This surah begins with a comparison between opposites in nature, night and day, male and female- as an introduction to its main theme, which is the difference between people who are generous and good and those who are greedy and badly behaved. It is true that people come in many degrees of goodness and badness; there is no person so bad that he has no good in him at all, and there is no person so good that he cannot improve himself. Still, humans can be divided into two general groups: just as the male is distinct from the female, and the night from the day, so are the good people clearly different from the bad.
Some people today believe that there is no true good or evil; they say that what is good for one person may be nad for someone else, or what was important yesterday may not be important tomorrow.
People who think this way say that everything is 'relative' and everyone must decide what to do for themselves. For everything which people normally think of as bad, someone can come up with a reason or excuse as to why it really might be good. Such arguments come from not having learned how to think straight and hot having a criterion for Judgement- a clear means or way to decide about something.
Allah has revealed the Qurah as al-Furqan; the main criterion of judging good and evil. It is a comprehensive book which teaches us not only what we should believe but also how we should behave, and its rules do not change with time. Everyone who accepts that there is ONE God and that Muhammad (PBUH) is His Last Messenger is responsible for trying to follow its guidance as best as he can. In addition, Allah sent the living example of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a mercy to humanity.
Whenever Allah sent a holy scripture to a group of people, He sent it through a prophet.Why did not Allah just send a book down on a mountain top, delivered by angels?Because there is always a chance that people will misunderstood a book, and it is much more difficult to learn from a book than from a teacher. People learn best from imitating and following other people; books help us to remember what we have learned. Even the Prophet (PBUH) learned the Quran and some other things from the Angel Jibra'il (PBUH), who often came to him in human form.
Therefore, Muslims should do their best to study the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet under the guidance of honest and reliable imams, shaykhs, and ulama ( religious scholars) who have studied the Arabic language, the biography of the Prophet, the lives of the Sahabah, and other religious knowledge in order to help others to better understand what Allah wants of us. A person who has not studied Islam in depth cannot be sure that he will arive at the correct conclusion simply by reading the Quran and Hadith, especially when using a translation rather than the original Arabic, or when dealing with a complicated question or problem.
If a person becomes aware of the right thing to do but continues to do what is wrong, then Allah will 'ease his way to hardship (ayat 10). On the other hand, a person who gets into the habit of doing good will find it harder and harder to do anything else; Allah will 'ease his way' to performing more good deeds, and to comfort in the next life.
There are some people who claim to be believers, but are not sincere; they pray in front of others, not our of fear and love of Allah, but in the hope that people will notice them. They may give a lot of money in charity so that people will say that they are generous. Such actions will not be accepted by Allah on the Last Day. The only good deeds which are truly clean and acceptable are those which are done 'without any thought of reward' (ayat 19) but only the great hope and desire to earn Allah's pleasure and live in His Presence in the Jannah (paradise).
- Surah Makki(21 verses)
TRANSLATION:
Surah al-Layl (92: The Night)
In the name of Allah, the Kindest and Most Merciful One..
1. By the night when it veils,
2. and the day when it shines brightly,
3. and He Who created the male and female,
4. surely your effort is directed to different goals.
5. As for the one who gives (in charity) and fears Allah,
6. and is truthful witness to goodness,
7. We will ease his way to comfort (in the next life).
8. But as for the greedy one who keeps everything for himself, thinking that he is self-sufficient,
9. and lies about goodness,
10. We will ease his way to hardship.
11. His wealth will not save him when he perishes (in the Fire).
12. Surely it is for Us to give guidance,
13. and surely to Us belongs the end and the beginning (of all things).
14. Therefore I warn you of a blazing Fire;
15. none but th miserable one will enter it-
16. the one who lies about the Truth and turns his back.
17. But the most righteous one will be taken far away from it-
18. he who gives away his wealth to purify himself,
19. and has no reward or favour in mind,
20. but only the desire to see the Face of his Lord Most High,
21 he will surely reach complete satisfaction.
References:
i) http://quran.com/92
ii) http://www.quranexplorer.com/quran/ , go to Surah al-Layl
iii) The Meanings of the Noble Quran with explanatory notes(pg 1171) by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (Maktaba Ma'ariful Quran - Quranic Studies Publishers, Karachi, Pakistan)
Video recitation at --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X82e7OCx5kg
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