Sūrat al-Fajr
سورۃ الفجر
Sūrat al-Fajr was revealed in Makkah and contains thirty (30) āyāt.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
It is clear that in this sūra Allah Most High mentions three categories of human nature — one, those who are good and righteous, and their goodness and multiplicity — those who become good through the training and teaching of the Prophets, like the Prophets themselves — they are the people of the nature of the Prophets. Two — those who are not of that nature but through the training of the Prophets and their influence become righteous; some of them become so righteous that hundreds, thousands, and hundreds of thousands are in this world. Not only do they not corrupt themselves but they also do not corrupt others. Three — those whose hearts are as black as night; not only do they corrupt themselves but they corrupt others too. Allah Most High mentions these to astonish human beings and presents them with their different natures.
وَالْفَجْرِ
wa-l-fajr.
"By the dawn." (al-Fajr 89:1)
Wa-l-fajr — Allah Most High presents the dawn as testimony and from it takes admonition and counsel. In this way the light of the dawn is the depiction of the immaculate Divine essence — He presents it to all as testimony. Their goodness is a model of the Prophets' nature — it illuminates hearts; the Prophets' work is to make their light shine in their hearts. God gave them birth for this purpose for the training and guidance of — fajara, yafajuru, fajran — to arise, to split — infajār — to burst forth, to gush; like a rising and unfolding from behind mountains and from springs with the streams flowing. Dawn is the model of the nature of the Prophets ﷺ.
Translation: (I present the dawn as testimony) the dawn is a kind of pledge.
وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ
wa-layālin ʿashr.
"And by the ten nights." (al-Fajr 89:2)
Wa-layālin — and nights; a second testimony is being presented — of the people of another category. ʿAshr — ten. Here the nights of the second category are being presented as testimony — these are the holy nights, but these are pure nights — such as those who are like the Prophets. Such as Laylat al-Qadr, Laylat al-Barāt, the Night of Ascension (Miʿrāj), the Night of ʿĪd, the Night of ʿĀshūrāʾ, and the nights that are the evenings of the awliyāʾ — such great awliyāʾ and their virtues — among them the leading figures of piety: the ghawth al-quṭb, the abdāl, the awtād — from the ghawth among them, especially in our age there is one Ghawth in every era — such as Sayyidī ʿAbd al-Qādir Jīlānī (may Allah be pleased with him), Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan Sanjrī Chishtī, Bahāʾ al-Dīn Muḥammad Naqshband, Aḥmad Kabīr Rifāʿī, Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī Shādhilī, Quṭb Madār, Badīʿ al-Dīn Shāh Sirwardī, and in our times from Khwāja Muḥammad Ṣiddīq Maḥbūb Ilāhī and others — may Allah be pleased with them all.
Translation: And I present as testimony the (sacred) nights — the peaceful nights of (both groups of) people — and such special nights as are extraordinary in their virtues.
وَالشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ
wa-l-shafʿi wa-l-watr.
"And by the even and the odd." (al-Fajr 89:3)
Wa-l-shafʿ — and the even; by the even, those who bring good things along with some bad. Shafīʿ — an intercessor; shafāʿat — intercession; shāfiʿ — the one who intercedes because someone's intercession is taken with them. Wa-l-watr — and the odd; these are some rare nights that when compared to thousands of nights are distinguished — it is an example of the awliyāʾ whose virtues are matchless — as the awliyāʾ of the highest order and the noble imāms.
Translation: And I present as testimony the even (the general nights) and such special nights as are extraordinary in their virtues (and such distinguished people).
وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ
wa-l-layli idhā yasr.
"And by the night when it passes." (al-Fajr 89:4)
Wa-l-layl — and night. Idhā yasrī — when it passes; as such a night passes and goes, the darkness grows. Yasrī, yasmurī, sāra — to walk, to move on, to travel — imsarāʾ, insarāʾ — to walk in the night; night is the time of travel — it is an admonition, this is an example — how dark the hearts of the disbelievers are. The example is Abū Jahl, Shayba, ʿUtba, and their like — they were disbelievers and the heart of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muljam also was going dark from the influence of others.
Translation: And by the (third category) the night (that is dark and frightening) when it passes — I call it as testimony.
هَلْ فِي ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِّذِي حِجْرٍ
hal fī dhālika qasamun li-dhī ḥijr.
"Is there not in (all) this an oath for one of intelligence?" (al-Fajr 89:5)
Hal — is it so? Fī dhālika — in this; is there not a mighty oath here? Li-dhī ḥijr — for the possessor of reason; ḥijr — reason; ḥajara, yaḥjuru — to restrain, to prevent. Dhū ḥijrin — the person of wisdom; one who restrains people from bad deeds because of his own reason. For people of reason and understanding, these can serve as evidence.
Translation: Is there not in this (abundant) testimony for people of reason and understanding? (It is certainly so.)
These are the three natures and their necessary qualities — God tells the required deeds for each one and says what it is deserving of.
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ
a-lam tara kayfa faʿala rabbuka bi-ʿĀd.
"Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with ʿĀd?" (al-Fajr 89:6)
A-lam tara — have you not seen? Kayfa faʿala — what was done? Rabbuka — your Lord. Bi-ʿĀdin — with the people of ʿĀd; the tribe of ʿĀd.
Translation: Have you not seen what your Lord did with the people of ʿĀd? (What was their end?)
إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ
irama dhāti l-ʿimād.
"Of Iram — who had lofty pillars?" (al-Fajr 89:7)
Irama — this is in some opinions a branch of the tribe of ʿĀd — that is, the great tribe of ʿĀd has the smaller group Iram. Dhāt — owner, possessor. Al-ʿimād — pillars; ʿamūd — a stone pillar, like the pillar of ʿimādu l-mulk — the pillar of the kingdom. Dhī l-ʿimādi l-dīnī — the religious pillars.
Translation: (The tribe of Iram,) the possessors of great pillars (what became of them?).
الَّتِي لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِي الْبِلَادِ
allatī lam yukhlaq mithlu-hā fī l-bilād.
"The likes of which had not been created in the land." (al-Fajr 89:8)
Allatī — which; whose like had not been created. Fī — in. Al-bilād — cities. The intended meaning here if it is the tribe of Iram is that like this tribe none had been created in the cities — and if the intended meaning is the palatial mansions of lofty dignity then the sense is this: that nowhere in the world had such majestic mansions been built.
Translation: The like of which had never been created in the cities.
وَثَمُودَ الَّذِينَ جَابُوا الصَّخْرَ بِالْوَادِ
wa-thamūda lladhīna jābū l-ṣakhra bi-l-wād.
"And Thamūd, who carved out the rocks in the valley?" (al-Fajr 89:9)
Wa-thamūda — and the tribe of Thamūd — the tribe of the misguided Thamūd. Alladhīna — those who. Jābū — carved; jāba, kāta — to carve, to cut. Al-ṣakhr — stone; hard, solid stone. Bi-l-wād — in a valley; al-lawādī — the valley — the bottom is literally the last reduced level.
Translation: And (do you know) what God did with the tribe of Thamūd — those who carved rocks in a valley (of the highest level)?
وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِي الْأَوْتَادِ
wa-firʿawna dhī l-awtād.
"And Pharaoh, owner of the stakes?" (al-Fajr 89:10)
Wa-firʿawn — and Pharaoh, the famous king of Egypt. Dhī l-awtād — the possessor of stakes; a stake — watad — a peg, a stake, the one whose army is bound with ropes — that is, the intended meaning by dhī l-awtād is the army with many horses bound together.
Translation: And Pharaoh (with his great army,) the possessor of stakes (what did your Lord do)?
الَّذِينَ طَغَوْا فِي الْبِلَادِ
alladhīna ṭaghaw fī l-bilād.
"Those who oppressed within the lands." (al-Fajr 89:11)
Alladhīna — those who. Ṭaghaw — transgressed and overreached, their tyranny was extreme. Fī l-bilād — in the cities; they set up great tyranny in the cities and overreached their bounds.
Translation: Those all people had set up great tyranny (transgression) in the cities, they overreached their bounds.
فَأَكْثَرُوا فِيهَا الْفَسَادَ
fa-aktharū fīhā l-fasād.
"And made therein much corruption." (al-Fajr 89:12)
Fa-aktharū — then they multiplied. Fīhā — in the cities. Al-fasāda — the corruption; they multiplied corruption.
Translation: Then these people spread abundant corruption in (the cities).
So what did God do?
فَصَبَّ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّكَ سَوْطَ عَذَابٍ
fa-ṣabba ʿalayhim rabbuka sawṭa ʿadhāb.
"So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment." (al-Fajr 89:13)
Fa-ṣabba — then He poured. ʿAlayhim — upon them. Rabbuka — your Lord. Sawṭa ʿadhāb — the whip of punishment; a whip — to lash with. Sawṭ — the whip, the lash; punishment; sawaṭa — to strike with the whip. It is a metaphor for the display of the torment and punishment in abundance.
Translation: Then your Lord poured the heavy whip of punishment upon them.
Where were they running from God? He was heedless of their deeds and actions and did not punish them for a long time.
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ
inna rabbaka la-bi-l-mirṣād.
"Indeed, your Lord is in observation." (al-Fajr 89:14)
Inna rabbaka — indeed your Lord, certainly; la-bi-l-mirṣād — is definitely in a position of observation, the observation post. Mirṣād — a place from which one watches the roads; where the enemies are observed and monitored from. In mirṣādi before the letter mīm is the letter mīm — but the original letter is a ṣad, and for this reason the mīm also gets a heavy reading — literally meaning that from here the dead are brought back to life and the heavy mīm of mirṣādī refers to the letter mīm.
Translation: Indeed your Lord is certainly watching over their situations (keeping count of their conditions).
Allah Most High now mentions the second category — the ordinary people — and speaks in relation to the third category of people.
فَأَمَّا الْإِنسَانُ إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكْرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَكْرَمَنِ
fa-ammā l-insānu idhā mā ibtalāhu rabbuhu fa-akramahu wa-naʿʿamahu fa-yaqūlu rabbī akraman.
"As for man, when his Lord tries him and is generous to him and favors him, he says, 'My Lord has honored me.'" (al-Fajr 89:15)
Allah Most High is mentioning the second category of people in this verse — those of the ordinary human nature — and in the third category will come people of this type too.
Fa-ammā l-insānu — then as for the human being — a person whose condition is this: when. Idhā mā ibtalāhu — when He puts him to the test. Rabbuh — his Lord, his Master, his Sustainer. Fa-akramah — then He honors him, makes him an honored dignitary. Wa-naʿʿamah — and gives him blessings. Fa-yaqūlu — then he says; Rabbī — my Lord; in the original the nūn serves as a sign of declension. Akraman — He has honored me; in the original akramanī — He has honored me through His favor, I am among the honored and respected with Him and God has honored me.
Translation: Then the human being (whose condition is this): when his Lord puts him to trial and then (apparently) does him honor and gives him blessings — then he says (out of pride): "My Lord has honored me."
All this wealth has been given as a test.
وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَهَانَنِ
wa-ammā idhā mā ibtalāhu fa-qadara ʿalayhi rizqahu fa-yaqūlu rabbī ahānani.
"But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, 'My Lord has humiliated me.'" (al-Fajr 89:16)
Wa-ammā — but. Idhā mā ibtalāhu — when He tests him, puts him in hardship and difficulty. Fa-qadara ʿalayhi rizqahu — then He restricts his sustenance; the Lord his God, his Sustainer. Fa-qadara ʿalayhi rizqahu — and restricts his sustenance, then constricts and tightens his livelihood. Qādir — able; muqtadir — the Powerful; mafqūd — the precise ordering, the precision of the system. Fa-yaqūlu — then he says. Rabbī — my Lord, my Sustainer. Ahānani — He has dishonored me, He has humiliated me; in the original ahānī — it is a word that denotes humiliation and abasement, my humility, my abasement — God has made my value nothing, has made me humble and lowly.
Translation: But when he tests him (brings hardship and difficulty) then He restricts his sustenance — he says (alas!) "My Lord has dishonored me." (He dishonored me and made me lowly.)
All this wealth has been given as a test. But this is not the case.
كَلَّا بَل لَّا تُكْرِمُونَ الْيَتِيمَ
kallā bal lā tukrimmūna l-yatīm.
"No! But you do not honor the orphan." (al-Fajr 89:17)
Kallā — not at all! — God has not dishonored you; kallā — it is not God's desire to honor or dishonor. Rather, you yourself have dishonored yourself. Bal lā tukrimmūna l-yatīm — rather you do not honor, but you do not honor — you do not show kindness, you do not show mercy. Al-yatīm — an orphan; in Qurʾān sharīf it is ʿyatīmā wa-asīrā — literally a fatherless child and a prisoner; the meaning in Urdu of yatīm is a child whose mother has died — this is an erroneous meaning. The Arabic word for a child without a mother is munqaṭiʿ — which does not exist in Arabic.
Translation: Not at all! Rather, you do not show kindness (gentleness) to the orphan on account of this lowliness.
وَلَا تَحَاضُّونَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ
wa-lā taḥāḍḍūna ʿalā ṭaʿāmi l-miskīn.
"And you do not encourage one another to feed the poor." (al-Fajr 89:18)
Wa-lā taḥāḍḍūna — and you do not encourage others. Ḥaḍḍa, yaḥuḍḍu — to desire, to encourage, to incite; la taḥḍuḍūna — you do not encourage one another to give charity. ʿAlā ṭaʿāmi l-masākīn — to feed the destitute; miskīn — a poor person, destitute, a person who has nothing for any moment; shukun — means a person lying flat on the earth, helplessly thrown down on the earth. It means you do not encourage one another to feed the poor person together.
Translation: And you do not encourage one another to feed the destitute. (This very alas is its occasion for you)
This is not the only thing: that you bring nothing from your own home —
وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلًا لَّمًّا
wa-taʾkulūna l-turātha aklan lammā.
"And you consume inheritance, consuming it all at once." (al-Fajr 89:19)
Wa-taʾkulūna — and you eat. Al-turāth — inheritance, the legacy; turāth — the original is wirāth — an inheritance, a legacy. Aklan lammā — eating everything; lammā — gathering, collecting; eating greedily all at once, taking all at once — this wife's wealth was consumed, this orphan's wealth was consumed, the orphan's wealth was swallowed up.
Translation: And you also eat the inheritance (of orphans and widows), eating everything pell-mell.
وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا
wa-tuḥibbūna l-māla ḥubban jammā.
"And you love wealth with immense love." (al-Fajr 89:20)
Wa-tuḥibbūna — and you love, have affection for; you are enamored of it, you are devoted to it. Al-māla — wealth. Ḥubban jammā — with immense love; ḥubban — with love; jammā — abundant, immense.
Translation: And you hold wealth with a very great love in your heart (the love of wealth has seized you).
كَلَّا إِذَا دُكَّتِ الْأَرْضُ دَكًّا دَكًّا
kallā idhā dukkati l-arḍu dakkan dakkā.
"No! When the earth has been leveled, pounded and crushed." (al-Fajr 89:21)
Kallā — not at all — God will never let you leave without punishment. When? Idhā — when. Dukkati l-arḍu — the earth will be pounded. Dakkā dakkā — ground to dust, crushed to pieces, pulverized.
Translation: Not at all — when the earth will be ground to pieces.
وَجَاءَ رَبُّكَ وَالْمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا
wa-jāʾa rabbuka wa-l-malaku ṣaffan ṣaffā.
"And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank." (al-Fajr 89:22)
Wa-jāʾa rabbuka — and your Lord will come, the manifestation of the power of Allah Most High will occur and He will display the glory of His Lordship. Wa-l-malak — and the angels. Ṣaffā — in ordered ranks, one rank after another, a group after a group.
Translation: And the manifestation of your Lord's power will occur and the angels will be standing in ordered ranks.
وَجِيءَ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِجَهَنَّمَ يَتَذَكَّرُ الْإِنسَانُ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُ الذِّكْرَىٰ
wa-jīʾa yawmaʾidhin bi-jahannama yatadhakkaru l-insānu wa-annā lahu l-dhikrā.
"And on that Day, Hell is brought. That Day, man will remember, but how will remembrance profit him?" (al-Fajr 89:23)
Wa-jīʾa — and Hell will be brought, it will arrive. Yawmaʾidhin — on that Day. Bi-jahannama — with Hell, with the Hellfire. Yatadhakkaru l-insān — the human being will come to his senses; it will be realized. Wa-annā lahu — but where from for him — ʾl-dhikrā — the admonition, the opportunity to take admonition. Dhikrā — the admonition.
Translation: And on that Day Hell will be brought forward — on this Day the human being (when Hell comes) will have the veil lifted from his eyes — but by now where is the opportunity for him to take admonition?
يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِي
yaqūlu yā laytanī qaddamtu li-ḥayātī.
"He will say, 'Oh, I wish I had sent ahead (something) for my life.'" (al-Fajr 89:24)
Yaqūlu — he will say — Hell will say. Yā laytanī — Oh, how I wish! Qaddamtu — I had sent ahead. Li-ḥayātī — for my coming life; for my future life.
Translation: (Hell) will say — "Oh how I wish! I had sent ahead righteous deeds for my (future) life."
But now what can be done? The time has passed.
فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَّا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُ أَحَدٌ
fa-yawmaʾidhin lā yuʿadhdhib ʿadhābahu aḥad.
"So on that Day, none will punish as He punishes." (al-Fajr 89:25)
Fa-yawmaʾidhin — then on that Day; the day when this event happens — the Day of Resurrection. Lā yuʿadhdhib — no punishment will be inflicted by anyone comparable. ʿAdhābahu — its punishment. Aḥad — any person.
Translation: So on that Day no one matching God's punishment will emerge.
وَلَا يُوثِقُ وَثَاقَهُ أَحَدٌ
wa-lā yūthiqu wathāqahu aḥad.
"And none will bind as He binds." (al-Fajr 89:26)
Wa-lā yūthiqu — and no one will bind; bind, confine with chains. Wathāq — binding, tying — awthaqā, wathāqatan — to bind, to tie firmly. Aḥad — any person, someone.
Translation: And no one matching His binding with chains will emerge.
Now Allah Most High speaks of the first category of people and mentions their state.
يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ
yā ayyatuhā l-nafsu l-muṭmaʾinna.
"O tranquil soul!" (al-Fajr 89:27)
Yā ayyatuhā l-nafsu — O person! O soul! Al-muṭmaʾinna — the tranquil one, the soul of the state of peace. There are three types of soul: (1) Nafs ammāra — the soul that commands to evil, that leads to bad things. (2) Nafs lawwāma — the conscience, the reproaching soul; the one that reproaches at every moment and blames for its own deeds. (3) Nafs muṭmaʾinna — the soul in peace; the soul whose heart is at rest — free from anxieties, far from God's anger, whose heart is at peace, whose sorrows are removed.
Translation: O tranquil soul!
ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً
irjiʿī ilā rabbiki rāḍiyatan marḍiyya.
"Return to your Lord, pleased and pleasing." (al-Fajr 89:28)
Irjiʿī — come back, return, go back once more, come; toward your Lord. Ilā rabbik — to your Lord; toward the mercy of your Lord, toward the proximity of your Lord. Rāḍiyatan — pleased, content — content in this world, content with your sorrows raised in the world, having done everything according to the divine pleasure. Marḍiyyatan — pleasing; such that the Lord is pleased with her. God is also pleased with her, and she is pleased with God — how? Some great person gave the answer by asking their own hearts: "Are you pleased?" if so then God is pleased too. "Are you not?" a scholar told his disciple — "Am I pleased with God or not?" If you are pleased with God then God is also pleased with you.
Be pleased with God even in displeasure — the grace of understanding comes from —
(Ḥaḍrat Ṣiddīqī)
Translation: (O tranquil soul!) Go back to your Lord — pleased with Him, that God is pleased with you.
فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي
fa-dkhulī fī ʿibādī.
"And enter among My servants." (al-Fajr 89:29)
Fa-dkhulī — then enter, come in. Fī ʿibādī — among My particular servants. Who do they call a servant? ʿAbdullāh — Allah's servant — one who has no desire of his own in his heart. Neither is the intention of his act nor of his state his own desire — ʿAbdu llāhu — one whose sole intent is Allah's own will and His attributes, and He gives direction to both. All these things that after them return to Allah Most High — they were not bound to Allah before — now the servant is bound to every thing, and the one who becomes a bound servant of God is a spiritually living person.
(Verses by Ḥaḍrat Ṣiddīqī here.)
Translation: Then enter among My (particular) servants.
وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي
wa-dkhulī jannatī.
"And enter My Garden." (al-Fajr 89:30)
Wa-dkhulī — and enter. Jannatī — My Paradise, My garden — one great elder from the next asked what things are in Paradise — they went ahead and one great elder was there, looking about himself, and then asked his own wives: "Do you know that Hārūn al-Rashīd was going on a journey — he asked each of his wives." Each wife made a point necessary. Hārūn al-Rashīd made one thing from every wife necessary — meaning my purpose is others: what do I do for others?
May Allah Most High also bring us all into Paradise. Āmīn.
Wa-adkhalnā fī ʿibādika l-muḥibbīna fī dhātika wa-ṣifātika wa-afʿālika fī afʿālika fa-lā ʿayna lahum wa-lā athar.