In the Name of Almighty Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
30 آية
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Surah Al-Fajr is the 89th chapter of the Quran, containing 30 verses. Revealed in Makkah, it opens with oaths by the dawn, the ten nights, the even and the odd, and the night as it passes, before recalling the destruction of ‘Aad of the lofty pillars, Thamud who hewed the rocks in the valley, and Pharaoh of the stakes, all destroyed for their tyranny. The surah reflects on man’s inconsistent response to ease and hardship, rebukes the neglect of orphans and the poor while wealth is loved intensely, and describes the terror of Judgement Day, closing with the beautiful address to the soul at peace, invited to return to her Lord well-pleased and pleasing, to enter among His servants and His Garden. Below you can read the full Surah Al-Fajr in Arabic with a clear English translation and a verse-by-verse tafsir (explanation of the meaning) from Aysar al-Tafaseer, with the option to jump to any specific verse.
1. Allah Almighty swears by the dawn, which is the time of day when the light breaks through. (It is said that what is meant by dawn here is the dawn of the day of sacrifice during Hajj, because it is the last of the ten days.)
2. These are the first ten nights of the month of dhil- Hijja which end with the al-Adha feast (or the feast of sacrifice). In a noble Hadith on the holiness of these days, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No days of good deed doing are more cherished by Allah than these days.” Reported by Al-Buhkari.)
3. Ibn Abbas said the witr is the day of ‘Arafa (the day on which the pilgrims visit Mount ‘Arafa) being the ninth day of dhil-Hijja. The shafi’ is the day of sacrificial offering being the tenth day of that month. (Some commentators say that it is the odd and even nights of the ten nights of dhil-Hijja.)
5. He who is of sound mind and understanding will know that swearing by these creations which indicate glorious wisdom, marvellous skill and proof of Allah’s existence and His Oneness, is enough evidence to convince you of the truth of Mohammad’s message, and that you will be resurrected on Judgement Day to be judged. And you unbelievers will be punished in the Fire. (The message is placed in the interrogative form to emphasize those He takes an oath against, just like saying to one who expostulates with you: “Is not what I have indicated to you enough?”)
6. The people of ‘Ad were strongly built and fiercely arrogant. They disobeyed Allah’s law and denied His messengers. Allah Almighty mentions how He destroyed them and set them as an example to the polytheist Arabs so that the latter would not be deceived by their strength, number or wealth.
7. Allah Almighty mentions how He destroyed their city Irama with its massive pillars (some say that the pillars mentioned here mean the props that support a tent, because the inhabitants of Irama were bedouins who lived in tents. However, had they lived in tents, they would not have had a well established city which Allah mentioned in His holy Book)
9. Did you not know how Allah Almighty sent down His punishment upon Thamud, the people of Saleh? He destroyed them all. The people of Thamud were those who cut out huge rocks and carved them in the valley then built with them castles and magnificent buildings. (The people of Thamud were an Arab tribe, inhabitants of the valley of Kura; their city is known today as the city of Saleh.)
10. Did you not know how Allah Almighty sent down His punishment upon Pharaoh who possessed the magnificent buildings which he and his predecessors had erected, such as the pyramids and the obelisks? (In his interpretation, Professor Al-Muraghee draws attention to the fact that the obelisks which the pharaohs built in Egypt were shaped like overturned tent-pegs that are used to hold down the tents.) (It is said that Pharaoh was named dhil-Awtad or ‘he of the pegs’ because he drove four pegs into the ground then drew and bound his wife’s arms and legs to them until she died.)
14. Allah Almighty knows what tyrants do for He watches their actions. Nothing escapes His knowledge. The punishment He inflicts on those insolent, unjust unbelievers is mighty and severe.
15. When Allah Almighty increases the provision, wealth, honour and power for man to test him, man believes that Allah has honoured him and says: “Allah has favoured me because I deserve it.” This is certainly not so, for this is merely a trial.
16. Whereas when man sees that his provision has been limited, he considers this a humiliation from Allah. He says: “Allah has humiliated me.” In either case he is wrong. Increasing the blessings of a man in this life does not mean that he deserves it, for if it were true, we would not encounter any prosperous sinner.
17. Allah Almighty answers those people reproaching them. He says that He did not increase the wealth of the rich to honour them, nor did He inflict poverty on the poor to humiliate them. He however increases the wealth of the rich to try them and see whether they will be thankful or ungrateful. And He might restrict His blessings to the poor to try him to see whether they will be patient or complain. What is important is to obey Allah. He tells them that their actions do not suit their words but indicate their love of money. Allah grants them abundant wealth, but they do not do as they are required to in honouring the orphan or being kind to him.
18. They do not encourage one another to feed the poor. If they neither honour the orphan nor feed the poor, their claim that they are righteous people, are all mendacious.
19. They devour greedily the inheritance left by the deceased whether it be lawful or not, thus depriving of it the women and children who are entitled to it.
20. They have a vast tendency to amass wealth which drives them to thrift in accumulating it and miserliness in spending it. All this means that they favour life on earth above the Hereafter.
21. Allah Almighty talks about the great terrors of Judgement Day. He censures those for their words, deeds and attachment to life on earth as if they thought that there were no Day of Resurrection, or assembly, or judgement. However, the promised day will surely come. It is the day when the earth will be demolished over and over again until the mountains are levelled off with the plains.
22. That sublime occurrence will clearly reveal the grandeur of the divine Might. Allah Almighty will come in a shadow of clouds as mentioned in verse 210 of chapter 2- Al-Baqara (The Heifer), surrounded by pure angels, standing in ranks in the presence of their merciful Lord.
23. On that Day, Hell will be revealed to the viewers after it had been concealed from them. Man will then remember his negligence of Almighty Allah, and the misguidance and sin he was in. But what good will remembrance be to him after it is too late?
24. Man will repent of his former sins and crimes and wish he had been more obedient. If he had done good deeds, they would have been of benefit to him in the Hereafter.
27. O you peaceful soul, who knew the truth and was not troubled by doubt, you who stayed within the limits of religious laws and were not shaken by passions but were calm and at ease,
28. return to the place of honour beside your Lord, satisfied with what you did on earth, having given pleasure (to Allah) because you were discontented in neither wealth nor poverty.
30. Enter My Paradise and enjoy all that no human eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, and no heart has ever expected.
Tafsir by Dr. Assaad Homad (1917–2011), Syrian scholar and jurist, author of Aysar al-Tafaseer, an accessible interpretation of the Quran reviewed by Sheikh Muhammad Mutwally Al-Shaarawi and certified by the Ministries of Awqaf in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. English translation by the Homad family. Read more about the author and this tafsir →
Source: This series of Tafsir books has been made available online by the family of Dr. Assaad Homad (may Allah have mercy on him). These volumes were entirely digitized to provide an accessible and easy format for todays digital age. Please keep Dr. Assaad and his family in your sincere prayers.
تم إتاحة هذه السلسلة من كتب التفسير عبر الإنترنت من قبل عائلة الدكتور أسعد حومد (رحمه الله). لقد قمنا برقمنة هذه المجلدات بالكامل لتوفير تنسيق يسهل الوصول إليه واستخدامه في عصرنا الرقمي الحالي. نرجو منكم ألا تنسوا الدكتور أسعد وعائلته من صالح دعائكم.