Surah 89. Al-Fajr

By the dawn,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Like many sûrahs, this one begins with an oath from Allah. He has the right to swear by any object of His creation (i.e., the sun, the moon, the stars, the dawn, or the angels). As for us, we are only allowed to swear by Allah alone.

By the Break of Day ⁶¹⁰⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Four striking contrasts are mentioned, to show Allah's Power and Justice, and appeal to "those who understand". The first is the glory and mystery of the Break of Day. It just succeeds the deepest dark of the Night, when the first rays of light break through. Few people except those actually in personal touch with nature can feel its compelling power. In respect both of beauty and terror, of hope and inspiration, of suddenness and continuing increase of light and joy, this "holy time" of night may well stand as the type of spiritual awakening from darkness to Faith, from Death to Resurrection.

and the ten nights,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This refers to the first ten days of the month of Ⱬul-Ḥijjah, in which the rituals of pilgrimage are performed.

By the Nights twice five; ⁶¹⁰⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

By the Ten Nights are usually understood the first ten nights of Zul-Hijja, the sacred season of Pilgrimage. From the most ancient times Makkah was the centre of Arab pilgrimage. The story of Abraham is intimately connected with it: see ii. 125-127 and notes, also n. 217 to ii. 197. In times of Paganism various superstitions were introduced, which Islam swept away. Islam also purified the rites and ceremonies, giving them new meaning. The ten days specially devoted to the Hajj introduce a striking contrast in the life of Makkah and of the pilgrims. Makkah, from being a quiet secluded city, is then thronged with thousands of pilgrims from all parts of the world. They discard their ordinary dress-representing every kind of costume-to the simple and ordinary Ihram (n. 217); they refrain from every kind of fighting and quarrel; they abstain from every kind of luxury and self-indulgence; they hold all life sacred, however humble, except in the way of carefully-regulated sacrifice; and they spend their nights in prayer and meditation.

and the even and the odd,

  - Mustafa Khattab

By the Even and Odd (contrasted); ⁶¹¹⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The contrast between even and odd forms the subject of learned argument among those who deal with the properties of numbers. In any case, even and odd follow each other in regular succession: each is independent, and yet neither is self-sufficient. In ultimate analysis every even number is a pair of odd ones. And all things go in pairs: see xxxvi. 36, and n. 3981. In the animal world pairs are but two individuals, and yet each is a complement of the other. Both abstract and concrete things are often understood in contrast with their opposites. Why should we not, in spiritual matters, understand this life better with reference to the Hereafter, and why should we disbelieve in the Hereafter simply because we cannot conceive of anything different from our present life?

and the night when it passes!

  - Mustafa Khattab

And by the Night when it passeth away ⁶¹¹¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

That is, the last part of the night, just before full day-light. Note the gradations: first, the turn of the night, when just the first rays of daylight break through; secondly, the social and institutional rites of religion, like those during the ten nights of Pilgrimage; thirdly, when the usual contrast between the Here and Hereafter vanishes, and we can see heaven even here; and lastly, when this world vanishes, the full light of Day arrives, and we see Reality face to face.

Is all this 'not' a sufficient oath for those who have sense?

  - Mustafa Khattab

Is there (not) in these and adjuration (or evidence) for those who understand? ⁶¹¹²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

All these Signs draw our attention, like solemn adjurations in speech, to the profoundest mystery of our inner life, viz., how from utter depths of darkness-ignorance or even degradation-Allah's wonderful light or Revelation can lead us by contrast into the most beautiful sunshine of a glorious spiritual Day. But the contrast suggest also the opposite process as a corollary,-how resistance to Allah's fight would destroy us utterly, converting our greatness or glory to perdition, as happened with the peoples of Arab antiquity, the 'Ad and the Thamud, and the type of the powerful but arrogant and godless monarch, the Pharaoh of Egypt. Like a man with a bounded horizon, the average man does not understand these long-range mysteries of life, and we have need to pray that we may be of "those who understand".

Did you not see how your Lord dealt with 'Ȃd-

  - Mustafa Khattab

Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the `Ad (people) ⁶¹¹³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

For the 'Ad see n. 1040 to vii. 65. They seem to have possessed an ancient civilisation, which succumbed when they persistently broke Allah's law.

'the people' of Iram- with 'their' great stature,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Of the (city of) Iram with lofty pillars ⁶¹¹⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Iram would seem to have been an ancient 'Ad capital, in southern Arabia. It boasted of lofty architecture ("lofty pillars"). Some Commentators understand Iram to be the name of an eponymous hero of the 'Ad, in which case the following line, "with lofty pillars", should be construed "of lofty stature". The 'Ad were a tall race.

unmatched in any other land;

  - Mustafa Khattab

The like of which were not produced in (all) the land? ⁶¹¹⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This tract of southern Arabia was once very prosperous (Arabia Felix) and contains ruins and inscriptions. It has always been an object of great interest to the Arabia. In the time of Muawiya some precious stones were found among the ruins in this locality. Quite recently, a bronze lion's head and a bronze piece of gutter with a Sabaean inscription, found in Najran, have been described in the British Museum Quarterly, vol, XI, No. 4, Sept. 1937.

and Thamûd who carved 'their homes into' the rocks in the 'Stone' Valley;

  - Mustafa Khattab

And with the Thamud (people) who cut out (huge) rocks in the valley?-- ⁶¹¹⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

For the Thamud see n. 1043 to vi. 73. Their civilisation shows traces of Egyptian, Syrian, and (later) Greek and Roman influences. They built fine temples, tombs, and buildings cut out of the solid rock. The cult of the goddess Lat flourished among them.

and the Pharaoh of mighty structures?¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., pyramids and obelisks.

And with Pharaoh Lord of Stakes? ⁶¹¹⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

For "Lord of Stakes", see xxxviii. 12, n 4160. For Pharaoh's arrogance and his fall see xx. 43, 78-79. The three examples given, the 'Ad, the Thamud, and Pharaoh, show that neither nations nor individuals, however mighty, prosperous, or firmly established they may be, can live if they transgress the Law of Allah. The Law of Allah, which is also the law of the higher nature which He has bestowed on us, made them in the first place great and glorious: when they fell from it and "heaped mischief on mischief", they were swept away.

They all transgressed throughout the land,

  - Mustafa Khattab

(All) these transgressed Beyond bounds in the lands.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

spreading much corruption there.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And heaped therein Mischief (on mischief).

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

So your Lord unleashed on them a scourge of punishment.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 lit., so your Lord poured on them a whip of punishment.

Therefore did thy Lord pour on them a scourge of diverse chastisement:

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

'For' your Lord is truly vigilant.

  - Mustafa Khattab

For thy Lord is (As a Guardian) on a watch-tower. ⁶¹¹⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Even though Allah's punishment is delayed, it is not to be supposed that He does not see all things. Allah's providence is ever vigilant: His punishment of evil doers is a form of justice to the weak and the righteous whom they oppress. It is part of the signification of His title as Rabb (Cherisher).

Now, whenever a human being is tested by their Lord through 'His' generosity and blessings, they boast, 'My Lord has 'deservedly' honoured me!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Now as for man when his Lord trieth him giving him honor and gifts then saith he (puffed up) "My Lord hath honored me." ⁶¹¹⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Contrast with Allah's justice and watchful care, man's selfishness and pettiness. Allah tries us both by prosperity and adversity: in the one we should show humility and kindness; and in the other patience and faith. On the contrary, we get puffed up in prosperity and depressed in adversity, putting false values on this world's goods.