Day 301; Qur’an 94: 1-8 page 596

Welcome Friends:  Ahlan wa sahlan!

Yusuf Ali’s explanation of this Chapter.

Muhammad Asad’s explanation of this Chapter.

Laleh Bakhtiar’s explanation of this Chapter.

سورة الشرحⁱ

'Expounding/ The Expanding/ Heartening’

From Introduction of Yusuf Ali:

“This short Surah gives a message of hope and encouragement in a time of darkness and difficulty. It was revealed to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) soon after the last Surah (Al Duha), whose argument it supplements.”

From Introduction of Muhammad Asad:

“THIS SURAH, revealed almost immediately after the preceding one, appears to be a direct continuation of the latter. Indeed, some renowned scholars of the first century after the hijrah - e.g., Ta'us ibn Kaysan, or the Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz regarded Ad-Duha and Ash-Sharh as one surah, and used to recite them in prayer accordingly, that is, without separating the one from the other by a second invocation "In the name of God" (Razi). Whether this view is accepted or not, there is no doubt that the present surah, like the preceding one, is addressed in the first instance to the Prophet and, through him, to every true follower of the Qur'an.”

COMMENTS:

At a time of duress, this Chapter brings relief.

At a time when the Prophet, peace upon him, felt penned in and overburdened, we find God relieving him, lifting both his spirits and his load.

Not only so, but after Qureish had maligned him, tarnished his good name and his remembrance, God Himself elevates it. Why?

That is God's M.O. in such cases. He won't let the world close in on us when we do not deserve that:

Indeed, the harder it gets, the closer we are to the dissolution of Hardship because of this Divine Rule: With Hardship there is Ease!

PAGE 596 Arabic Qur’an

1. Similar to the previous chapter, this chapter also addresses Muhammad, peace upon him on a personal level, comforting him, and lifting his spirits.
   Beginning with rhetorical questions, it then reassures and advises.
   
   
   Here we learn that God heartens the Prophet by:
   
   
   -By 'expounding/ opening up' his chest/ head/ sadr.'
   
   
   Actually, the feeling of a 'constricted chest' is familiar to us in real life, either when we feel apprehension or dread of something we cannot control, or when we have a heart 'heavy' with grief. This 'constriction' appears in the Qur'an three times, and we remember in HQ 15:97-99 how pained the Prophet was by what his people had been saying, a pain which he was told would be relieved through action and motivation, prostration and worship.
   
   
   -By unloading his 'wizr/ burden off of him (setting it down)...  a burden which was bending his back.
   
   
   When we think about this: What could this 'burden' have been?
   Upon searching all the 'wizr' in Qur'an (and understanding HQ 17: 13-15), we realize that the burden he felt was probably related to feeling responsible for his people's faith- or lack of it. He was measuring his success as a Messenger by the rate of conversions, which was low, especially among the noblemen whose conversions would bear most impact. He was utterly disheartened. He must have felt responsible for their low numbers; we know that what they were saying made him feel heavy-hearted, which is why several verses were revealed to ease his mind (see HQ 42: 48).
   
   
   -By promoting his mention/ exalting his remembrance/ thikr.
   
   
   I did not find much about this, except that Prophet Jesus, peace upon him, had called him 'Ahmad' in HQ 61: 6 which, as we said earlier, meant Most Praised (superlative of 'MuHammad,' 'Oft-praised). This promotion of his 'mention' occurs every time there is a call to prayer, and every time someone testifies to their belief as the Prophet's name is an integral part of the 'athaan' and the 'shahadah/ testimony:' 'There is no god but God and Muhammad is His Messenger.'
   
   
2. Then, after telling him/ us of how God had granted him relief... in the most eloquent words of reassurance to us all, we hear the statement, twice repeated:
   
   
   'Indeed, with THE Hardship there is Ease, with the Hardship there is Ease!'
   
   
   This is a FACT, as promised by God:
   'Yusr'/Ease, in all its unspecified shapes and forms (no definite article), always accompanies each particular 'Usr'/ hardship which we might be facing (hence the definite article).
   That is SO good to know.
   
   
3. The final two verses advise/ command the listener/ Muhammad, telling him in the second person singular that, when he is free (of burden), to strain himself to remain steadfast (naSabⁱⁱ), and to His Lord to aspire/ yearn (raghabⁱⁱⁱ).
   
   
   It is quite endearing when God offers us something, while adding 'I am your Lord Sustainer.' This brings us closer to Him: We know we belong. We feel that He is responsible for us. We feel assured of His care.
   
   
   Let us see the term 'raghab' in context, where we can understand it better: HQ 21:90, 9:59 & 68:32.
   Note that, by aspiring and yearning for God, our Lord Sustainer, He grants us His 'faDl-فضل' His Bounty, and replaces whatever we may have lost in life!

Peace unto all!

i 

.شرح: يدلُّ على الفتح والبيان. من ذلك شرحت الكلام وغيرَهُ شَرْحاً، إِذا بيَّنتَه. واشتقاقهُ من تشريح اللحم.

The verb 'sharaHa' means to 'expand' and also to 'expound.'

ii 

نصب: أصلٌ صحيح يدلُّ على إقامةِ شيءٍ وإهدافٍ في استواء. يقال: نصَبتُ الرُّمحَ وغيرَه أنصِبهُ نصباً. وتيسٌ أنْصَبُ، وعنْزٌ نصباءُ، إذا انتصب قرناها وناقَةٌ نَصْباء: مرتفعة الصَّدر.

والنَّصْب: حجرٌ كانَ يُنصَب فيُعبَد، ويقال هو النُّصُب، وهو حجرٌ يُنصَب بين يدي الصَّنَم تصبُّ عليه دماءُ الذّبائح للأصنام. والنَّصائب: حجارةٌ تنصَبُ حوالَيْ شَفِير البئر فتجعلُ عضائد.

ومن الباب النَّصَبُ: العَناء، ومعناه أنَّ الإنسان لا يزال منتصباً حَتَّى يُعييَ.

وغبارٌ منتصب: مرتفع. والنَّصيب: الحوض يُنصَب من الحجارة. فأمَّا نِصاب الشَّيء فهو أصلُه؛ وسمِّي نِصاباً لأنَّ نصله إليه يُرفَع، وفيه يُنصَب ويركّب، كنصاب السِّكِّينِ وغيره.

والنَّصيب: الحظُّ من الشَّيء، يقال: هذا نَصِيبـي، أي حظِّي. وهو من هذا، كأنَّه الشيءُ الذي رُفِعَ لك وأهْدَف. والنَّصْب: جنسٌ من الغِناء، ولعلَّه مما يُنصَب، أي يعلَّى به الصَّوت. وبَلغَ المالُ النِّصاب الذي تجِب فيه الزَّكاة، كأنَّه بلغَ ذلك المبلغَ وارتفعَ إليه. ويقول أهلُ العربيّة في الفتح هو النَّصْب، كأنَّ الكلمة تنتصِب في الفم انتصاباً.

iii

رغب:  الراء والغين والباء أصلان: أحدهما طلبٌ لشيء والآخر سَعَةٌ في شيء

  فالأوَّل الرَّغْبة في الشيء:الإرادةُ لـه. رغِبْتُ في الشيء. فإِذا لم تُرِدْه قلتَ  رغِبتُ عنه. ويقال من الرّغبة: رَغِب يرغَبُ رَغْباً ورُغبا ورَغْبَةً ورَغْبَى مثل شكوى.

  والآخر الشَّيْءُ الرَّغيب: الواسع الجَوف. يقال حوضٌ رغيب، وسقاءٌ رغيب. ويقال فرسٌ رغيب الشَّحْوة

. والرَّغِيبة: العَطاء الكثير، والجمع رغائب

  والرَّغاب: الأرضُ الواسعة. وقد رغُبَتْ رُغْباً.