☪️ Quran: Chapter 89 The Dawn – Al-Fajr سورة الفجر

Revelation place: Mecca

Revelation or

Number of verses: 30

Theme: Warnings from history, the consequences of arrogance, and the tranquility promised to the righteous soul.

Subjects: Resurrection · History · Morality · Warning · Reward · Divine Justice

Summary:Surah Al-Fajr is a Meccan surah that opens with a solemn oath by natural signs that signal the power and certainty of Allah:

“By the dawn. And [by] ten nights. And [by] the even [number] and the odd. And [by] the night when it passes.” (89:1–4)

These verses are believed to refer to momentous times  such as the Dawn of Judgment, the first ten nights of Dhul-Hijjah, and the cyclical order of creation. The oaths emphasize the seriousness of what follows:

“Is there [not] in [all] that an oath [sufficient] for one of perception?” (89:5)

The surah then reminds humanity of past nations who were destroyed for their arrogance:

• ‘Ād  a powerful nation with towering structures.

• Thamūd skilled builders who carved homes into rock.

• Pharaoh ruler of great power who transgressed all limits.

“Did you not consider how your Lord dealt with ‘Ād , Iram of the lofty pillars, the likes of whom had never been created in the land? And [with] Thamūd, who carved out the rocks in the valley? And [with] Pharaoh, owner of the stakes?  [All of] whom transgressed in the lands and increased therein the corruption. So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment.” (89:6–13)

These examples warn that power and prosperity without faith lead to downfall.

Then Allah turns to human behavior:

“As for man, when his Lord tries him and [thus] is generous to him and favors him, he says, ‘My Lord has honored me.’ But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, ‘My Lord has humiliated me.’”(89:15–16)

Humans wrongly equate wealth with divine approval. But Allah’s test can come in both ease and hardship. True success is gratitude and patience  not arrogance.

“No! But you do not honor the orphan and you do not encourage one another to feed the poor. And you consume inheritance devouringly, and you love wealth with immense love.” (89:17–20)

Here, the surah criticizes moral corruption  greed, neglect of the vulnerable, and love of wealth.

Then comes a powerful shift to the Day of Judgment:

“No! When the earth has been leveled  pounded and crushed  and your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank, and brought [within view], that Day, is Hell  that Day man will remember, but how [will] that remembrance [then] benefit him?” (89:21–23)

Each soul will regret its heedlessness. But for the righteous, there is a beautiful promise.

“[To the righteous it will be said], ‘O reassured soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him]. Enter among My [righteous] servants and enter My Paradise.’” (89:27–30)

This is one of the most comforting endings in the Qur’an an address to the nafs al-muṭma’inna (the tranquil soul), welcomed with love and honor into Paradise.

Key Embedded Themes:

• Divine Oaths: Emphasizing certainty of the message.

• Historical Lessons: ‘Ād, Thamūd, and Pharaoh as examples of arrogance and downfall.

• Human Misconception: Wealth is not proof of divine favor.

• Moral Accountability: Orphans, the poor, and wealth are moral tests.

• Day of Judgment: Sudden, inescapable, overwhelming.

• Reassured Soul: The righteous are welcomed into eternal peace.

  
  

Essence:Al-Fajr is a surah of warning and hope. It warns the arrogant by reminding them of destroyed empires, corrects misconceptions about worldly success, and ends by honoring the tranquil soul destined for Paradise. It is both a wake-up call and a promise of peace to those who believe and act righteously.

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I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the condemned.

With the name of Allah, the Gracious the Merciful.

(Acknowledge and declare that Allah is the author of the Quran)

1- And by the dawn

2- And the ten nights (Ten days of Eid al-Adha)

3- And the even (Day of Scarify) and the odd (Day of Arafa) (Or by even and odd prayers)

4- And the night as it goes (gradually)

5- Is there in that an oath for the one of quarantine (The mind that quarantine, restrain, protects its owner from committing what is inappropriate)

6- Have not you seen what your God did with Aad

7- Iram (Aad city in the desert came after Noah) of the pillars

8- That was not created the like of it in the lands

9- And Thamud who pocketed (Carved, hollowed) the rocks in the valley

10- And Pharoah of the stakes

11- Whom oppressed within the lands

12- So increased within it the corruption

13- So poured upon them whipping torment

14- Indeed, your God is on observation (Constant hearing seeing)

15- And as for the human, if inflect him his God, so by honoring him and blissed him (tested him with honor, bliss and wealth), so he says “my God had honored me”

16- And, but if He inflected him, and allot (Measured allowed portion, restricted his life) upon him his provision, so he says ” My God has humiliated me”

17- No! rather you do not honor the orphan

18- And do not urge upon feeding the poor

19- And you eat the inherence, devouring in all force. (You consume the inheritance in a greedy manner your share and others, leaving nothing of it)

20- And you love the wealth, a hoarding love (Absolut increasing love of wealth gathering)

21- No! (That is not what is supposed to be), so when the earth is pounded , pounding, pounding (Hammered, destroyed, crushed, crumbled repeatedly and completely)

22- And came you God, and the angels and row after row (Organized close rows)

23- And brought that day with Gahanna (hell was brought forward), that day will remember human, and what for him is the remembrance (What use for him now is the remembrance)

24- He says ”O, I wish I had forwarded to my ” (It expresses regret and remorse for missing opportunities in this world to do good deeds for the true eternal life in the afterlife, not the Pershing life of this world)

25- So, in that day, will not be torment his torment anyone  (On that Day, no one will be punished as a disbeliever)

26- And will not be bounded his biding anyone (On that Day, no one will be bound as a disbeliever)

27- Oh! Reassured self (Assured in Allah’s promise to the people of faith in the world and has surpassed the stage of the commanding self, the evil and the self-reproaching self, and has reached the level of tranquility and security)

28- Return to your God satisfied well-pleased

29- So, enter My among my worshipers (The company of those close to Allah, whom He has chosen and selected to heaven)

30- And enter My paradise

Disclaimer:

The Holy Quran, in its essence, is a divine revelation that can only be fully appreciated in its original Arabic language. Any translation or interpretation, including the one presented here, is not and cannot be a replacement for the Arabic Holy Quran. I intended to offer an English rendering that remains faithful to the original Arabic. I am neither a scholar nor do I possess any formal Islamic qualifications. My approach to this translation is empirical, drawing upon my readings of selected scholarly interpretations, personal experiences, and understanding of the Holy Quran as a Muslim native Arabic speaker.