سُورَةُ الفَجۡرِ
Surah 89 - Al-Fajr
The Dawn
- 30 verses
- Juz 30
- Pages 593 to 594 of the Mushaf
Al-Fajr first lines up four very short oaths - the dawn, ten nights, the even and the odd, the night as it passes - then asks whether that is enough for one who can grasp it. The text runs through three reminders: 'Aad and Iram of the pillars, Thamud and its rock cut in the valley, Pharaoh. It moves on to man and to the way he reads what happens to him: given plenty, he calls himself honoured; held short, he calls himself brought low. The text sets both readings aside and points elsewhere - the orphan, the poor, inheritance, the hold of wealth. Then comes the day the earth is ground to dust and remembering comes too late. Four verses close the surah by addressing a settled soul.
The main parts
The text of the surah
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ وَٱلْفَجْرِ
By the dawn
وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍۢ
And [by] ten nights
وَٱلشَّفْعِ وَٱلْوَتْرِ
And [by] the even [number] and the odd
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ
And [by] the night when it passes,
هَلْ فِى ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٌۭ لِّذِى حِجْرٍ
Is there [not] in [all] that an oath [sufficient] for one of perception?
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ
Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with 'Aad -
إِرَمَ ذَاتِ ٱلْعِمَادِ
[With] Iram - who had lofty pillars,
ٱلَّتِى لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِى ٱلْبِلَٰدِ
The likes of whom had never been created in the land?
وَثَمُودَ ٱلَّذِينَ جَابُوا۟ ٱلصَّخْرَ بِٱلْوَادِ
And [with] Thamud, who carved out the rocks in the valley?
وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِى ٱلْأَوْتَادِ
And [with] Pharaoh, owner of the stakes? -
ٱلَّذِينَ طَغَوْا۟ فِى ٱلْبِلَٰدِ
[All of] whom oppressed within the lands
فَأَكْثَرُوا۟ فِيهَا ٱلْفَسَادَ
And increased therein the corruption.
فَصَبَّ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّكَ سَوْطَ عَذَابٍ
So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment.
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِٱلْمِرْصَادِ
Indeed, your Lord is in observation.
فَأَمَّا ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ إِذَا مَا ٱبْتَلَىٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ فَأَكْرَمَهُۥ وَنَعَّمَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّىٓ أَكْرَمَنِ
And as for man, when his Lord tries him and [thus] is generous to him and favors him, he says, "My Lord has honored me."
وَأَمَّآ إِذَا مَا ٱبْتَلَىٰهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّىٓ أَهَٰنَنِ
But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, "My Lord has humiliated me."
كَلَّا ۖ بَل لَّا تُكْرِمُونَ ٱلْيَتِيمَ
No! But you do not honor the orphan
وَلَا تَحَٰٓضُّونَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلْمِسْكِينِ
And you do not encourage one another to feed the poor.
وَتَأْكُلُونَ ٱلتُّرَاثَ أَكْلًۭا لَّمًّۭا
And you consume inheritance, devouring [it] altogether,
وَتُحِبُّونَ ٱلْمَالَ حُبًّۭا جَمًّۭا
And you love wealth with immense love.
كَلَّآ إِذَا دُكَّتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ دَكًّۭا دَكًّۭا
No! When the earth has been leveled - pounded and crushed -
وَجَآءَ رَبُّكَ وَٱلْمَلَكُ صَفًّۭا صَفًّۭا
And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank,
وَجِا۟ىٓءَ يَوْمَئِذٍۭ بِجَهَنَّمَ ۚ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ يَتَذَكَّرُ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُ ٱلذِّكْرَىٰ
And brought [within view], that Day, is Hell - that Day, man will remember, but what good to him will be the remembrance?
يَقُولُ يَٰلَيْتَنِى قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِى
He will say, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life."
فَيَوْمَئِذٍۢ لَّا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌۭ
So on that Day, none will punish [as severely] as His punishment,
وَلَا يُوثِقُ وَثَاقَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌۭ
And none will bind [as severely] as His binding [of the evildoers].
يَٰٓأَيَّتُهَا ٱلنَّفْسُ ٱلْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ
[To the righteous it will be said], "O reassured soul,
ٱرْجِعِىٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةًۭ مَّرْضِيَّةًۭ
Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him],
فَٱدْخُلِى فِى عِبَٰدِى
And enter among My [righteous] servants
وَٱدْخُلِى جَنَّتِى
And enter My Paradise."
Key verses of the surah
The oath on ten nights, which the text nowhere specifies further.
وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍۢ
And [by] ten nights
The hinge: the text leaves both readings man makes of his lot and names the orphan.
كَلَّا ۖ بَل لَّا تُكْرِمُونَ ٱلْيَتِيمَ
No! But you do not honor the orphan
The address to a settled soul: it changes addressee after the punishment scene and opens the last four verses.
يَٰٓأَيَّتُهَا ٱلنَّفْسُ ٱلْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ
[To the righteous it will be said], "O reassured soul,
What is surah Al-Fajr about?
About what a person does with what he has. After oaths and three peoples cited, the text examines two judgements a man passes on his own situation, refuses both, and shifts the question toward those he neglects.
What are the ten nights in surah Al-Fajr?
Verse 2 swears by ten nights and says nothing more: no month, no season, no rank. The surah defines them nowhere. What the text gives is their place - second in a run of four oaths.
What does surah Al-Fajr say about wealth?
Verses 15 and 16 show a man who takes ease as a mark of esteem and hardship as a slight. Verses 17 to 20 answer by pointing to the orphan, the poor, inheritance devoured and the love of wealth.
How does surah Al-Fajr end?
With four verses that change addressee. After the day set out in verses 21 to 26, a voice speaks to a settled soul and tells it to return, then to enter. It is the only address of that kind in the surah.
Why is surah Al-Fajr called that?
“Al-Fajr” means “the Dawn”. The name comes from the first verse, which is also the shortest in the surah: a one-word oath. Three further oaths follow it, on ten nights, on the even and the odd, and on the night as it passes.
How many verses does surah Al-Fajr have?
Surah Al-Fajr has 30 verses. It stands at number 89 in the order of the Mushaf, which holds 114.
The Arabic text is that of the Mushaf. The summary, the outline and the answers on this page describe the text and how it is built: they are not religious commentary.