The Night

Chapter 92: The Night

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

1. By the night when she lets fall her darkness,

2. by the day in full splendour,

3. by Him who created the male and female:

4. Surely your striving is diverse.

5. For Him who gives and is godfearing

6. and believes in that which is the Best,

7. We shall smooth the way to perfect ease.

8. But as for him who is a miser and deems himself self-sufficient,

9. and calls the Best a lie,

10. We shall smooth his way to affliction.

11. His wealth will not avail him when he falls headlong.

12. It is for Us to give guidance,

13. and to Us belong the End and Begining.

14. I warn you, therefore, of the fiercely blazing fire,

15. in which none shall burn but the most wretched,

16. who denies the truth and turns away.

17. Preserved from it will be the righteous,

18. who gives away his money to purify himself,

19. not in recompense of any favour done him by anyone.

20. He simply seeks the pleasure of His Lord, the Most High.

21. He shall indeed be well content.


Allah started this surrah (chapter) by swearing by the natural phenomena that He has created. This form of oath is used extensively by Allah throughout the Quran to remind mankind of the signs He has created for man to ponder upon the reason for their existence. In this surrah, Allah focuses on two of His signs - the changing of night to day and day to night, and the creation of beings into two complementing creatures - the male and the female. As one contemplates and meditates upon those phenomena one is bound to conclude that there is an able hand which controls the universe and alternates the night and day in that perfect, unfailing accuracy. The same applies to the creation of male and female. Hence, one is also abound to conclude that the hand of Allah also controls the lives of men. He has not created them in vain, and He has not abandon them to lead a life without purpose.
From verse 4 onwards, Allah then continues to describe that humans' actions are diverse and so are the rewards of their respective actions. This examplifies the infinite justice that He has bestowed upon mankind for good is not the same as evil, following the right guidance is unlike wrong-doing, and righteousness is different from corruption. There exist 2 types of people: the first is; who gives and Godfearing and believes in that which is the Best and the other; who is a miser and deems himself self-sufficient and calls the Best a lie. The rewards for these 2 types of people are obviously different: the former - We shall smooth the way to perfect ease while the latter - We shall smooth his way to affliction. The following verse - His wealth will not avail him when he falls headlong - affirmed that even though he can be successful in his worldy life, his success are meaningless and powerless to stop the retribution of his actions later on in his life or the hereafter. In the hereafter, this group suffer the worst affliction ever to be bestowed on man - I warn you, therefore, of the burning fiercely blazing fire, in which none shall burn but the most wretched, who denies the truth and turns away.
The surrah ends with describing the rewards of the righteous - Preserved from it (hell) form the righteous, who gives away his money to purify himself, not in recompense of any favour done him by anyone. He simply seeks the pleasure of his Lord, the most High. He shall indeed be well content.

Summarised from Sayyid Qutb's In the Shade of the Qur'an vol.30 translation by M.A. Salahi, A.A. Shamis (1979) Redwood Burn Ltd.