SURAH (89) AL-FAJH (AYA 1 to 30)

Sura (89) AL-FAJR (The Daybreak) Aya 1 to 30 verses in 1 Section

Revealed at Makka

SECTION 1

The soul at rest

The punishment given to the disbelievers in the past referred to---Only the soul at rest shall be able to get admitted to the servants of the Lord and the reward of blissful life.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ 

وَالْفَجْرِ {89:1}

[Q89:1] Wal-Fajr 
[Q89:1] By the dawn;

As said in verse 5, "the men of understanding" or "those who understand" can observe the evidences mentioned in verses 1 to 4 and DRAW INSPIRATION TO GO DEEPER AND DEEPER IN THE HIGHER REGIONS OF SPIRITUAL WORLD.

Ë  The first is the glory of the daybreak. The first rays of light drive away the deepest dark of the night. IT MAY REFER TO THE SPIRITUAL AWAKENING FROM IGNORANCE TO FAITH.

µ  ‘By the ten nights’ are usually understood the first ten dates of Dhilhajj, the sacred period of pilgrimage. See commentary of Baqarah 2:196, 197 and 124 to 130.

The Holy Prophet (pbuh & hf) said that [1] fasting, [2] giving alms and [3] doing good deeds in these days earn special rewards from the grace of ALLAH (SWT).

»    Some commentators say that it may refer to the first ten dates of Muharram because on the tenth of Muharram "the greatest sacrifice" (dhibhin azim) took place. See commentary of Saffat 37:107.

¥  ‘Even and odd suggest’ contrasts but they follow each other in regular succession. In ultimate analysis this expression may refer to all things. Both abstract and concrete things are often understood in contrast with their opposites.

IF WE UNDERSTAND THE LIFE OF THIS WORLD, WE CAN HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF THE SPIRITUAL HEREAFTER. When this world, comparable to the darkness of night, passes away or vanishes, the light of the eternal hereafter will be seen.

µ  In addition to that which has been said above about the ten nights some commentators say that the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan are referred to here.

Some say that ‘fajr’ refers to the Holy Prophet (pbuh & hf), ‘shaf’ to Hasan and Husayn, ‘watr’ to Fatimah and ‘ashr’ to Ali and other nine Imams, but this interpretation has not been supported by any authentic tradition from the Ahlul Bayt.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:1) By the dawn,

وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ {89:2}

[Q89:2] Wa layaalin ‘ashr 
[Q89:2] By the ten nights (i.e. the first ten days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah),

 (see commentary for verse 1)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:2) and the ten nights,

وَالشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ {89:3}

[Q89:3] Wash shaf'i wal watr 
[Q89:3] And by the even and the odd (of all the creations of Allah).

This is another mystic expression. It may mean all things, for in them are the even and odd ones---or it may mean the opposites in sexes and energies and the other qualities in men, material and the natural phenomena active in the universe.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:3) and the even and the odd,

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ {89:4}

[Q89:4] Wallaili izaa yasr 
[Q89:4] And by the night when it departs.

The state invites attention to the great change in the effect of the daily functioning of the heavenly bodies, brought on earth regularly in a system ordained by the Almighty Creator Lord of the Universe.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:4) and by the night when it departs.

هَلْ فِي ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِذِي حِجْرٍ {89:5}

[Q89:5] Hal fee zaalika qasamul lizee hijr 
[Q89:5] There is indeed in them (the above oaths) sufficient proofs for men of understanding (and that, they should avoid all kinds of sins and disbeliefs, etc.)!

This verse clearly indicates that the above expressions are purely mystic for the deeper considerartion of those endowed with higher intellect, to know the secrets treasured in them and hold them for the proper use by them in the endeavour for spiritual progress.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:5) Is there in this an oath for one endowed with understanding? *1

*1 Much difference of opinion has been expressed by the commentators in the commentary of these verses, so much so that in respect of "the even and the odd" there are as many as 36 different views. In some traditions the commentary of these verses has also been attributed to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace), but the fact is that no commentary is confirmed from him, otherwise it was not possible that anyone from among the Companions, their immediate successors, and later commentators would have dared to determine the meaning of these verses by himself after the conmentary by the Holy Prophet.
After a study of the style one clearly feels that there was an argument alredly in progress in which the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) was presenting some thing and the disbelievers were denying it. At this, affirming what the Holy Prophet presented, it was said: By such and such a thing", so as to say: "By these things, what Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) says is wholly based on the truth ' Then, the argument is concluded with the question: "Is there an oath in it for a man of understanding?" That is, "is there need for yet another oath to testify to the truth of this matter ''" Is this oath not enough to persuade a sensible man to accept that which Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) is presenting?"
NOW THE QUESTION ARISES: what was the argument for the sake of which an oath was sworn by these four things? For this we shall have to consider the whole theme which, in the following verses, commences with: "Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the 'Ad" and continues till the end of the Surah. It shows that the argument concerned the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter, which the people of Makkah were refusing to acknowledge and the Holy Messenger (upon whom be peace) was trying to convince them of this by constant preaching and instruction. At this oaths were sworn by the dawn, the ten nights, the even and the odd, and the departing night to assert: Are these four things not enough to convince a sensible man of the truth of this matter so that he may need yet another evidence for it?
After having determined the significance of these oaths in the context, we would inevitably have to take each of these in the meaning relevant to the subsequent theme. First of all, it is said: "By Fajr." Fajr is the breaking of day, i.e. the time when the first rays of the light of day appear in the midst of the darkness of night as a white streak from the east. Then, it is said: "By the ten nights." If the context is kept in view, it will become plain that it implies each group of the ten nights among the thirty nights of the month, the first ten nights being those during which the crescent moon starting as a thin nail goes on waxing every night until its major portion becomes bright; the second group of the ten nights being those during which the greater part of the night remains illumined by the moon, and the last ten nights being those during which the moon goes on waning and the nights becoming more and more dark until by the end of the month the whole night becomes absolutely dark. Then, it is said: "By the even and the odd." Even is the number which is divisible into two equal parts, as 2, 4, 6, 8, and the odd the number which is not so divisible, as l, 3, 5, 7. Generally, it may imply everything in the universe, for things in the universe either exist in pairs or as singles. But since the context here concerns the day and the night, the even and the odd mean the alternation of day and night in the sense that the dates of the month go on changing from the first to the second, and from second to the third, and every change brings with it a new state. Last of all, it is said: "By the night when it is departing", i.e. when the darkness which had covered the world since sunset may be at the verge of disappearing and the day be dawning.
Now let us consider as a whole the four things an oath by which has been sworn to assert that the news which Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) is giving of the meting out of rewards and punishments is wholly based on the truth. All these things point to the reality that an all-Powerful Sustainer is ruling over this universe, and nothing of what He is doing is absurd, purposeless, or lacking wisdom; on the contrary, a wise plan clearly underlies whatever He does. In His world one will never see that while it is night, the midday sun should suddenly appear overhead, or that the moon should appear one evening in the shape of the crescent and be followed next evening by the full moon, or that the night, when it falls, should never come to an end, but should become perpetual, or that there should be no system in the alternation of the day and night so that one could keep a record of the dates and know what month was passing, what was the date, on what date a particular work is to begin, and when it is to finish, what are the dates of the summer season and what of the rainy or winter season. Apart from countless other things of the universe if man only considers this regularity of the day and night intelligently and seriously, he will find evidence of the truth that this relentless discipline and order has been established by an Omnipotent Sovereign God; with it are connected countless of the advantages of the creatures whom He has created on the earth. Now, if a person living in the world of such a Wise, Omnipotent and All-Mighty Creator denies the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter, he inevitably commits one of the two errors: either he is a denier of His powers and thinks that though He has the power to create the universe with such matchless order and discipline, He is powerless to recreate man and mete out rewards and punishments to him or he denies His wisdom and knowledge and thinks that although He has created man with intellect and powers in the world, vet He will neither ever call him to account as to how he used his intellect and his powers, nor will reward him for his good deeds, nor punish him for his evil deeds. The one who believes in either, is foolish in the extreme. 

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ {89:6}

[Q89:6] Alam tara kaifa fa‘ala Rabbuka bi‘Aad 
[Q89:6] Did you (O Muhammad (pbuh  & hp)) not see (thought) how your Lord dealt with 'Ad (people)?

FROM UTTER DEPTHS OF DARKNESS AND IGNORANCE, THE GUIDANCE FROM ALLAH (SWT) LEADS MAN TO A GLORIOUS SPIRITUAL LIFE, BUT those who refuse to follow the divine guidance, as the people of Ad and Thamud and Firawn did, are destroyed when ALLAH (SWT) decides to punish them in this world, and in the hereafter their abode is hell where they will abide forever.

µ  Refer to the commentary of [a] Araf 7:65 to 72 for the people of Ad and [b] Araf 7:73 to 79 for the people of Thamud, and [c] Ta Ha 20:9 to 98 for Firawn and his hosts.

‘Iram’ was a city of lofty structures, known as the "earthly paradise", built by Shaddad son of Ad. ALLAH (SWT) sent a prophet to admonish Shaddad who began to call himself ALLAH (SWT). When asked, the prophet gave him the description of paradise, and Shaddad built such a place and named it Iram. When it was completed Shaddad went to see it. As soon as he entered the main gate he saw the angel of death standing in front of him. He asked for a few moments in which he wanted to see the paradise he built but while dismounting from his horse when he was about to touch the ground his soul was seized by the angel of death; after which the garden he built had disappeared.

‘Dhil awtad’, in Arabic idiom, is expressive of power, arrogance also refer to the obstinacy. The stakes may also refer to the post or pillar to which Firawn bound his victims and nailed them. Neither nations nor individuals, however mighty, can survive if they transgress the laws made (willed) by ALLAH (SWT). They may have a few days of respite but eventually they fall and disappear from the face of the earth. ALLAH (SWT) watches the doings of the wicked.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:6) Have you *2 not seen how your Lord dealt with Ad

*2 After reasoning out the judgement from the system of day and night, now an argument is been given from man's own history for its being a certainty The mention of the conduct of a few well known tribes of history and their ultimate end is meant to point out that the universe is not working under some deaf and blind law of nature, but a Wise God is ruling over it, and in the Kingdom of that God only one law, which man describes as the law of nature is not working, but a moral law also is operative, which necessarily calls for retribution and rewards and punishments. The results of the working of the law have been appearing over and over again even in this world, which poinnt out to the people of understanding as to what is the nature of the Kingdom of the Universe. Any nation which carved out a system of life for itself heedless of the Hereafter and of the rewards and punishments of God, was ultimately corrupted and depraved, and whichever nation followed this way, was eventually visited with the scourge of punishment by the Lord of the universe. This continuous experience of man's own history testifies to two things clearly: (1) That denial of the Hereafter has been instrumental in corrupting every nation and sending it ultimately to its doom; therefore, the Hereafter indeed is a reality clashing with which leads, as it has always led, to the same inevitable results; and (2) that retribution for deeds will at some time in the future take place in its full and complete form also, for the people who touched the extreme limits of corruption and depravity and were visited with punishment had been preceded be many others who had sown seeds of corruption for centuries and left the world without being visited by any scourge. The justice of God demands that all those people also should be called to account at some time and they too should suffer for their misdeeds. (Argument from history and morals for the Hereafter has been given at many places in the Qur'an and we have explained it everywhere accordingly. For example, see E.N.'s 5, 6 of AI-A'raf, E.N. 12 of Yunus,, E.N.'s 57, 105, 115 of Hud, E.N. 9 of Ibrahim, E.N.'s 66, 86 of An-Naml, E.N. 8 of Ar-Rum E.N. 25 of Saba, E.N.'s 29. 30 of Suad, E.N. 80 of Al-Mu'min, E.N.'s 33, 34 of Ad-Dukhan, E.N.'s 27, 28 of Al-Jathiah, E.N. 17 of Qaf, E.N. 21 of Adh-Dhariyat). 

إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ {89:7}

[Q89:7] Irama zaatil ‘imaaad 
[Q89:7] Who were very tall like lofty pillars,

NOTES FOR VERSES 7 & 8.

This is a reference to what befell the people ‘Ad of the city Iram, who were the people of the Arab antiquity and the ‘Ad and Thamud, they were powerful BUT rebelled against ALLAH (SWT)’s laws and were persistent in their arrogance and godlessness. The people were of tall stature and were proud of their strength and power. See verses 7:65, 11:60, 38:12, 46:12 and 53:50.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:7) of Iram, *3 known for their lofty columns,

*3 `Ad Iram implies the ancient tribe of `Ad, who have been called 'Ad Ula in the Qur'an and Arabian history. In Surah An-Najm, it has been said: "And that We destroyed the ancient people of `Ad" (v. 50), i.e. the `Ad to whom the Prophet Hud had been sent, and who were punished with a scourge. As against thetas the people of `Ad who retrained safe and flourished afterwards are remembered as Ad Ukhra in Arabian history. The ancient `Ad are called Ad lram for the reason that they belonged to that branch of the Semetic race which descended from Iram son of Shem son of Noah (peace be upon him). Several other sub-branches of this main branch are well known in history one of which were the Thamud, who have been mentioned in the Qur'an; another are the Aramaeans, who in the beginning inhabited the northern parts of Syria and whose language Aramaic occupies an important place among the Semetic languages. The words dhat-ul-`imad (of lofty pillars) have been used for the 'Ad because they built high buildings and the pattern of architecture of erecting edifices on lofty pillars was introduced by them in the world. At another place in the Qur'an this characteristic has been mentioned in connection with the Prophet Hud, who said to them: "What, you erect for mere pleasure a monument on every high spot, and build huge castles as if you were immortal!" (Ash-Shu`ara': 128-129). 

الَّتِي لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِي الْبِلَادِ {89:8}

[Q89:8] Allatee lam yukhlaq misluhaa fil bilaad 
[Q89:8] The like of which were not created in the land?

 (see commentary for verse 6 & 7)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:8) the like of whom no nation was ever created in the lands of the world? *4

*4 That is, they were a matchless people of their time; no other nation in the world compare with them in strength, glory and grandeur. At other places in the Qur'an, it has been said about them: "Your Lord made you very robust." (Al-A`raf: 69) "As for the `Ad, they became arrogant with pride in the land, without any right, and said: `Who is stronger than us in might"? (Ha MIm As-Sajdah: 15). "When you seized somebody, you seized him like a tyrant." (Ash-Shu`ara' 130)

وَثَمُودَ الَّذِينَ جَابُوا الصَّخْرَ بِالْوَادِ {89:9}

[Q89:9] Wa samoodal lazeena jaabus sakhra bil waad 
[Q89:9] And (with) Thamud (people), who cut (hewed) out rocks in the valley (to make dwellings)?

THE THAMOOD used to carve buildings out of the huge rocks in the mountains---See verses 7:73, 11:61, 51:44. The apostle sent to them was SALEH.

v  Reference to Pharaoh and the fall he met---See verses 20:9-80, and 38:12.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:9) And how did He deal with Thamud who hewed out rocks in the valley? *5

*5 "The valley": Wad-il-Qura, where the Thamud carved out dwellings in the mountains, and probably in history they were the first people who started cutting out such buildings into the rocks. (For details, see E.N.'s 57, 59 of AlA'raf, E.N. 45 of Al-Hijr, E.N.'s 95, 99 of Ash-Shu`ara' along with the photographs). 

وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِي الْأَوْتَادِ {89:10}

[Q89:10] Wa fir'awna zil awtaad 
[Q89:10] And (with) Fir'aun (Pharaoh), who had pegs (who used to torture men by binding them to pegs)?

Pharaoh used to kill everyone believed in the True ALLAH (SWT) AND disbelieved in his God-head, by nailing them to the ground or a post. HENCE HE IS CALLED THE NAILER. Among the victims were Ezkiel’s wife with her six children and Aisha the Pharaoh’s wife, all were martyred---

Ì  Ezkiel who is popularly known as the ‘Momin-Aale Pharaun’ i.e., the Believer among the people of Pharaoh, escape into the mountain.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:10) And with Pharaoh of the tent pegs *6

*6 The words dhul-autad (of the stakes) for Pharaoh have also been used in Surah Suad: 12 above. This can have several meanings. Possibly his forces have been compared to the stakes, and "of the stakes" means "of great forces", for it was by their power and might that he ruled a firmly established kingdom; it might also imply multiplicity of forces and the meaning be that wherever his large armies camped, pegs of the tents were seen driven into the ground on every side; it may also imply the stakes at which he punished the people, and it is also possible that  the pyramids of Egypt have been compared to the stakes, for they are the remnants of the grandeur and glory of the Pharaohs, and seem to have been driven into the ground like stakes for centuries.

الَّذِينَ طَغَوْا فِي الْبِلَادِ {89:11}

[Q89:11] Allazeena taghaw fil bilaad. 
[Q89:11] Who did transgress beyond bounds in the lands (in the disobedience of Allah).

NOTES FOR VERSES 11 to 13.

Generalise the previous examples---meaning, anyone who commits inordinary and commits civil disturbance and creates mischief in the society and in verse 13, gives the consequence AND in verse 14 warns man to be careful, to beware that ALLAH (SWT) is vigilant.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:11) who transgressed in the countries of the world

فَأَكْثَرُوا فِيهَا الْفَسَادَ {89:12}

[Q89:12] Fa aksaroo feehal fasaad 

[Q89:12] And made therein much mischief.

 (see commentary for verse 6)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:12) spreading in them much corruption?

فَصَبَّ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّكَ سَوْطَ عَذَابٍ {89:13}

[Q89:13] Fasabba 'alaihim Rabbuka sawta 'azaab 
[Q89:13] So your Lord poured on them different kinds of severe torment.

 (see commentary for verse 6)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:13) Then their Lord unloosed upon them the lash of chastisement.

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ {89:14}

[Q89:14] Inna Rabbaka labil mirsaad. 
[Q89:14] Verily, your Lord is Ever Watchful (over them).

THROUGH ALLAH (SWT)’S PUNISHMENT FOR THE DISBELIEVERS AND THE WICKED MIGHT HAVE BEEN DELAYED, THE DELAY IS ONLY A RESPITE. It never means that ALLAH (SWT) has neglected or left the rebellious ones once for all.

ä  It is His grace that does not make haste in the punishment and when ultimately it has to come it surely comes.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:14) Truly your Lord is ever watchful. *7

*7 The words "ever lying in ambush" have been used metaphorically for keeping watch on the movements and activities of the wicked and mischievous people. An ambush is a place where a person lies hiding in wait to attack somebody by surprise. The victim, thoughtless of his fate, comes and falls a prey. The same is the case against AIlah of those wicked people who spread mischief in the world and have no sense and tear that there is God above them, Who is watching alI their misdeeds. Therefore, they go on committing everyday more and more evils fearlessly until they reach the limit which Allah dces not permit them to transgress. At that very moment His scourge descends upon them suddenly. 

فَأَمَّا الْإِنْسَانُ إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكْرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَكْرَمَنِ {89:15}

[Q89:15] Fa ammal insaanu izaa mab talaahu Rabbuhoo fa akramahoo wa na' 'amahoo fa yaqoolu Rabbeee akraman. 
[Q89:15] As for man, when his Lord tries him by giving him honour and gifts, then he says (puffed up): "My Lord has honoured me."

ALLAH (SWT) TRIES MAN BY PROSPERITY AND DISTRESS.

Ä  In prosperity, INSTEAD OF SHOWING HUMILITY AND KINDNESS, selfish and petty men become arrogant and forget ALLAH (SWT); and

Ä  In distress, INSTEAD OF RELYING UPON PATIENCE AND FAITH, they put false values on the worldly possessions and become resentful, envious and spiteful.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:15) As for man, *8 when his Lord tests him by exalting him and bestowing His bounties upon him, he says: “My Lord has exalted me.”

*8 Now, criticizing the general moral state of the people, it is being said: "After all, why shouldn't the men who have adopted such an attitude in the life of the world, be ever called to account, and how can it be regarded as a demand of reason and justice that when man has left the world, after doing alI he could, he should never receive any reward or suffer any punishment for his deeds?" 

وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَهَانَنِ {89:16}

[Q89:16] Wa ammaaa izaa mabtalaahu faqadara 'alaihi rizqahoo fa yaqoolu Rabbeee ahaanan. 
[Q89:16] But when He tries him, by straitening his means of life, he says: "My Lord has humiliated me!"

And when man is given in the measure, restricted to his actual needs OR according to the situation circumstanced by himself, BUT NOT up to his own lust and expectation, HE IS DEPRESSED IN THE ADVERSITY PUTTING THE BLAME UPON ALLAH (SWT)’S GRACE NOT HAVING GRANTED TO HIM, and complains to have beed degraded and lowered in the eyes of the others.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:16) But when He tests him by straitening his sustenance, he says: “My Lord has humiliated me.” *9

*9 This then is man's materialistic view of life. He regards the wealth and position and power of this world alone as everything. When he has it, he is filled with pride and says God has honoured me; and when he fails to obtain it, he says: God has humiliated me. Thus, the criterion of honour and humiliation in his sight is the possession of wealth and position and power, or the absence of it, whereas the actual truth which he does not understand is that whatever Allah has given anybody in the world has been given for the sake of a trial. If he has given him wealth and power, it has been given for a trial to see whether he becomes grateful for it, or commits ingratitude. If he has made him poor, in this too there is a trial for him to see whether he remains content and patient in the will of God and faces his hardships bravely within permissible bounds, or becomes ready to transgress every limit of morality and honesty and starts cursing his God.

كَلَّا ۖ بَلْ لَا تُكْرِمُونَ الْيَتِيمَ {89:17}

[Q89:17] Kalla bal laa tukrimoo nal yateem. 
[Q89:17] Nay! But you treat not the orphans with kindness and generosity (i.e. you neither treat them well, nor give them their exact right of inheritance)!

MANY VERSES OF THE QUR’AN, make it clear that the large means of sustenance given to a particular man is a trust he holds to distribute them among **the needy, **the poor and **the orphans, BUT MORE OFTEN he becomes closefisted and prefers to spend it on his own lusts, luxuries and enjoyments. The desire and inordinate love for more and worldlier possessions develops a morbid tendency in man to own everything by hook or by crook on account of which he destroys social harmony and discipline.

Ì  IT IS A DENIAL OF ALLAH (SWT) BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STRAITNESS---THE ACTION OF MAN HIMSELF BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:17) But no; *10 you do not treat the orphan honourably, *11

*10 That is, this is not all the criterion of honour and disgrace, for the real criterion is the moral good and evil.
*11 That is, "As long as his father is alive, your treatment of him is attentive and when his father dies, even the paternal and maternal uncles and the elder brothers, to say nothing of the neighbours and distant relatives, neglect him." 

وَلَا تَحَاضُّونَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ {89:18}

[Q89:18] Wa laa tahaaaddoona 'alaata'aamil miskeen 
[Q89:18] And urge not on the feeding of AlMiskin (the poor)!

When a man is under the grip of his own hard-heartedness AND IS VOID of a charitable disposition, he finds plausible excuses for his own shortcomings AND defects AND even obstructs the others from being charitable and kind to others.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:18) and do not urge one another to feed the poor, *12

*12 That is, "Nobody in your society feels any urge to feed the poor. Neither a tnan himself feels inclined to feed a hungry person, nor is there among the people any urge to do something to satisfy the hunger of the hungry, nor do they exhort one another to do so".

وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلًا لَمًّا {89:19}

[Q89:19] Wa taakuloonat turaasa aklal lammaa 
[Q89:19] And you devour inheritance all with greed,

People used to deprive women and children of their dues in the property and used to devour their share also. It implies in general the misappropriation of any trusts entrusted by the trustess.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:19) and greedily devour the entire inheritance, *13

*13 In Arabia, the women and children were as a rule deprived of inheritance and the people's idea in this regard was that the right to inheritance belonged only to those male members who were fit to fight and safeguard the family. Besides, the one who was more powerful and influential among the heirs of the deceased, would annex the whole inheritance without qualms, and usurp the shares of all those who did not have the power to secure their shares. They did not give any importance to the right and duty so that they should honestly render the right to whom it was due as a duty whether he had the power to secure it or not. 

وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا {89:20}

[Q89:20] Wa tuhibboonal maala hubban jammaa 
[Q89:20]  And you love wealth with much love!

 (see commentary for verse 17)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:20) and love the riches, loving them ardently. *14

*14 That is, "You have no regard for the permissible or the forbidden, the lawful or the unlawful. You feel no qualms about acquiring wealth in any way or by any means, fair or foul, and your greed is never satisfied however much you may have acquired and amassed. "

كَلَّا إِذَا دُكَّتِ الْأَرْضُ دَكًّا دَكًّا {89:21}

[Q89:21] Kallaaa izaa dukkatil ardu dakkan dakkaa 
[Q89:21] Nay! When the earth is ground to powder,

When the Day of Reckoning comes, [1] those who have failed to discharge their duties to the needy OR [2] actually suppressed their rights in their mad love for the worldly possessions, will be brought face to face to the fire of hell AND THEN they will realise that all the illusions of the fleeting world have been swept away and their possessions crumbled to powder like dust. THEN IT WILL BE TOO LATE TO REPENT. When the decree is passed on the Day of Judgment, the punishment will be given and no respite will be available.

v  In verse 22 "Your Lord comes" means the manifestation of His authority, as has been said in Baqarah 2:210.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:21) But no; *15 when the earth is ground to powder,

*15 That is, "You are wrong in thinking that you may do whatever you like in your life of the world, but you will never be called to account for it. The meting out of rewards and punishment denying which you have adopted this mode of life, is not anything impossible and fictitious, but it has to come to pass and it will certainly come to pass at the time being mentioned below." 

وَجَاءَ رَبُّكَ وَالْمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا {89:22}

[Q89:22] Wa jaaa'a Rabbuka wal malaku saffan saffaa 
[Q89:22] And your Lord comes with the angels in rows,

When the decree will have been passed and the punishment is to be executed, the respite had ended and the time for repentance would have gone. NO AMOUNT OF REPENTANCE WOUD BE OF ANY AVAIL.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:22) and when your Lord appears *16 with rows upon rows of angels,

*16 Although literally the words jaa Rabbuka mean "your Lord will come", obviously there cannot be any question of Allah Almighty's moving from one place to another; therefore, this will inevitably have to be understood as an allegoric expression, which is meant to give an idea that at that time the manifestations of Allah Almighty's power and His majesty and sovereignty will appear fully, as, for example, in the world the arrival of a king in person in the court is more awe-inspiring than the mere array of his forces and chiefs and nobles. 

وَجِيءَ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِجَهَنَّمَ ۚ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَتَذَكَّرُ الْإِنْسَانُ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُ الذِّكْرَىٰ {89:23}

[Q89:23] Wa jeee'a yawma'izim bi jahannnam; Yawma 'iziny yatazakkarul insaanu wa annaa lahuz zikraa. 
[Q89:23] And Hell will be brought near that Day. On that Day will man remember, but how will that remembrance (then) avail him?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:23) and when Hell is brought near that Day. On that Day will man understand, but of what avail will that understanding be? *17

*17 The words in the original can have two meanings:
(1) That on that Day man will remember whatever he had done in the world and will regret, but what will remembrance and regretting avail him then? 
(2) That on that Day man will take heed and accept admonition: he will realize that whatever he had been told by the Prophets was true and he committed a folly when he did not listen to them; but what will taking heed and accepting the admonition and realizing one's errors avail one then? 

يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِي {89:24}

[Q89:24] Yaqoolo yaa laitaanee qaddamtu lihayaatee
[Q89:24] He will say: "Alas! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my life!"

The repentance will wish for having sent good deeds to be avail to him on that occasion. But the time given for action had gone.

THIS INDICATES THAT THE LIFE HEREAFTER IS NOT ONLY A CONTINUATION BUT A DEVELOPMENT WHICH ACTUALLY DESERVES TO BE CALLED LIFE---see also verse 29:64.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:24) He will say: “Would that I had sent ahead what would be of avail for this life of mine!”

فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُ أَحَدٌ {89:25}

[Q89:25] Fa Yawma izil laa yu'azzibu 'azaabahooo ahad 
[Q89:25] So on that Day, none will punish as He will punish.

The chastiment and the torture that will be effected will be such that none else would have had inflicted such a punishment as any one before.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:25) Then on that Day Allah will chastise as none other can chastise;

وَلَا يُوثِقُ وَثَاقَهُ أَحَدٌ {89:26}

[Q89:26] Wa laa yoosiqu wasaaqa hooo ahad 
[Q89:26] And none will bind as He will bind.

 (see commentary for verse 25)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:26) and Allah will bind as none other can bind.

يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ {89:27}

[Q89:27] Yaaa ayyatuhan nafsul mutma 'innah. 
[Q89:27] (It will be said to the pious): "O (you) the one in (complete) rest and satisfaction!

THE RIGHTEOUS WILL BE WELCOMED TO A LIFE FREE FROM PAIN, SORROW, DOUBT, STRUGGLE, DESIRE AND DISAPPOINTMENT. They will be at rest, in peace, in a state of complete satisfaction. This stage of soul is the final stage of bliss.

±  The state in which the soul seeks fulfillment of the lower earthly desires, transgressing the bounds prescribed by the laws of ALLAH (SwT), is called ‘ammarah’ (see commentary of Yusuf 12:53 and Qiyamah 75:2); and

±  The self-reproaching soul that feels the evil of sin and resists it is called ‘lawwama’; and

±  The soul which has controlled and tamed all desires and surrendered to the will of ALLAH (SWT) is called ‘mutma-innah’.

ALLAH (SWT)'s devotee is he who reflects divine attributes in his character AND desires nothing save pleasure of ALLAH (SWT) in the life of hereafter. They are described as ‘alin’ by ALLAH (SWT) in verse 38:75 of Sad. They are the Holy Prophet (pbuh & hf) and his Ahlul Bayt.

µ  "My garden"--- ALLAH (SWT)'s garden is the pleasure of ALLAH (SWT). When a soul is admitted to ALLAH (SWT)'s garden it reflects divinity.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:27) (On the other hand it will be said): “O serene soul! *18

*18 "Peaceful .. satisfied soul": the man who believed in Allah, the One, as his Lord and Sustainer, and adopted the Way of Life brought by the Prophets as his way of life, with full satisfaction of the heart, and without the least doubt about it, who acknowledged as absolute truth whatever creed and command he received from Allah and His Messenger, who withheld himself from whatever he was forbidden by Allah's Religion, not unwillingly but with perfect conviction that it was really an evil thing, who offered without sacrifice whatever sacrifice was required to be offered for the sake of the truth. who endured with full peace of mind whatever difficulties, troubles and hardships he met on this way and who felt no remorse on being deprived of the gains and benefits and pleasures in the world which seemed to accrue to those who followed other ways but remained fully satisfied that adherence to true Faith had safeguarded him against those errors. This very state has been described at another place in the Qur'an as sharh Badr. (Al-An'am 125) 

ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً {89:28}

[Q89:28] Irji-‘eee ilaa Rabbiki raadiyatam mardiyyah 
[Q89:28] "Come back to your Lord, Well-pleased (yourself) and well-pleasing unto Him!

‘ALLAH (SWT)’s devotee’---Once, one becomes ALLAH (SWT)’s devotee --- [1] he gets in him the divine attributes reflected AND the one who reaches this stage of spiritual development, [2] he gets mindful only of the Lord and not of anybody or anything else, AND [3] he does not aspire for any enjoyment even in heaven, except the pleasure of the Lord.

¥  THIS IS THE STAGE IN WHICH THE HOLY PROPHET (PBUH & HF) AND HIS AHLUL BAIT WERE.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:28) Return to your Lord *19 well-pleased (with your blissful destination), well-pleasing (to your Lord).

*19 This he will be told at the time of his death as well as on the Day of Resurrection when he will rise from the dead and move towards the Plain of Assembly and also on the occasion when he will be presented in the Divine Court; at every stage he will be assured that he is moving towards the Mercy of Allah Almighty. 

فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي {89:29}

[Q89:29] Fadkhulee fee 'ibaadee 
[Q89:29] "Enter you, then, among My honoured slaves,

‘ALLAH (SWT)’s heaven’---is ALLAH (SWT)’s pleasure, i.e., the soul is admitted to ALLAH (SWT)’s pleasure---thereafter divinity gets reflected in it.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:29) So enter among My (righteous) servants

وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي {89:30}

[Q89:30] Wadkhulee Jannatee 
[Q89:30] "And enter you My Paradise!"

 (see commentary for verse 27)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(89:30) and enter My Paradise.”

*****************************