الفجر
Al-Fajr
The Dawn • makkah • 30 Verses
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وَٱلْفَجْرِ
Commentary:
"The Dawn" may mean the Holy Prophet’s Migration to Medina with which ended the ten dark nights or ten years of persecution of the Holy Prophet and his righteous and noble Companions at Mecca. "The Dawn" may also signify the advent of the Promised Messiah who brought a message of hope and of a bright future for Islam after ten dark centuries of its decline and decadence.
See also Introduction to the Surah.
"The Dawn" may signify the Holy Prophet’s Emigration to Medina with which ended the dark night of persecution at Mecca. It may also signify the advent of the Promised Messiah who was to bring a message of hope and of a bright future for Muslims after centuries of their decline and decadence.
وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ
Commentary:
The word لیل meaning, a night, may signify one year after the Hijrah in the case of the Holy Prophet and one century in the case of the Promised Messiah. Thus "the Ten Nights" represent the ten dark years of severe persecution to which Muslims were subjected at Mecca before the Holy Prophet’s Migration to Medina which has been likened to the break of the dawn in the preceding verse. Or "the Ten Nights" may refer to the ten centuries of the decline and decadence of Islam before the advent of the Promised Messiah, with which ended a dark period of degradation, and which ushered in the dawn of a glorious future for Islam. An implied reference to these "Ten Nights" of the decline of Islam is also to be found in the Quranic verse: "He will plan the Divine Ordinance from the heavens unto the earth, then shall it go up to Him in a day the duration of which is thousand years according to what you reckon" (32:6). These ten centuries (or a thousand years) of the moral decadence of Muslims came after the first three centuries of the heyday of their glory and grandeur which have been called the best three centuries of Islam by the Holy Prophet (Bukhari, Kitabur-Riqaq). The decline of Islam began towards the end of the third century A.H. when on the one hand an Umayyad Caliph of Spain signed a pact of mutual assistance with the Pope against the Abbasid Empire of Baghdad and, on the other, the Caliph of Baghdad entered into a treaty of friendship with the Caesar of Rome against the Umayyad Caliph of Spain.
"The Ten Nights" may represent the last ten dark years of severe persecution to which Muslims were subjected at Mecca, or the ten centuries of the decline and decadence of Muslims before the advent of the Promised Messiah, with which would end the dark period of their spiritual and political degradation, and which would usher in the dawn of a glorious future for Islam. An implied reference to these "Ten Nights" or ten centuries of the decline of Islam is also to be found elsewhere in the Qur’an (32:6). These ten centuries (or a thousand years) of the moral decadence of Muslims came after the first three centuries of the heyday of their glory and grandeur which have been called the best three centuries of Islam by the Holy Prophet (Bukhari. Kitabur-Riqaq), had passed. The decline of Islam began towards the end of the third century A.H., when, on the one hand, an Umayyad Caliph of Spain signed a pact of mutual assistance with the Pope against the Abbaside Empire of Baghdad and, on the other, the Cal
وَٱلشَّفْعِ وَٱلْوَتْرِ
Commentary:
Continuing the allegory the word الشفع (the Even) may allude to the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr—his ever faithful Companion. The two of them made the number even, and God Who was with them in the hour of tribulation was الوتر (the Odd). To this "Even and Odd" number a pointed reference is to be found in the words "One of the two when they were both in the cave, when he said to his Companion, 'Grieve not, for Allah is with us' (9:40). Or the Holy Prophet and the Promised Messiah may be taken as making an even number and Allah an odd, because, while the Prophet in his first advent took refuge along with Abu Bakr in the Mount Thaur, Allah being with them; in his second advent, according to a revelation of the Promised Messiah, the Holy Prophet "took refuge in the fortress of India" (Tadhkirah), along with the Promised Messiah, Allah being the third of them. Or "the Even and the Odd" may signify that though the Holy Prophet and the Promised Messiah were two separate individuals, the Promised Messiah was completely lost in the Holy Prophet as to become one person with him.
Continuing the allegory the word Ash-Shaf‘ (the Even) may allude to the Holy Prophet and Abu Bakr—his ever faithful Companion. The two of them made the number even, and God Who was with them in the hour of tribulation was Al-Watr (the Odd). To this "Even and Odd" number, a pointed reference is to be found in 9:40. Or, the Holy Prophet and the Promised Messiah may be taken as making an even number and Allah an odd number, or "the Even and the Odd" may signify that whereas the Holy Prophet and the Promised Messiah were two separate individuals, the Promised Messiah was so completely lost in the Holy Prophet as to have become one with him.
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ
Commentary:
"The Night" may represent the first year of the Hijrah which did not see any abatement of the Holy Prophet’s anxieties and in which the Quraish of Mecca marched to the battlefield of Badr with a powerful army to give Islam a coup de gracefrom which it should never recover. It was in the Battle of Badr, about one year after the Hijrah, that the Quraish suffered an ignominious defeat and this literally fulfilled Prophet Isaiah’s prophecy: "For thus hath the Lord said unto me, within a year, according to the years of an hireling, all the glory of Kedar shall fail." (Isa. 21:16) Thus though after the Migration to Medina the 'morning' had dawned for the Muslims, still they were not completely out of the wood; they had to suffer hardships for another night, i.e. a year. Or the verse may signify that after the advent of the Promised Messiah which heralded the break of the Dawn for Islam, its difficulties would not altogether disappear. One night of darkness—one century of difficulties—seems to lie ahead; after which Islam would march forward on a uniform course of success. Thus the Surah embodies a double prophecy which was made at a time when the prospects for Islam appeared to be very bleak indeed. It was remarkably fulfilled first, in the first phase of the chequered career of Islam, and it is at present in the process of being fulfilled in the shape of the renaissance being wrought at the hands of the Promised Messiah, the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement.
"The Night" may represent the first year of the Hijrah which did not see any abatement of the Holy Prophet’s worries. Though after the Emigration to Medina the "Morning" had dawned for the Muslims, yet they were not completely out of the wood; they had to suffer hardships for another night, i.e. another year of hardships after which in the Battle of Badr the Quraish suffered a crushing defeat and the Prophet Isaiah’s prophecy (21:16) was literally fulfilled: 'For thus hath the Lord said unto me, within a year, according to the years of an hireling and all the glory of Kedar shall fail.'
هَلْ فِى ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِّذِى حِجْرٍ
Important Words:
حجر (understanding) is inf. noun from حجر which means, he prevented, he hindered, debarred, withheld. They say فلان فی حجر فلان i.e. such a one is in the protection of such a one. حجر means, the anterior pudendum of a man and of a woman; relationship; understanding, intelligence or reason. ذو حجر means, a person who possesses understanding (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The prophecy contained in the above verses constitutes an invincible argument in support of the Divine origin of the Quran.
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ
Commentary:
The ‘Ad were a powerful and prosperous people of antiquity. They defied their Prophet Hud and were destroyed. For a detailed note on ‘Ad and Thamud see 11:62.
‘Ad were a very powerful people in their time. They excelled their contemporary nations in material means and resources.
إِرَمَ ذَاتِ ٱلْعِمَادِ
Important Words:
العماد (lofty buildings) is the plural of عمود and عمادة which are both derived from عمد . They say عمده i.e. he supported it. اعتمدت علیه means, I relied upon him in such a case. عماد means, lofty buildings. ذات العماد means, possessing lofty buildings supported by columns or possessing tallness; possessor of tents. فلان رفیع العماد means, such a one is a person of exalted nobility. ھو عماد القوم means, he is the support of his people (Lane & Aqrab).
ٱلَّتِى لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِى ٱلْبِلَٰدِ
Commentary:
The verse signifies that ‘Ad were a very powerful people in their time. They excelled their contemporary nations in material means and resources.
وَثَمُودَ ٱلَّذِينَ جَابُوا۟ ٱلصَّخْرَ بِٱلْوَادِ
7:75; 26:150.
وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِى ٱلْأَوْتَادِ
Commentary:
See 38:13.
فَصَبَّ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّكَ سَوْطَ عَذَابٍ
Important Words:
سوط (whip) is derived from ساط. They say ساط i.e. he mixed it, one part with another, and stirred it about and beat it; he whipped him. فلان یسوط الحرب means, such a one manages or conducts the war in person. سوط means, a whip; scourge; a portion or share; vehemence or severity; a mixture; a place where water collects and stagnates (Lane & Aqrab).
Saut means a whip; scourge; vehemence (Lane).
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِٱلْمِرْصَادِ
فَأَمَّا ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ إِذَا مَا ٱبْتَلَىٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ فَأَكْرَمَهُۥ وَنَعَّمَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّىٓ أَكْرَمَنِ
17:84.
17:84.
Favours are bestowed upon man, sometimes to test his mettle; at other times to reward him for his good actions. Similarly, he is involved in troubles that he may be tried and rewarded or punished according to his desert. But man is so constituted that when he is in ease and affluence, he regards these things as the fruits of his own labour and superior intelligence (28:79); but when misfortunes overtake him, he attributes them to God.
وَأَمَّآ إِذَا مَا ٱبْتَلَىٰهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّىٓ أَهَٰنَنِ
17:84.
Commentary:
Favours are bestowed upon man, sometimes to test his mettle, at other times, to reward him for his good actions. Similarly, he is caused to be involved in troubles that he may be tried, rewarded or punished according to his actions. But man is so constituted that when he is in ease and affluence, he regards it as the fruit of his labour and superior intelligence (28:79); but when misfortunes overtake him, he attributes them to God. The Quran has treated the question, whether God, or man himself, is the author of his destiny, from different angles. Whereas in 41:47 it says that man himself makes or mars his destiny, in 4:80 it says that good comes from God but evil from man’s ownself, and yet in 4:79 it observes that both good and evil come from God. In fact, as God has created everything for the good of man, and it is by misusing God-given gifts that he involves himself in trouble, good is said to proceed from God and evil from man. But as God produces the results of the good or bad actions of man, good or evil are both said to come from God. And as man is a free agent, both good and evil are attributed to him. Thus these verses explain and support one another, there being no contradiction between them.
17:84.
وَلَا تَحَٰٓضُّونَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلْمِسْكِينِ