89 Sura Al-Fajr (The Dawn)
The theme of this chapter is that there will be the dawn of the judgement day and those, especially the wealthy, who have not sent ahead their good deeds into heaven will face punishment. Evil nations who rejected the warnings given to them by their messengers shall face the penalty. However, those who believe and practice good deeds shall enter into heaven.
The Judgement Day will certainly come
“By the break of day” (v.1)
Fate of previous nations who rejected their messengers
The People of Thamud:
“And with the Thamud (people), who cut out (huge) rocks in the valley?” (v 9)
Pharaoh:
“And with Pharaoh, lord of stakes?” (v.10)
“(All) these transgressed beyond bounds in the lands, And heaped therein mischief (on mischief).
Therefore did thy Lord pour on them a scourge of diverse chastisements: For thy Lord is on a watch-tower” (v 11-14).
God is likened to a watchman observing all the evil actions of men.
A denunciation of the wealthy
“Now, as for man, when his Lord trieth him, giving him honour and gifts, then saith he, (puffed up), “My Lord hath honoured me.”
But when He trieth him, restricting his subsistence for him, then saith he (in despair), “My Lord hath humiliated me!”
But whenever He trieth him by straitening his means of life, he saith: My Lord despiseth me.
Nay, nay! but ye honour not the orphans! Nor do ye encourage one another to feed the poor!
And ye devour inheritance all with greed, And ye love wealth with inordinate love! (v 15-20)
The need to perform good deeds before the judgement
“Nay! When the earth is pounded to powder, And thy Lord cometh, and His angels, rank upon rank, And hell, that day, is brought (face to face),
on that day will man remember, but how will that remembrance profit him He will say:
“Ah! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my (future) life!”
For, that day, His chastisement will be such as none (else) can inflict, And His bonds will be such as none (other) can bind” (v.21-26).
Believers enter heaven
“(To the righteous soul will be said) “O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction!
“Come back thou to thy Lord, well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him!
“Enter thou, then, among my devotees! “Yea, enter thou My Heaven! (V.27-29)
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90 Sura Al-Balad (The City) Mecca
I
n this sura Allah swears once again by something less than himself, this time it is the city of Mecca which becomes the title of this chapter. The main theme is once again the judgement day; those who believe the signs of Allah and practice charity will receive their book in the right-hand but those who reject the signs will be forced to accept their book in the left-hand and will be surrounded by fire.
The city of Mecca
The most sacred city of the Muslims. It was the birth place of Muhammad and the site of the Ka’aba. Muhammad expressed his great love for the city and said ’It is not man but God who has made Mecca sacred’ and again, ’My people will always be safe in this world and the next as long as they respect Mecca.’
Allah swears by Mecca
“I do call to witness this city. And thou art a freeman of this city” (v 1)
Suppose you are called as a witness in court, and instead of placing your hands on the Bible or the Quran you swear by the fig or the olive, the pen or the star that what you are going to say is the truth. Will the judge accept your testimony? Allah, rather than swearing by his own character swears by these created materials declaring he is telling the truth. Here, He swears by the city of Mecca.
Men have no haste to follow the steep path
“Verily We have created man into toil and struggle.
Thinketh he, that none hath power over him? He may say (boastfully); wealth have I squandered in abundance!
Have We not made for him a pair of eyes? And a tongue, and a pair of lips?
And shown him the two highways? But he hath made no haste on the path that is steep” (v.5-11).
What is the steep path?- Exhortation to charity
“And what will explain to thee the path that is steep?
(It is:) freeing the bondman;
Or the giving of food in a day of privation To the orphan with claims of relationship, Or to the indigent in the dust.” (v.14-16)
Believers on the right-hand practice good deeds
“Then will he be of those who believe, and enjoin patience, and enjoin deeds of kindness and compassion and charge one another to show compassion. Such are the companions of the right hand” (v.16-18).
Unbelievers on the right hand reject the signs
“But those who reject Our signs, they are the (unhappy) companions of the left hand.
On them will be fire vaulted over” (v.19, 20).
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91 Sura Ash-Shams (The Sun) Mecca
In 
this chapter Allah makes an oath by the sun but He also makes an oath by many other created things. With this array of swearing by so many created things are we going to find in this sura something new, great and wonderful? If we are. we are disappointed, for there is nothing extraordinary found here. We do however, acknowledge some poetical beauty in the Quran, Muhammad, being a master in eloquence cast his language of nature in the most persuasive style of Arabian oratory.
The content of this sura is that the soul that responds to Allah is happy, while the corrupt soul, who spurns the messengers of Allah, is destroyed as in the given example of the people of Thamud.
An oath by many created objects
“By the sun and his (glorious) splendour; By the moon as she follows him;
By the day as it shows up (the sun’s) glory; By the night as it conceals it;
By the firmament and its structure; By the earth and its (wide) expanse:
By the soul, and the proportion and order given to it (v.1-7).
Purity of soul brings happiness
“By the soul, and the proportion and order given to it; And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right;
Truly he succeeds that purifies it, And he fails that corrupts it!” (v.7-10)
Example and destruction of the people of Thamud
“The Thamud (people) rejected (their prophet) through their inordinate wrong-doing,
Behold, the most wicked man among them was deputed (for impiety).
But the messenger of Allah said to them: “It is a she-camel of Allah! And (bar her not from) having her drink!”
Then they rejected him (as a false prophet), and they hamstrung her.
So their Lord, on account of their crime, obliterated their traces and made them equal! And for Him is no fear of its consequences” (v.11-15).
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92 Sura Al-Lail (The Night) Mecca
I n this chapter we read that those who strive for the best reward by good deeds and confession will enter Paradise but those who are greedy and self-sufficient shall enter the hell-fire. The title is taken from the oath in verse 1:”By the night as it conceals (the light).”
Allah’s oath
“By the night as it conceals (the light);
By the day as it appears in glory;
By (the mystery of) the creation of male and female” (v.1-3).
Promise of reward to those who give alms and fear God
“Verily, (the ends) ye strive for are diverse.
So he who gives (in charity) and fears (Allah), And testifies to the best,
We will indeed make smooth for him the path to bliss” (v 4-7).
This verse according to the following hadith was said to be revealed under the following circumstances (Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 472): Narrated Ali: We were in the company of the Prophet and he said, “There is none among you but has his place written for him, either in Paradise or in the Hell-Fire.” We said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Shall we depend (on this fact and give up work)?” He replied, “No! Carry on doing good deeds, for everybody will find easy (to do) such deeds as will lead him to his destined place.” Then the Prophet recited: ‘As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah, and believes in the best reward. We will make smooth for him the path of ease….the path for evil.’ (92.5-10)
Judgement on the miser and those who reject the message
“But he who is a greedy miser and thinks himself self-sufficient,
And gives the lie to the best, We will indeed make smooth for him the path to misery;
Nor will his wealth profit him when he falls headlong” (v.8-11).
This verse is thought by some to have one particular person in mind.
Warning to unbelievers
“Therefore do I warn you of a fire blazing fiercely;
None shall reach it but those most unfortunate ones who give the lie to truth and turn their backs” (v.14-16).
Rewards for those who spend their wealth in Allah’s way
“But those most devoted to Allah shall be removed far from it,
Those who spend their wealth for increase in self-purification,
And have in their minds no favour from anyone for which a reward is expected in return,
But only the desire to seek for the countenance of their Lord Most High; And soon will they attain satisfaction” (v.17-21).
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93 Sura Ad-Duha (The Morning Bright) Mecca
The chapter title is taken from the first verse “By the glorious morning light, And by the night when it is still”
This is an intensely personal chapter. Muhammad had experienced an interval of time in which he had received no revelation although the opposition had increased. Tirmidhi, (one of the six Sunni canonical hadith compilations) records a Tradition to the effect that the Quarraish has said that God had forsaken the prophet. In this moving and melodious sura he now is said to have received that much needed encouragement. In this sura we find the only mention in the Quran that Muhammad had been an orphan.
Muhammad encouraged
“Thy Guardian-Lord hath not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased.
And verily the hereafter will be better for thee than the present. And soon will thy Guardian-Lord give thee thou shalt be well-pleased.
Did He not find thee an orphan and give thee shelter (and care)? And He found thee wandering, and He gave thee guidance.
And He found thee in need, and made thee independent” (v.3-8).
Muhammad’s father, Abdullah, died in Medina at the age of only twenty-five years and later he lost his mother Amina who died and was buried at a place called Abwa. The little orphan was carried back to Mecca by Omm Ayman, who was his constant faithful nurse and attendant. In his seventh year he could appreciate the bereavement and feel the desolation of his orphan state. Here he reassured himself by remembering that despite being an orphan God had been merciful and provided a refuge.
On his pilgrimage from Medina to Hodeiybia he visited his mother’s tomb, and he lifted up his voice and wept, and his followers likewise wept around him. And they asked him concerning it, and he said: ‘This is the grave of my mother: the Lord hath permitted me to visit it. And I sought leave to pray for her salvation, but it was not granted. So I called my mother to remembrance, and the tender memory of her overcame me, and I wept.’
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