Translation for Surah Al-Fajir

Which was revealed in Makkah.

Recitation of Surat Al-Fajr in the Prayer
An-Nasa'i recorded a narration from Jabir that Mu`adh prayed a prayer and a man came and joined him in the prayer. Mu`adh made the prayer long, so the man went and prayed (alone) at the side of the Masjid, and then left. When Mu`adh was informed of this he said, "(He is) a hypocrite.'' He (Mu`adh) then informed the Messenger of Allah of what happened. The Prophet then asked the young man (about it) and he replied, "O Messenger of Allah! I came to pray with him, but he made the prayer too long for me. So I left him and prayed at the side of the Masjid. Then I went to feed my she-camel.'' The Messenger of Allah then said,
«أَفَتَّانٌ يَا مُعَاذُ؟ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ مِنْ
﴿سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الاّعْلَى ﴾
﴿وَالشَّمْسِ وَضُحَـهَا ﴾
﴿وَالْفَجْرِ ﴾
﴿وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى ﴾»
(Are you causing trouble Mu`adh Why don't you recite (`Glorify the Name of your Lord the Most High'), (`By the sun and its brightness'), (`By the dawn'), (and (`By the night as it envelops'))
﴿بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
﴿وَالْفَجْرِ- وَلَيالٍ عَشْرٍ- وَالشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ- وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ- هَلْ فِى ذَلِكَ قَسَمٌ لّذِى حِجْرٍ- أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ- إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ- الَّتِى لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِى الْبِلَـدِ- وَثَمُودَ الَّذِينَ جَابُواْ الصَّخْرَ بِالْوَادِ- وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِى الاْوْتَادِ- الَّذِينَ طَغَوْاْ فِى الْبِلَـدِ- فَأَكْثَرُواْ فِيهَا الْفَسَادَ- فَصَبَّ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّكَ سَوْطَ عَذَابٍ- إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ-﴾
(1. By the dawn;) (2. And by the ten nights,) (3. And by the even and the odd.) (4. And by the night when it departs.) (5. Is there (not) in them sufficient proofs for men of understanding!) (6. Saw you not how your Lord dealt with `Ad) (7. Iram of the pillars,) (8. The like of which were not created in the land) (9. And Thamud, who hewed out rocks in the valley) (10. And Fir`awn with Al-Awtad) (11. Who did transgress beyond bounds in the lands.) (12. And made therein much mischief.) (13. So, your Lord poured on them different kinds of severe torment.) (14. Verily, your Lord is Ever Watchful.)

The Explanation of Al-Fajr and what comes after it
Concerning Al-Fajr, it is well known that it is the morning. This was said by `Ali, Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Mujahid and As-Suddi. It has been reported from Masruq and Muhammad bin Ka`b that Al-Fajr refers to the day of Sacrifice (An-Nahr) in particular, and it is the last of the ten nights. `The ten nights' refers to the (first) ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Ibn Zubayr, Mujahid and others among the Salaf and the latter generations. It has been confirmed in Sahih Al-Bukhari from Ibn `Abbas that the Prophet said,
«مَا مِنْ أَيَّامٍ الْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللهِ فِيهِنَّ مِنْ هذِهِ الْأَيَّام»
(There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these days.) meaning the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. They said, "Not even fighting Jihad in the way of Allah'' He replied,
«وَلَا الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ، إِلَّا رَجُلًا خَرَجَ بِنَفْسِهِ وَمَالِهِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَرْجِعْ مِنْ ذلِكَ بِشَيْء»
(Not even Jihad in the way of Allah; except for a man who goes out (for Jihad) with his self and his wealth, and he does not return with any of that.)

Explanation of Night:

Concerning Allah's statement,
﴿وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ ﴾
(And by the night when it departs.) Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "When it goes away.'' `Abdullah bin Zubayr said,
﴿وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ ﴾
(And by the night when it departs.) "As some parts of it remove other parts of it.'' Mujahid, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Qatadah, and Malik who reported it from Zayd bin Aslam and Ibn Zayd, they all said;
﴿وَالَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ ﴾
(And by the night when it departs.) "When it moves along.'' Concerning Allah's statement,
﴿هَلْ فِى ذَلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِّذِى حِجْرٍ ﴾
(There is indeed in them sufficient proofs for men with Hijr!) meaning, for he who possesses intellect, sound reasoning, understanding and religious discernment. The intellect has only been called Hijr because it prevents the person from doing that which is not befitting of him of actions and statement. From this we see the meaning of Hijr Al-Bayt because it prevents the person performing Tawaf from clinging the wall facing Ash-Sham. Also the term Hijr Al-Yamamah (the cage of the pigeon) is derived from this meaning (i.e., prevention). It is said, "Hajara Al-Hakim so-and-so (The judge passed a judgement preventing so-and-so),'' when his judgement prevents the person from his liberty (i.e., of freely utilizing his wealth). Allah says,
﴿وَيَقُولُونَ حِجْراً مَّحْجُوراً﴾
(And they will say: "Hijr Mahjur.'') (25:22) All of these examples are different cases but their meanings are quite similar. The oath that is referred to here is about the times of worship and the acts of worship themselves, such as Hajj, Salah and other acts of worship that Allah's pious, obedient, servants who fear Him and are humble before Him, seeking His Noble Face, perform in order to draw nearer to Him.

Mentioning the Destruction of `Ad
After mentioning these people, and their worship and obedience, Allah says,
﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ ﴾
(Saw you not how your Lord dealt with `Ad) These were people who were rebellious, disobedient, arrogant, outside of His obedience, deniers of His Messengers and rejectors of His Scriptures. Thus, Allah mentions how He destroyed them, annihilated them and made them legends to be spoken of and an exemplary lesson of warning. He says,
﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ - إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ ﴾
(Saw you not how your Lord dealt with `Ad Iram of the pillars,) These were the first people of `Ad. They were the descendants of `Ad bin Iram bin `Aws bin Sam bin Nuh. This was said by Ibn Ishaq. They are those to whom Allah sent His Messenger Hud. However, they rejected and opposed him. Therefore, Allah saved him and those who believed with him from among them, and He destroyed others with a furious, violent wind.
﴿سَخَّرَهَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَبْعَ لَيَالٍ وَثَمَـنِيَةَ أَيَّامٍ حُسُوماً فَتَرَى الْقَوْمَ فِيهَا صَرْعَى كَأَنَّهُمْ أَعْجَازُ نَخْلٍ خَاوِيَةٍ - فَهَلْ تَرَى لَهُم مِّن بَاقِيَةٍ ﴾
(Which Allah imposed on them for seven nights and eight days in succession, so that you could see men lying overthrown, as if they were hollow trunks of date palms! Do you see any remnants of them) (69: 7- Allah mentioned their story in the Qur'an in more than one place, so that the believers may learn a lesson from their demise. Allah then says,
﴿إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ ﴾
(Iram of the pillars.) This is an additional explanation that adds clarification who they actually were. Concerning His saying,
﴿ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ﴾
(of the pillars.) is because they used to live in trellised houses that were raised with firm pillars. They were the strongest people of their time in their physical stature, and they were the mightiest people in power. Thus, Hud reminded them of this blessing, and he directed them to use this power in the obedience of their Lord Who had created them. He said,
﴿وَاذكُرُواْ إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَآءَ مِن بَعْدِ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَزَادَكُمْ فِى الْخَلْقِ بَسْطَةً فَاذْكُرُواْ ءَالآءَ اللَّهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾
(And remember that He made you successors after the people of Nuh and increased you amply in stature. So remember the graces from Allah so that you may be successful.)(7:69)

To be Continued Insha2ALLAH. . .