have already referred to the fact that these words do not merely refer to the
wealth which the Prophet (sws) became a beneficiary of after his marriage with
Khadījah (rta); they primarily refer to the wisdom of religion and the treasure
of sharī‘ah which has majestically been referred to by the Qur’ān in the words: وَمَن
يُؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ أُوتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيرًا (٢:
٢٦٩)
(and he who is blessed with wisdom is indeed blessed with a
treasure of great good). In the verse under discussion, one needs to
focus one’s direction specially on the word فَحَدِّثْ.
This word is more appropriate for proclaiming the favour of wisdom rather than
proclaiming the favour of wealth. The implication is that the Prophet (sws)
should declare and proclaim the treasure of wisdom he has been blessed with from
the Almighty: just as the Almighty has bestowed it on him free of charge, he too
should distribute to others on a complimentary basis and communicate it to every
person who comes to him and declare it before every gathering.
By the grace of God, I come to the end of this sūrah’s
tafsīr.
فِالْحَمْدُ لِلهِ عَلى إِحْسَانِه
(gratitude be to God for His favour).
Lahore,
6th February 1980 AD
19th Rabī‘ al-Awwal 1400 AH
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