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Tafsir of Surah Al-Fajr (89) — The Dawn · الفجر

Meccan surah, 30 ayat. Read the whole surah

Al-Mukhtasar in Interpreting the Noble Quran — Tafsir Center for Quranic Studies. QuranEnc.com (english_mokhtasar), 2026-10-30.

Al-Fajr 89:1

وَٱلۡفَجۡرِ

By the dawn

Tafsir 89:1

Allah may He be glorified takes an oath on the dawn.

Al-Fajr 89:2

وَلَيَالٍ عَشۡرٖ

And [by] ten nights

Tafsir 89:2

And He takes an oath on the first ten nights of Dhul-Ḥijjah.

Al-Fajr 89:3

وَٱلشَّفۡعِ وَٱلۡوَتۡرِ

And [by] the even [number] and the odd

Tafsir 89:3

He also takes an oath on the odd and even of things.

Al-Fajr 89:4

وَٱلَّيۡلِ إِذَا يَسۡرِ

And [by] the night when it passes

Tafsir 89:4

And He takes an oath on the night when it arrives, continues and goes away. The complement of these oaths is: you will definitely be requited for your actions.

Al-Fajr 89:5

هَلۡ فِي ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٞ لِّذِي حِجۡرٍ

Is there [not] in [all] that an oath [sufficient] for one of perception

Tafsir 89:5

In any of the aforementioned, is there any oath that benefits the intelligent one?

Al-Fajr 89:6

أَلَمۡ تَرَ كَيۡفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ

Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with 'Aad

Tafsir 89:6

O Messenger! Do you not see what your Lord did with the ‘Ād i.e. the people of Hud, when they rejected their Messenger?

Al-Fajr 89:7

إِرَمَ ذَاتِ ٱلۡعِمَادِ

[With] Iram - who had lofty pillars

Tafsir 89:7

The tribe of ‘Ād that traced to its forefather, the tall Iram.

Al-Fajr 89:8

ٱلَّتِي لَمۡ يُخۡلَقۡ مِثۡلُهَا فِي ٱلۡبِلَٰدِ

The likes of whom had never been created in the land

Tafsir 89:8

The likes of which Allah never created in the cities.

Al-Fajr 89:9

وَثَمُودَ ٱلَّذِينَ جَابُواْ ٱلصَّخۡرَ بِٱلۡوَادِ

And [with] Thamud, who carved out the rocks in the valley

Tafsir 89:9

And do you not see what your Lord did with the Thamūd i.e. the tribe of Saleh, who would carve the stones of the mountains, making houses out of them.

Al-Fajr 89:10

وَفِرۡعَوۡنَ ذِي ٱلۡأَوۡتَادِ

And [with] Pharaoh, owner of the stakes

Tafsir 89:10

And do you not see what your Lord did to Pharaoh, who had pegs with which he punished the people?

Al-Fajr 89:11

ٱلَّذِينَ طَغَوۡاْ فِي ٱلۡبِلَٰدِ

[All of] whom oppressed within the lands

Tafsir 89:11

All these people transgressed the limit in tyranny and oppression; each of them transgressed it in his land.

Al-Fajr 89:12

فَأَكۡثَرُواْ فِيهَا ٱلۡفَسَادَ

And increased therein the corruption

Tafsir 89:12

They caused an abundance of corruption due to spreading disbelief and sins.

Al-Fajr 89:13

فَصَبَّ عَلَيۡهِمۡ رَبُّكَ سَوۡطَ عَذَابٍ

So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment

Tafsir 89:13

So Allah made them suffer His severe punishment, and annihilated them off the earth.

Al-Fajr 89:14

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِٱلۡمِرۡصَادِ

Indeed, your Lord is in observation

Tafsir 89:14

O Messenger! Indeed, your Lord watches over and observes the actions of the people, so that He can requite whoever does good with Paradise, and whoever does evil with the hellfire.

Al-Fajr 89:15

فَأَمَّا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ إِذَا مَا ٱبۡتَلَىٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ فَأَكۡرَمَهُۥ وَنَعَّمَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّيٓ أَكۡرَمَنِ

And as for man, when his Lord tries him and [thus] is generous to him and favors him, he says, "My Lord has honored me

Tafsir 89:15

Because the nations Allah destroyed were blessed with power and strength, Allah explains that blessing them with such is not proof of His being pleased with them. He says: As for the human, it is in his nature that when he is tested by his Lord and He favours him by blessing him with wealth, honour and offspring, he thinks that it is because of his nobility in the eyes of Allah. He says: “My Lord has favoured me because of me being worthy of being favoured.”

Al-Fajr 89:16

وَأَمَّآ إِذَا مَا ٱبۡتَلَىٰهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيۡهِ رِزۡقَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّيٓ أَهَٰنَنِ

But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, "My Lord has humiliated me

Tafsir 89:16

And as for when He tests him by restricting his sustenance, he thinks it is because of his insignificance in the eyes of his Lord. So he says: “My Lord has disgraced me.”

Al-Fajr 89:17

كَلَّاۖ بَل لَّا تُكۡرِمُونَ ٱلۡيَتِيمَ

No! But you do not honor the orphan

Tafsir 89:17

Never! It is not as this human thinks, that favouring is proof of Allah being pleased with His servant, and that misfortune is proof of the servant’s insignificance in the eyes of his Lord. Rather, the reality is that you do not show generosity towards the orphan from the sustenance Allah has provided you with.

Al-Fajr 89:18

وَلَا تَحَـٰٓضُّونَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلۡمِسۡكِينِ

And you do not encourage one another to feed the poor

Tafsir 89:18

Neither do any of you encourage the other in feeding the poor person who cannot find anything to consume.

Al-Fajr 89:19

وَتَأۡكُلُونَ ٱلتُّرَاثَ أَكۡلٗا لَّمّٗا

And you consume inheritance, devouring [it] altogether

Tafsir 89:19

You relentlessly devour the rights of the weak, i.e. the women and orphans, without consideration for its permissibility.

Al-Fajr 89:20

وَتُحِبُّونَ ٱلۡمَالَ حُبّٗا جَمّٗا

And you love wealth with immense love

Tafsir 89:20

And you intensely love wealth, being miserly in spending it in the path of Allah, due to your greed of it.

Al-Fajr 89:21

كَلَّآۖ إِذَا دُكَّتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ دَكّٗا دَكّٗا

No! When the earth has been leveled - pounded and crushed

Tafsir 89:21

These actions are not befitting of you. Remember when the earth will be moved vigorously and shaken.

Al-Fajr 89:22

وَجَآءَ رَبُّكَ وَٱلۡمَلَكُ صَفّٗا صَفّٗا

And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank

Tafsir 89:22

And your Lord will come, O Messenger, to pass judgement between His servants, and the angels will also come arranged in rows.

Al-Fajr 89:23

وَجِاْيٓءَ يَوۡمَئِذِۭ بِجَهَنَّمَۚ يَوۡمَئِذٖ يَتَذَكَّرُ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُ ٱلذِّكۡرَىٰ

And brought [within view], that Day, is Hell - that Day, man will remember, but what good to him will be the remembrance

Tafsir 89:23

And on that day, hell will be brought with it having seventy thousand reins, each rein being pulled by seventy thousand angels. On that day, the human will remember his shortcomings in the rights of Allah, but that remembrance on that day will not benefit him in the slightest, because it will be a Day of Requital, not action!

Al-Fajr 89:24

يَقُولُ يَٰلَيۡتَنِي قَدَّمۡتُ لِحَيَاتِي

He will say, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life

Tafsir 89:24

He will say out of intense regret: “If only I had sent forth good deeds for my life Hereafter, which is the real life.”

Al-Fajr 89:25

فَيَوۡمَئِذٖ لَّا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُۥٓ أَحَدٞ

So on that Day, none will punish [as severely] as His punishment

Tafsir 89:25

On that day no one will penalise like the penalising of Allah, because the penalising of Allah is most severe and lasting.

Al-Fajr 89:26

وَلَا يُوثِقُ وَثَاقَهُۥٓ أَحَدٞ

And none will bind [as severely] as His binding [of the evildoers]

Tafsir 89:26

Neither will anyone bind in chains like His binding of the disbelievers in chains.

Al-Fajr 89:27

يَـٰٓأَيَّتُهَا ٱلنَّفۡسُ ٱلۡمُطۡمَئِنَّةُ

[To the righteous it will be said], "O reassured soul

Tafsir 89:27

After Allah mentioned the requital of the disbelievers, He mentions the requital of the believers. He says: As for the soul of the believer, it will be told at the time of death and on the Day of Judgement: “O the soul contented with faith and good deeds!”

Al-Fajr 89:28

ٱرۡجِعِيٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةٗ مَّرۡضِيَّةٗ

Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him]

Tafsir 89:28

“Return to your Lord, pleased with Him because of the abundant reward you will receive, and with Him may He be glorified being pleased with you because of your good deeds.”

Al-Fajr 89:29

فَٱدۡخُلِي فِي عِبَٰدِي

And enter among My [righteous] servants

Tafsir 89:29

“Now enter along with My pious servants.”

Al-Fajr 89:30

وَٱدۡخُلِي جَنَّتِي

And enter My Paradise

Tafsir 89:30

“And enter with them into My Paradise, which I have prepared for them.”

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Arabic: Uthmani text, Tanzil Project (tanzil.net) · English: Saheeh International · Bosnian: Besim Korkut