Verse:1 Commentary Place of Revelation

According to Sayyidna Ibn Masud, Jabir, Hasan Basri, ` Ikramah and ` Ata' رحمۃ اللہ علیہم Surah Al-` Adiyat was revealed in Makkah and, according to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Anas ؓ ، Imam Malik and Qatadah رحمۃ اللہ علیہما ، the Surah was revealed in Madinah. [ Qurtubi ].

In this Surah Allah describes the special features of war-horses or chargers, and swears by them. The subject of the oath states that man is very ungrateful to his Lord. It has been explained time and again previously that it is the prerogative of Allah to swear oath by any of his creatures to recount an event or set down ordinances. It is not permitted for any of the human beings to take oath by any of the creatures. The purpose of swearing an oath is to confirm or give weight to a subsequently stated truth. It is also mentioned earlier that when the Holy Qur'an swears an oath by an object, it has some nexus with the subject of the oath. Here the hard tasks of the war-horses are called to bear testimony to the fact that man is very ungrateful for Allah's favours. In other words, man needs to look at the horses, especially the war-horses, who risk their lives to travel under very dangerous and difficult conditions, especially in the battlefields where they follow the commands of their masters, whereas man has not created them, he has not even created the fodder he gives to them. His task is merely to give them the fodder that Allah has created. The horses recognize and acknowledge this little favor man does to them, and are prepared to risk their lives and bear the greatest of hardships. As against this, Allah has created man with an insignificant drop of sperm and endowed him with high faculties, abilities, intellect and senses to perform various types of tasks, thus making him the crown of His creation. He [ Allah ] provided him with all types of food. Facilities are created for all his needs and necessities in an amazing manner. But man does not recognize and acknowledge any of these sublime favors, nor does he express his gratitude to his Creator.

Lexicographical Analysis

The word عَادِیَات adiyat is derived from the root ` adw' which means 'to run'. The ضَبح dabh means 'the sound coming out of the chest of a horse when it runs fast and breathes laboriously; panting.' The word مُورِیَاتِ muriyat is the active participle of the infinitive of اِیراَء 'ira. The infinitive means 'to strike or produce fire with a particular piece of wood.' The word قَدح qadh means 'to strike or produce fire with a flint; striking sparks of fire when the horse runs fast on a rocky ground with horse-shoes on'. The word مُغِیرَات mughirat is active participle of the infinitive اِغَارَۃ igharah. The infinitive means 'to attack, or make a sudden hostile excursion upon, an enemy'. The word subh means 'morning or dawn'. This time has been specifically mentioned because it was the practice of Arabs to attack their enemy at dawn, and not at night in order to show off their bravery. They thought making a hostile excursion on the enemy in the darkness of night was an act of cowardice. The word اَثَرنَ atharna is derived from ` itharah, which means 'to raise dust'. The word نَقع naq' means 'dust'. This implies that the dust became stirred up and spread upon the horizon, especially in the morning when the horses run fast. Normally, this is not the time for clouds of dust to fly in this way, unless it was caused by very fast running. Verse:2 Commentary Verse [ 100:5] فَوَسَطْنَ بِهِ جَمْعًا (then enter, at the same time, into the centre of the [ opposing ] host) In other words, they penetrate into the centre of the enemy forces without the least degree of fear.

The word kanud, (100:6) according to Hasan Basri (رح) ، refers to the one who counts the calamities that befall him, and forgets Allah's favours. Abu Bakr Wasiti said that kanud is the one who spends the bounties of Allah for sinful purposes. Tirmidhi said that kanud is the one who looks at the bounty, and not at the Bounteous Lord. In short, all these interpretations lead to the sense of 'ungratefulness to favours and bounties' and hence the expression kanud means 'ungrateful'. Verse:3 Commentary - - - Verse:4 Commentary - - - Verse:5 Commentary - - - Verse:6 Commentary - - - Verse:7 Commentary - - - Verse:8 Commentary Verse [ 100:8] وَإِنَّهُ لِحُبِّ الْخَيْرِ‌ لَشَدِيدٌ (and in his love for wealth, he is very intense.) Literally, the word khair means 'any good thing'. Idiomatically, the word khair, in Arabic, means 'wealth' implying that 'wealth' is an embodiment of goodness and benefit. However, some type of wealth can involve man in untold misery. In the Hereafter, this will be the position of all wealth acquired through unlawful means. Sometimes, wealth in this world too can prove to be nuisance and disaster. Nonetheless, according to Arabic idiom, worldly goods in this verse have been described as khair as the same word in another verse [ 2:180] اِن تَرَکَ خَیراً "...he leaves some wealth...". In this verse as well the word khair means 'wealth'.

To recap, having taken oath by war-horses, the subject states two points: [ 1] man is ungrateful or he is a blamer of his Lord who remembers misfortunes and forgets His favours; and [ 2] he is passionate in his love for wealth. Both these points are evil, rationally as well as from the Shari'ah point of view. These statements warn man against these evils. The evil of ingratitude is quite obvious and needs no elaboration, but the evil of man's violent love for wealth is not that obvious, and needs some elaboration. Wealth is the axis of man's needs and necessities. Shari'ah has not only permitted its acquisition, but it has also made its acquisition obligatory to the degree of his needs. Therefore, what is condemned in the verse is either the 'intense' or excessive love for wealth that makes one neglectful to one's obligations, and oblivious of the divine injunctions, or the sense is that earning wealth, even saving it according to one's needs is though permissible, having its love in the heart is bad. Let us consider the following illustration: When man feels the need to answer the call of nature, he does it out of necessity. In fact, he makes arrangements for it, but he does not develop love or passion for it in his heart. Likewise, when he falls sick and takes medication, or even undergoes surgery, but he does not develop attachment for it in his heart. He does it only out of necessity. The believer should treat the wealth in this way: A believer should acquire wealth, as Allah has commanded him, to the extent of his need, save it, look after it and utilize it whenever and wherever necessary, but his heart should not be attached to it. How elegantly Maulana Rumi (رح) has put it in one of his verses!

آب اندر زیر کشتی پشتی است آب در کشتی ھلاک کشتی است

"As long as the water remains under the boat, it helps the boat [ to sail ];

but if the water seeps into the boat, it sinks it."

Likewise, as long as the wealth floats around the boat of heart, it would be useful; but when it seeps into the heart, it will destroy it. Towards the conclusion of the Surah a warning has been sounded against these two evil qualities of man for which he will be punished in the Hereafter. Verse:9 Commentary Verses [ 100:9-11] وَحُصِّلَ مَا فِي الصُّدُورِ‌ ﴿10﴾ إِنَّ رَ‌بَّهُم بِهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَّخَبِيرٌ‌ ﴿11﴾ أَفَلَا يَعْلَمُ إِذَا بُعْثِرَ‌ مَا فِي الْقُبُورِ‌ ﴿9﴾ (Does he not then know [ what will happen ] when all that is contained in the graves will be overturned, and all that is contained in the hearts will be exposed. Surely your Lord, that day, is fully aware of them.) Divine retribution will be meted out, in the Hereafter, to each person commensurate with his deeds, good or bad, as Allah is well-aware of them. Therefore, it would be wise for man to abstain from ingratitude, and he should not have such a violently passionate love for wealth and indulgence in worldly riches as to be unable to separate the good from the bad.

Special Note

The current set of verses describes these evil qualities of man in general terms, while Prophets (علیہم السلام) ، friends of Allah and many of His righteous servants are free from these evil qualities or from any earthly attachments. They acquire wealth through lawful means and abstain from acquiring it through unlawful means. They are ever so grateful to Allah for the wealth He has given them and spend it in the way of Allah. So how these evils are attributed to man in general terms? The answer is that most people have these evil qualities, but this does not imply that all, without any exception, are characterized by these qualities. The upright people are excluded from the general statement. Some of the scholars restrict the word 'man' to 'unbelievers'. These two evil qualities are the essential characteristics of unbelievers, and if they are found in a Muslim [ God forbid!], he needs to reflect and be careful. Allah knows best!

Al-Hhamdulillah

The Commentary on

Surah Al'Adiyat

Ends here Verse:10 Commentary - - - Verse:11 Commentary - - -