'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah Al-Lail

It is Makki according to the statement of the majority. Al-Mahdawi said it is Madani, and it is said that there is a Madani part in it. Its number is twenty verses by consensus.

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿By the night when it covers﴾ ﴿And by the day when it appears﴾ ﴿And what He created of male and female﴾ ﴿Indeed, your efforts are diverse﴾ ﴿So as for he who gives and fears Allah﴾ ﴿And believes in the best﴾ ﴿We will ease him toward ease﴾ ﴿And as for he who withholds and considers himself free of need﴾ ﴿And denies the best﴾ ﴿We will ease him toward hardship﴾ ﴿And what will his wealth avail him when he falls﴾ ﴿Indeed, upon Us is guidance﴾ ﴿And indeed, to Us belongs the Hereafter and the first﴾ ﴿So I have warned you of a Fire which flames﴾ ﴿None will enter it except the most wretched﴾ ﴿Who denied and turned away﴾ ﴿And the righteous will be far removed from it﴾ ﴿Who gives his wealth to purify himself﴾ ﴿And not giving for anyone who has done him a favor to be rewarded﴾ ﴿Except seeking the countenance of his Lord, the Most High﴾ ﴿And he will be pleased﴾

Allah swore by the night when it covers the earth and all that is in it, and by the day when it appears, meaning when it shows and illuminates the horizons. From this is the saying of the poet:

The night journey appeared from his face at dawn, on the journey, a noble light, its features.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And what He created of male and female﴾, it is possible that

It is narrated that this verse was revealed concerning Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him. This is because he used to free the weak slaves who had embraced Islam. He would spend his wealth in the pleasure of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. The disbelievers were against that. This is the saying of those who claim that the entire surah is Meccan. Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa said: This surah is about Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. And Muqatil said: Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, passed by Abu Sufyan while he was torturing Bilal. So he bought him from him. And al-Suddi said: This verse was revealed because of Abu Dhadha al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him. This is because a palm tree belonging to some hypocrites overlooked the house of a Muslim woman who had orphans. The fruit would fall on them, and they would eat it, but the hypocrite prevented them from that and was harsh towards them. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to him: Sell it to me for a palm tree in Paradise. He said: I will not do that. This reached Abu Dhadha, so he went to him and bought the palm tree with a garden of his. He came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: O Messenger of Allah, I am buying the palm tree in Paradise with this. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, did that. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, would pass by the garden that Abu Dhadha had given, and its branches would be hanging down, and he would say: "How many clusters are hanging for Abu Dhadha in Paradise!" In al-Bukhari, it is mentioned that this phrase was what the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, would say about the clusters that Abu Dhadha would hang in the mosque as charity. All of this is the saying of those who say that part of the surah is Medinan.

People have differed regarding "the best" in this surah. Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami and others said: It is none worthy of worship except Allah. Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah, and a group said: It is the reward that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, promised. This is a text in the hadith of the two angels, as one of them says: "O Allah, grant the spender a replacement," and the other says: "O Allah, grant the miser destruction." Mujahid, al-Hasan, and a group said: The best is Paradise. Many of the interpreters said: The best is the reward and recompense in general.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "So We will ease him to the easy" means: Our facilitation will appear through the good deeds he engages in. The conclusion of his facilitation has been known in the knowledge of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, from eternity. "The easy" is the good and pleasing state in this world and the Hereafter, while "the difficult" is the bad state in this world and the Hereafter. There is no doubt that whoever makes "miserly" specific to wealth has also made "self-sufficient" specific to wealth, so that the blame is magnified. And whoever makes "miserly" general in all that should be given in word and deed says: "He is self-sufficient" from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and His mercy by his claim. Then He, glorified and exalted is He, stopped at the point of his wealth's self-sufficiency from him at the time of his downfall. This indicates that the giving and the mentioned miserliness are indeed in wealth.

People have differed in the meaning of "تَرَدّى". Qatadah and Abu Salih said: Its meaning is: he fell into Hell, that is, he fell from its edges. Mujahid said: "تَرَدّى" means: he perished from the fall. Some said: Its meaning is: he fell with his shrouds from the covering. From this is the saying of Malik ibn al-Rayb:

And I was laid to rest at the edges of the spears, And the favor of my covering was returned to my eyes.

From this is the saying of another:

Your share of what you gather throughout time, Is two coverings in which you are wrapped and perfumed.

Then Allah, the Most High, informed that He has guidance for all people, meaning: His informing them of all the paths, and granting them understanding, as He, the Most High, said: "And upon Allah is the direction of the way" [An-Nahl: 9]. Then everyone after that earns what has been decreed for him, and this guidance is not the guidance to faith; if it were so, there would not be a disbeliever. Then Allah, the Most High, informed that the Hereafter and this world are two abodes.

And His saying, the Most High: "So I warned you of a blazing fire" is either a direct address from Him, glorified is He, or it means: Say to them, O Muhammad. The majority of the seven reciters read: "تَلَظّى" with a softened ت. Al-Bazzi read from Ibn Kathir with a strengthened ت and the merging of the ر into it. It was also narrated from Ubaid ibn Umayr that he read it as "تَتَلَظّى" with two ت's, and likewise read by Ibn al-Zubayr and Talhah.

And His saying, the Most High: "None shall enter it except the most wretched" means: none shall enter it for eternity. From here, the Murji'ah went astray because they took the negation of eternity in both little and much. And "the most wretched" here refers to the disbeliever, as evidenced by His saying, the Most High: "the one who lied". The Arabs use "أفْعَلُ" in the place of "فاعِلٍ" for emphasis, as Tarafah said:

Men wished that I would die, and if I die, That is a path in which I am not alone.

The people of interpretation did not differ that the intended meaning of "the most pious" until the end of the surah is Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him. Then it encompasses everyone who enters into these attributes. And His saying, the Most High: "يَتَزَكّى" means: he purifies himself and seeks to grow. The apparent meaning of this coming is that it is in the recommended acts. And His saying, the Most High: "And for no one is there with him..." means: and his giving is not to repay for the blessings that have been bestowed upon him, but rather it is a beginning seeking the face of Allah, the Most High.

It has been narrated regarding the reason for this that the Quraysh said - when Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, freed Bilal - that Bilal had a debt with him. Al-Tabari went to say that the meaning is: and he does not give to be rewarded with blessings for which he awaits their reward. He hovered around this meaning and elaborated in a way that was not beneficial, and the meaning he intended is clearer than his statement, and that is that the estimation is: And for no one is there with him giving that would result in a reward from that one afterwards; it is for the mere reward of Allah, the Most High, and His recompense.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Except seeking" is established by the disconnected exception, and there is consideration in it. Seeking is the request. Then He promised him, glorified and exalted is He, with pleasure in the Hereafter. This is a promise for Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. And he read "pleased" with a dammah on the ya, according to the form of the verb for the object. This verse resembles the pleasure in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Return to your Lord, pleased and pleasing" [Al-Fajr: 28]. The interpretation of Surah [Al-Lail] is complete, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.