سورة : AlFajr

Meaning, they used to live in trellised houses that were raised with firm pillars or they were very tall like lofty pillars.

Here Allah (swt) is informing us about some of the nations that He has destroyed.

In Surah Al-Ghashiah Allah (swt) informs us about the Overwhelming day in which no one can escape, on the other hand, there some kinds of punishment in this life before the hereafter so that tyranny would not prevail and corruption would not spread as a result  people and countries do not suffer from them.

Allah (swt) mentions examples of those who have been punished precipitately in this life as the nation of Aad, Thamud and Pharaoh, saying to His Messenger (saws): O’ Muhammad, did you not see how your Master dealt with those people? Although they had a great history of urbanization and civilization, but this did not save them from Allah’s (swt) punishment so that Allah (swt) punished them severely until they became traces of reality.

أَلَمْ تَرَ (Have you not considered): literally means (did you not see) but Allah (swt) gives this expression to emphasize the truthfulness of this news to His Prophet (saws) and to draw his and our attention to the fact that the news which are received from Allah (swt) are more truthful from what we can see by our eyes because our eyes may be deceived but Allah (swt) does not tell us but the truth that matches what the eyes see.

This is a question and not the answer of oath (the statement which comes after the oath).

This is an affirmative question that confirms the issue in hand. It is stronger in presenting than just telling about it. Hence, Allah (swt) is stating the matter in a form of affirmative question because He knows very well that the person who possesses intellect and pure instinct would answer by “yes, there is”. So, this question makes the addressee confirm the matter instead of being informed about it and this is more affirmative than the answer of the oath sentence.

حِجْرٍ (perception): it is so -called in Arabic because it prevents its owner from doing wrong and this is the mission of the intellect, that is to restrict a person from doing evil and guide him to good until reaching the happiness and benefits.

Allah (swt) has willed the intellect in human beings as a means which guides the instincts, prevents them from transgressing and elevates them towards what Allah (swt) has willed for humans. This can be accomplished by following the deeds and instructions on man.

Anyone may ask: Why has Allah (swt) created these instincts in human beings?

The answer is: Because they have a very important job in our lives, so that Allah (swt) made them a part of human nature but these instincts have to be limited to what they have been created for, as for example, the instinct of loving food is created to preserve the life, the instinct of sex is found to retain the gender and the instinct of curiosity is the means of searching and investigating. Thus, the instincts are controlled by intellect and all the Quranic verses are addressing the intellect.

The night is a sign among the creation signs. This is the Quranic method of characterizing the meanings and make them as living creatures moving to fulfill specific tasks.

So, these are the oaths the are presented at the beginning of the Surah.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) has taught us that there are prayers of even and odd numbers of raka’ats, for example, the Dhuhr prayer is even whereas the Mughrib prayer is odd.

There are different interpretations about this verse. However, the most correct of them is what Jaber Ibn Abdullah has narrated that it is the first ten nights of Dhul-Hijjah (the month in which Hajj takes place).

But what is the importance of these nights so that Allah (swt) has sworn by them?

It is said that because a Muslim completes his Lord’s assignments when performing the Hajj pilgrimage which is the fifth and last pillar of Islam. In these days Muslims crowded and gathered from everywhere to perform Hajj.

Allah (swt) is swearing by the dawn.

الْفَجْرِ (dawn): In Arabic means a wide split. The dawn is well known that it is the earliest time when the light tears through the darkness of the night. As if the day light is hidden in the darkness of night then comes the dawn that tears it up completely. Accordingly, the man who gets out of Allah’s (swt) instruction is called the (Al-Fajir) (the sinner) in Arabic, which is derived from this word (Al-Fajr) (the dawn), meaning that he has done a crack in the methodology.

The one who observes the sequence of day and night and the dawn which breaks the darkness of night will certainly understand this verse. As the universe is not stable rather it is subjected to changeable and consecutive events. However, any unstable matter has to have a supreme power that changes it; Who is Allah (swt).

On the other hand, this word الْفَجْرِ (dawn) indicates, as well, that the world comes out of its sleep into the enlightening movement that is guided by the truth and is not floundering so that it is a fruitful and beneficial movement.

Hence, the dawn is a sign from Allah (swt) and it is worthy to be sworn by since Allah (swt) does not swear but by the great things.

However, the importance of the dawn does not lessen the value of night. Each of them has a mission which Allah (swt) has willed for it in this worldly life. So, Allah (swt) puts in front of our eyes these interlocutors to teach us that they are signs and are not contradictions, rather they are complementary, and one of the two sides does not dispense with the other.

Moreover, the dawn, which Allah (swt) is swearing by, is not mere the appearance of light which splits the darkness and erases the sign of night, rather it is connected with an act of worshipping which is the prayer of dawn. This prayer by which the Muslim begins his day, through which he takes his strength from Allah (swt), the creator of this life.

Al-Fajr prayer is the most difficult one for the hypocrites because it takes them out of rest and relaxation and deprives them of the pleasure of sleeping.

Hence, Allah (swt) is swearing by the dawn as a time or as a prayer.