The Dawn (Al-Fajr)
Verses 1-30 GROUP_1573 89.1-30
1
وَالْفَجْرِ
By the Dawn,
2
وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ
by the Ten Nights,
3
وَالشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ
by the even and the odd,
4
وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ
and by the passing night,
5
هَلْ فِي ذَلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِّذِي حِجْرٍ
is there not in this strong evidence for a man of sense?
6
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ
Have you not heard of how your Lord dealt with the tribe of ‘Ad,
7
إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ
the people of Iram, the city of many pillars,
8
الَّتِي لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِي الْبِلَادِ
the like of which has never been created in the land,
9
وَثَمُودَ الَّذِينَ جَابُوا الصَّخْرَ بِالْوَادِ
and with the Thamud, who cut out [huge] rocks in the valley,
10
وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِي الْأَوْتَادِ
and with Pharaoh of the stakes?
11
الَّذِينَ طَغَوْا فِي الْبِلَادِ
All of them committed excesses in their lands,
12
فَأَكْثَرُوا فِيهَا الْفَسَادَ
and caused much corruption in them:
13
فَصَبَّ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّكَ سَوْطَ عَذَابٍ
so your Lord unleashed on them the scourge of punishment:
14
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ
for, indeed, your Sustainer is ever on the watch!
15
فَأَمَّا الْإِنسَانُ إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكْرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَكْرَمَنِ
As for man, when his Lord tests him, through honour and blessings, he says, ‘My Lord has honoured me,’
16
وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَهَانَنِ
but when He tests him by straitening his means of livelihood, he says, ‘My Lord has disgraced me.’
17
كَلَّا بَل لَّا تُكْرِمُونَ الْيَتِيمَ
No indeed, but you show no kindness to the orphan,
18
وَلَا تَحَاضُّونَ عَلَى طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ
nor do you urge one another to feed the poor,
19
وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلًا لَّمًّا
and you greedily devour the inheritance of the weak,
20
وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا
and you have a love of wealth which can never be satisfied.
21
كَلَّا إِذَا دُكَّتِ الْأَرْضُ دَكًّا دَكًّا
No indeed! When the earth is crushed and ground to dust,
22
وَجَاء رَبُّكَ وَالْمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا
when your Lord comes down with the angels, rank upon rank,
23
وَجِيءَ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِجَهَنَّمَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَتَذَكَّرُ الْإِنسَانُ وَأَنَّى لَهُ الذِّكْرَى
and Hell is made to appear on that Day, then man will be mindful, but what will being mindful then avail him?
24
يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِي
He will say, ‘Oh, would that I had provided beforehand for my life!’
25
فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَّا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُ أَحَدٌ
On that Day no one will punish as He punishes,
26
وَلَا يُوثِقُ وَثَاقَهُ أَحَدٌ
and none can bind with bonds like His!
27
يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ
[But to the righteous, God will say], ‘O soul at peace,
28
ارْجِعِي إِلَى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً
return to your Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing.
29
فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي
Join My servants.
30
وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي
Enter My Paradise.’
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) Man passes through two sets of circumstances in the world—sometimes finding or receiving things and sometimes losing them. Both eventualities, meant to gauge human reactions to different conditions, are for the purpose of putting man to the test. If the individual starts to boast when he receives something and acts negatively when things are taken away from him, he has failed the test. (a) The other type of person is one who would bow down before God and thank Him when he received something, and when things were taken away from him, he would once again bow down before God and express his humility. It is the second type of person who has been called the contented soul or an-nafs al-mutmainnah. The position of the contented soul is attained by one who ponders over God’s signs in the universe; who derives spiritual nourishment, learns lessons and receives guidance from historical events; who proves that if there is a clash between the self and the Truth, he will ignore the self and accept the Truth; who, after once accepting the Truth, never renounces it, whatever the cost.