89:1. By the dawn,

89:2. by the ten nights,

89:3. by the even and the odd,^{1One interpretation suggests that the t(evenb is the tenth day of Dhul-Hijjah (Yawm al-Adhd or the Day of Sacrifice) and the tjoddh is the ninth day (the Day of‘Arafah). (Ibn ‘Ashoor et al.)}

89:4. and by the night when it comes,

89:5. are these oaths not sufficient for one who is possessed of reason?

What appears to be the case is that what is sworn by is also what is attested to; that is possible and is something that is common, if the matter is clear and of significance, which is applicable in this case.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) swears by the dawn, which is the end of the night and the onset of the day, because of what there is in the departure of the night and the coming of the day, of signs that point to the perfect might of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and indicate that He alone is the controller of all things, and none should be worshipped except Him. At the time of dawn there is a prayer of great virtue, which deserves that Allah should swear by it.

Hence after that He swears by the ten nights which, according to the correct view, are the last ten nights of Ramadan or the first ten nights of Dhul-Hijjah. These are nights that contain days of great virtue, during which acts of worship are done that are not done at other times.

During the last ten nights of Ramadan, there occurs Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Decree), which is better than a thousand months, and those ten days are the last days of the fast of Ramadan, which is one of the pillars of Islam.

During the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah there occurs the standing in ‘Arafah, during which Allah bestows forgiveness upon His slaves that causes the Shaytan to grieve. The Shaytan is never seen to be more humiliated and defeated than on the Day of ‘Arafah, because of what he sees of the descent of the angels and the mercy of Allah upon His slaves, and because of what happens on that day of many of the actions of Hajj and ‘umrah.

These are significant matters which deserve that Allah should swear by them.

﴾and by the night when it comes﴿ that is, at the time when darkness falls and people settle down, rest and relax. This happens by the mercy and wisdom of Allah Os).

﴾are these oaths﴿) and the things mentioned here ﴾not sufficient for one who is possessed of reason?﴿-)

Yes, any part of that would be sufficient, for one who understands and listens attentively with full presence of mind.

89:6. Have you not heard how your Lord dealt with ‘Ad

89:7. of Iram, who were people of great stature and strength,

89:8. the like of whom had never been created in the land;

89:9. and Thamood, who hewed out rocks in the valley;

89:10. and the mighty Pharaoh?

89:11. All of them transgressed in the land

89:12. and made therein much mischief,

89:13. so your Lord unleashed upon them a scourge of punishment.

89:14. Verily your Lord is ever vigilant.

Here Allah says:

﴾Have you not heard﴿ what happened to those evil nations, namely ﴾‘Ad of Iramj), the well-known tribe in Yemen ﴾who were people of great stature and strength﴿ that is, people who were strong, powerful, arrogant and stubborn.

﴾the like of whom had never been created in the land﴿ that is, the like of ‘Ad, in terms of strength and power, had never been created in any land, as their Prophet Hood (عليه السلام) said to them: ﴾...Remember when He made you successors to the people ofNooh and increased you in stature. Remember the favours of Allah, so that you may prosper.)﴿ (at-A 'rdf 7: 69)

﴾and Thamood, who hewed out rocks in the valley﴿ that is, the Wadi al-Qura, where with their strength they carved dwellings in the rocks.﴾and the mighty Pharaoh﴿) who commanded troops who consolidated his power.

﴾All of them transgressed in the land﴿ this description refers to ‘Ad, Thamood, Pharaoh and those who followed them. They transgressed in the land of Allah and harmed the slaves of Allah in their religious and worldly affairs. Hence Allah says: f(and made therein much mischief﴿-) by following the path of disbelief and all that it leads to of different types of sin, and they strove hard in opposing the Messengers and barring people from the path of Allah.

When their mischief went so far as to incur their doom, Allah sent His punishment against them.

﴾Verily your Lord is ever vigilant﴿), watching those who disobey Him. He gives them a brief respite, then He seizes them with the vehement grip of One Who is Almighty, Omnipotent.

89:15. As for man, when his Lord tests him by bestowing generous bounties upon him, he says: My Lord has honoured me;

89:16. but when He tests him by restricting his provision, he says: My Lord has humiliated me.

89:17. Nay, but you do not show kindness to the orphan,

89:18. you do not urge one another to feed the poor,

89:19. you devour inheritance indiscriminately,^{1Male heirs would keep the entire estate to themselves, giving nothing to =}

89:20. and you have an insatiable love of wealth.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of the nature of man as he really is; he is ignorant and a wrongdoer, who does not think of the consequences. He thinks that the situation he finds himself in will last and never change, and he thinks that the generosity of Allah in this world and the blessings that He bestows upon him indicate that he is dear to Allah and close to Him.

efbut when He tests him by restricting his provision﴿ and reducing it to what is just enough, with no surplus, he thinks that Allah is humiliating him thereby. But Allah refutes this notion by saying: tfNay﴿ that is, not everyone on whom I bestow abundance in this world is dear to Me, and not everyone whose provision I restrict is insignificant or worthless before Me.

Rather wealth and poverty, restriction and abundance, are a trial with which Allah tests His slaves to see who will give thanks and be patient, so that He may reward him generously for that, and who will not respond in that manner, and will therefore suffer a terrifying punishment.

Moreover, if a person focuses only on what he himself wants, this is indicative of low aspirations. Therefore Allah criticises them for not paying attention to the situation of needy people, as He says: ﴾Nay, but you do not show kindness to the orphan﴿ who has lost his father and breadwinner, and needs consolation and kindness. But you do not show kindness to him; rather you look down on him, which is indicative of a lack of compassion in your hearts and a lack of any desire to do good.

﴾you do not urge one another to feed the poor﴿ that is, you do not encourage one another to feed the poor who are in need, because

= others, such as women and orphans, who were entitled to a share of it. This was a grave injustice. (az-Zamakhshari; al-Baghawi)of the covetousness and extreme love of worldly gain that is deeply entrenched in your hearts. Hence Allah says:

﴾you devour inheritance﴿ that is, wealth that has been left behind ﴾indiscriminately﴿ and do not leave anything of it.

﴾and you have an insatiable﴿ that is, inordinate ﴾love of wealth﴿. This is like the verses in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾But you [O humankind] prefer the life of this world even though the hereafter is better and more lasting.﴿ (al-A la 87: 16-17)

- and:

﴾Nay, but you [O people] love this present life, and are heedless of the hereafter.﴿ (al-Qiyamah 75: 20-21)

{$) villi'J viijj iCj (J) ' oSa lj]

(WJ Jl' a! fV-*

89:21. Nay; when the earth is crushed repeatedly and levelled,

89:22. and your Lord comes with the angels, row after row,

89:23. and hell, on that day, is brought near - on that day, man will remember, but how will that remembering benefit him?

89:24. He will say: Would that I had sent forth good deeds for my life [in the hereafter]!

89:25. None can punish as He will punish on that day,

89:26. and none can bind as He will bind.

89:27. [It will be said to the believer:] O soul at peace,

89:28. return to your Lord, well pleased and pleasing [to Him],

89:29. Join My slaves

89:30. and enter My paradise.

﴾Nay﴿ that is, not everything that you love of wealth, and what you compete in of physical pleasure, will last; rather ahead of you is a momentous day and great terror in which the earth and the mountains and everything on it will be crushed until it becomes a smooth, levelled plain, in which you will see no depression or elevation.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will come to pass judgement among His slaves in the shadows of the clouds (cf. 2: 210).

All the noble angels, the inhabitants of the heavens, will come, ﴾row after row﴿. The angels of each heaven will come in rows, surrounding other creatures, and these rows will humble themselves before the Sovereign, the Compeller.

﴾and hell, on that day, is brought near﴿ pulled with chains by the angels.

When all these things happen, ﴾on that day, man will remember﴿ what he sent forth of good and evil.

﴾but how will that remembering benefit him﴿ when the time for deeds has passed?

﴾He will say﴿ expressing regret for what he neglected of duties towards Allah:

﴾Would that I had sent forth good deeds for my life [in the hereafter]﴿ that is, my eternal life. This is like the verse in which Allah te) says: ﴾0n that day, the wrongdoer will bite on his hands and say: Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger. Alas for me! Would that I had not taken So-and-so as a friend!﴿ (al-Fwqdn 25: 27-28)

This verse indicates that the life which one should strive to make true and perfect, and to complete its pleasures, is life in the abode of eternity, for it is the realm that is eternal and will last forever.

﴾None can punish as He will punish on that day﴿ those who neglected that day and failed to strive for it

﴾and none can bind as He will bind﴿, for they will be bound with chains of fire and dragged on their faces in hell, then they will be thrown into the fire. This is the requital of the evildoers.

As for one who was content with Allah, and believed in Him and in His Messengers, it will be said to him:

﴾0 soul at peace﴿ with the remembrance of Allah, who found comfort in love of Him and was content with Allah,

﴾return to your Lord﴿ Who cared for you by His grace, and by His kindness bestowed upon you that by means of which you became one of His close friends and those who are beloved to Him ﴾well pleased and pleasing [to Him]﴿ that is, content with Allah and with the reward with which He has honoured you, for Allah is pleased with you.

﴾(Join My slaves and enter My paradise﴿. These words are addressed to the soul on the Day of Resurrection and at the time of death.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat al-Fa jr All praise and thanks are tor Allah, and may the blessings and peace ol \llah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.