Tafseer of Surah Fajr

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

وَالۡفَجۡرِ ۙ﴿۱﴾وَلَیَالٍ عَشۡرٍ ۙ﴿۲﴾وَّالشَّفۡعِ وَالۡوَتۡرِ ۙ﴿۳﴾وَ الَّیۡلِ اِذَا یَسۡرِ ۚ﴿۴﴾هَلۡ فِیۡ ذٰلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِّذِیۡ حِجۡرٍ ؕ﴿۵﴾

I swear by the dawn, and by the ten nights, and by the even and the odd, and by the night when it passes – is there (not sufficient) oath in that (in the mentioning of all these oaths) for people of intelligence?

In the beginning of this surah, Allah Ta‘ala takes five oaths on five different things (viz. the dawn, the ten nights, the even and odd, and the night when it passes).

The Oath on the Dawn

The first oath which Allah Ta‘ala takes is upon dawn.

According to Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) and Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma), the dawn mentioned in this verse refers to the dawn of each day (of the year).

The reason for Allah Ta‘ala taking an oath on the dawn of each day is that with the coming of dawn, light is seen after darkness, and this brings about a great change in the world. Thus, through this oath, man is invited to recognize the divine power of Allah Ta‘ala who Alone has the power to bring goodness in man’s life.

According to Hazrat Qataadah (rahimahullah), the dawn mentioned in the verse refers to the first dawn of the Islamic year (i.e. the 1st day of Muharram).

According to this view, the reason for Allah Ta‘ala taking an oath on the first dawn of the Islamic year is that it is the first dawn of the sacred month of Muharram as well as the first dawn of the entire year.

The Oath on the Ten Nights

وَلَیَالٍ عَشۡرٍ ۙ﴿۲﴾

and by the ten nights

The second oath which Allah Ta‘ala takes is upon the ten nights. These ten nights refer to the first ten nights of Zul Hijjah as reported by Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbaas (radhiyallahu anhuma), Hazrat Qaatadah and Hazrat Mujaahid (rahimahumallah).

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mentioned in his Mubaarak Hadith that the first ten days of Zul Hijjah are the most meritorious days of the year (ie after the days of Ramadhaan) for carrying out the worship of Allah Ta‘ala. The fast of each day is equivalent to the fast of an entire year, and worshipping Allah Ta‘ala during each night is equivalent to worshipping Allah Ta‘ala during the night of Qadr.

In the narration of Hazrat Jaabir (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), it is mentioned that the ten nights of Zul Hijjah are most meritorious, and that these ten nights of Zul Hijjah were also granted to Nabi Musa (‘alaihis salaam).

Wahb bin Munabbih (rahimahullah) has mentioned that Allah Ta‘ala had said to Nabi Musa (‘alaihis salaam), “Command your people to seek My special proximity during the first ten days (and nights) of Muharram (by increasing their ibaadah and turning to Me in taubah). On the tenth day, they should come out to Me (i.e. seeking My forgiveness), and I will then forgive them.” (Lataa’iful Ma’aarif pg. 80)

The Oath On the Even and Odd

والشَّفۡعِ وَالۡوَتۡرِ ۙ﴿۳﴾

And by the even and the odd

The third and fourth oaths which Allah Ta‘ala takes are upon the even and the odd.

“The odd” refers to the Day of Arafah, because it falls on the 9th which is an odd number, and “the even” refers to yaumun nahr (the Day of Sacrifice) because it falls on the 10th of Zul Hijjah which is an even number.

These two days are blessed days in which great ibaadat are carried out. On the day of Arafah, all the Hujjaaj assemble on the plains of Arafah, and on Yaumun Nahr (the Day of sacrifice), the Hujjaaj carry out great ibaadat like pelting the Jamaraat, sacrificing animals and performing Tawaafuz Ziyaarah, etc. Similarly, Muslims around the world sacrifice animals and celebrate Eidul Adha.

Oaths are taken on these days and nights (i.e. the Day of Arafah, Yaumun Nahr [the Day of sacrifice] and the ten nights of Zul Hijjah) to indicate their virtue and significance.

In regard to this verse, Hazrat Jaabir (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “الفجر refers to the dawn, and ‘the ten nights’ refer to the first ten nights of Zul Hijjah, and ‘الوتر’ (the odd) refers to the day of Arafah and ‘الشفع’ (the even) refers to the Day of Sacrifice.”

The Oath on the Night when it Passes

وَالَّیۡلِ اِذَا یَسۡرِ ۚ﴿٤﴾

And by the night when it passes

The fourth oath which Allah Ta‘ala takes is upon the night when it passes.

The word “يَسْرِ” is derived from “سَرٰى” which means “to travel by night”.

The night upon which Allah Ta’ala takes an oath in this verse refers to every night that passes. Through the night passing, the darkness comes to an end and the light of day begins to appear in the world.

After taking five oaths on these five things, Allah Ta‘ala says:

هَلۡ فِیۡ ذٰلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِّذِیۡ حِجۡرٍ ؕ﴿۵﴾

is there (not sufficient) oath in that (in the mentioning of all these oaths) for people of intelligence?

In this verse, Allah Ta‘ala invites people of intelligence to reflect over the power of Allah Ta‘ala in creating the dawn that brings light, in creating the ten nights of blessings, in blessing the ummah with the Day of Sacrifice and the Day of Arafah, and in causing the night to pass, after which daylight appears in the earth.

The purpose for Allah Ta‘ala taking these five oaths and then asking “is there (not sufficient) oath in that (in the mentioning of all these oaths) for people of intelligence?” is that Allah Ta‘ala wants man to realize the power of Allah Ta’ala and realize that one day, he will have to meet Allah Ta‘ala and give an account for his deeds. That day is the Day of Judgement.

The word “حِجْر” literally means “to prevent”. The intellect has been called “حِجْر” because it prevents the person from uttering wrong statements or carrying out wrong actions which will bring harm or disgrace to him in this world.

In the coming verses , Allah Ta‘ala speaks about the destruction that came upon three nations: (1) the nation of Aad, (2) the nation of Thamud, and (3) the nation of Fir’aun (Pharaoh) on account of them not believing in Allah Ta‘ala and disobeying the Ambiyaa that were sent to them.