وَالضُّحَىٰ
CONSIDER the bright morning hours, (1)
وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَىٰ
and the night when it grows still and dark. (2)
مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَىٰ
Thy Sustainer has not forsaken thee, nor does He scorn thee: (3)
وَلَلْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنَ الْأُولَىٰ
for, indeed, the life to come will be better for thee than this earlier part [of thy life]! (4)
وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰ
And, indeed, in time will thy Sustainer grant thee [what thy heart desires], and thou shalt be well-pleased. (5)
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَىٰ
Has He not found thee an orphan, and given thee shelter? (6)
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَىٰ
And found thee lost on thy way, and guided thee? (7)
وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَىٰ
And found thee in want, and given thee sufficiency? (8)
فَأَمَّا الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ
Therefore, the orphan shalt thou never wrong, (9)
وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ
and him that seeks [thy] help shalt thou never chide, (10)
وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ
and of thy Sustainer's blessings shalt thou [ever] speak. (11)
- and the night when it grows still and dark.1
- 1 The expression "bright morning hours" apparently symbolizes the few and widely-spaced periods of happiness in human life, as contrasted with the much greater length of "the night when it grows still and dark", i.e., the extended periods of sorrow or suffering that, as a rule, overshadow man's existence in this world (cf. 90:4). The further implication is that, as sure as morning follows night, God's mercy is bound to lighten every suffering, either in this world or in the life to come - for God has "willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy" (6:12 and 54).
- And by the Night6176 when it is still,-
- 6176 Cf. 92:1-2. There Night is mentioned first, and Day second, to enforce the lesson of contrasts: the veil of the night naturally comes first before the splendour of daylight is revealed. Here the argument is different: the growing hours of morning light are the main thing and are mentioned first; while the hours of preparation and quiescence, which are subordinate, come second.
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And by the Night when it is still,-
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
And by the night when it is stillest,
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
And the night when it covers with darkness.
— M. Habib Shakir -
And by the night when it is still (or darkens);
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
By the night when it darkeneth,
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
and by the night when it covers,
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
and by the night when it broods,
— Ayub Khan -
And by the night when its darkness spreads out,
— Sher Ali -
and the night when it grows still and dark.
— Muhammad Asad -
and the brooding night!
— Arthur Arberry -
and by the night when it covers the world with peace:{{2}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi