Surah Ad-Duha is the ninety-third chapter in the thirty Juz, revealing eleven verses in Mecca. It indicates that it belongs to the earlier period of Prophethood at Mecca. The surah Ad-Duha name is based on the first Ayah of the Surah, “Ad-Duha,” which means the brightest morning.
Why and When Surah Ad-Duha revealed?
Surah Ad-Duha was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) when there was no revelation for six months, not in the form of a dream. During this period, the pagans of Mecca taunted Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and said that their Lord had forsaken him. They add that if he had been right about the divine mission, the revelation would not have caused Him. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was very disturbed, feeling pessimistic and depressed and believing that Allah was displeased with Him, forgotten Him.
Surah Ad-Duha was revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to relieve him of these negative feelings and give him hope, positivity, and the assurance that Allah is with Him no matter what.
Surah Ad-Duha Translation
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
Start with the name of Allah, who is merciful and kind.
وَٱلضُّحَىٰ
By the morning brightness
The Surah starts with Wad-duha, which means the morning brightness. When you’re sad: Wake up. A glance at the Sunshine! Life is not doom and gloom- you have to look up!
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَىٰ
And [by] the night when it covers with darkness,
After the bright morning, Allah instantly talks about the darkness in Surah Ad-Duha. It is meant to cover and give us comfort and rest. When we are depressed, we tend to get into an awful sleeping pattern to stay awake the whole night and sleep all day. It reminds us to comfort to ease our distress at night.
مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَىٰ
Your Lord has not taken leave of you, [O Muhammad], nor has He hated [you].
Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the great host of the Qur’an, said about this verse,
“When the Quran was not revealed to the Messenger of Allah, Jibrail was delayed from coming to him for several days. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah was influenced by this. Then the people of Mecca began to say, ‘His Lord has left him and hates him.’ So Allah revealed,
“Your Lord (O Muhammad) has neither forsaken you nor hates you.”
وَلَلْءَاخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ ٱلْأُولَىٰ
And the Hereafter is better for you than the first [life].
The worldly life is negligible compared to the everlasting life of the Hereafter. When we’re depressed, we consider: Is this all my life is heading to be? Is it never going to get better? This verse reminds us that life in this world is temporary and that life hereafter is undoubtedly a better, more permanent place for us than this world could ever be. The Prophet (PBUH) said:
“I have nothing to do with this world. I and this world are like a rider who rests in the shade of a tree, then he passes on and leaves it.”
وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰٓ
And your Lord will give you, and you will be satisfied.
A guarantee from Allah that he will soon give us a massive reward (Jannah), and we will be pleased! Isn’t this the best to hear when you’re sad and fed up with this worldly life and the problems you’re facing?
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَـَٔاوَىٰ
Did He not find you an orphan and give [you] refuge?
Allah gives us cause to believe His statements and commitments in the first half of the Surah. This verse refers to the fact that the father of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) died before His birth, and his mother passed when he was only six years old. After this, he was under the custody of his grandfather until he later died when child Muhammad was eight years old. Then his uncle Abu Talib took accountability for him and continued to protect him.
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَآلًّا فَهَدَىٰ
And He found you lost and guided [you],
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was born in idol worship. Allah guided him to the truth of Islamic teaching through Divine revelation.
The second part of this verse is despite being born Muslims, how many of us have found ourselves misguided and wandering away from Islam in the past? Allah gave us that guidance and brought us back to the straight path and Him and made us practicing Muslims.
وَوَجَدَكَ عَآئِلًا فَأَغْنَىٰ
And He found you poor and made [you] self-sufficient.
Many of us suffer in our lives, some with financial issues, some with health issues, etc. In this Ayah, Allah almighty explains that He is the only one who sorts out our issues.
فَأَمَّا ٱلْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ
So as for the orphan, do not oppress [him].
This verse commands humanity not to disrespect any orphans and take care of orphans. Every individual should remember that his children may also become orphans. Therefore, he should be kind and gentle towards the orphans.
وَأَمَّا ٱلسَّآئِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ
And as for the petitioner, do not repel [him].
Allah reminds us of the many material blessings that Allah has shown us that we take for granted, like food to eat, clothes for wearing, and shelter. The ayahs frequently remind us to be thankful for the countless blessings Allah has given us and not be unjust, arrogant, hateful, or mean to the weak among Allah’s servants. It means to respond to the poor with mercy and gentleness.
وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ
And as for the favor of your Lord, speak of it.
The last Ayah is about faith and bond with Allah by praising the blessings of Allah! The Prophet said:
“Whoever is not thankful to the people, then he is not thankful to Allah.”
Reacting to the Quran, offering Prayers, and getting Islamic Knowledge are great ways to keep the remembrance of Allah close to your heart!
What are the four lessons we learn from Surah Ad-Duha?
- Wad-duha – The Brightest Morning
The Surah Ad-Duha starts with Wad-duha, the brightest morning. It has two meanings. One is to wake up in the early morning and worship Allah Almighty and seek help from Him. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said that as each morning comes, every one of you must give charity to every limb of your body. Many of us have questions about giving charity to every limb of our body. Islam makes too much Ease for His believers Recite ‘Subhan Allah,’ ‘Alhumdulilah,’ LaillahaillaAllah,’ and ‘Allah u Akbar’ is an act of charity. Do good deeds with others and forbid evil.
The other meaning of this verse is to have Faith in Allah Almighty that there is a bright morning after every darkness as if there is Ease after every difficulty.
- The Hereafter is better for you than the first (Life)
This Ayah reminds us that this Dunya is nothing. It was designed to test, hurt, and prepare us for the life hereafter. Allah promises His Messenger Muhammad (SAW) in Surah Ad-Duha that the life after this world will be far better than what we have granted upon in this life.
Imam Ahmed records that Abdullah bin Mas’ud said,’ The Messenger of Allah was lying down on a mat, which left flaws on his side. Then when he awakened, he started to rub his side.
So I said,
“O Messenger of Allah! Will you allow us to spread something smooth over this mat”.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) replied,
” I have nothing to do with this world. The parable of me and this world is like a rider who rests in the shade of a tree, then he passes on and leaves it”‘
Whenever you are in difficulty, remember the promise of Allah Almighty that these hardships are temporary and will be resulted in permanent happiness and joy. This worldly life is just several days, but the life hereafter is eternity.
- And your Lord will give you, and you will be satisfied.
We Muslims should have enough faith in Allah Almighty that He never left us alone; he is observing us, watching us suffer in hardships, but He wants to test us to prepare us for much better.
A man from Kufah came to Muhammad al-Baqir and said,’ You say that the most hopeful verse in the Qur’an is
“My enslaved people who have wronged themselves do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Allah forgives all sins. Indeed He is the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [39:53].
We say, however, that the most hopeful verse is
وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰٓ
”And your Lord will give to you, and you will be satisfied’ [93:5]’.
We believe that Allah will bless us with His mercy and blessings; there is Ease after every hardship. Allah promises us that He will bless us with enough to be happy; we should have patience and have faith in Allah Almighty. He will never forget us.
- So as for the orphan, do not oppress [him]. And as for the petitioner, do not repel [him].
Allah blesses us with so many blessings that others don’t have, i.e., we have parents who love us, food to eat, shelter, and many other favors of Allah Almighty. But there is a point for us that instead of being arrogant, we have to help needy people and show mercy and love to orphans.
These blessings are tested for us; we think that the test only comes in the form of hardships and difficulties, but Allah also tests with Ease and blessing. We mostly fail in the test of Ease. We should be grateful to Him through helping others, showing mercy on orphans, and worshiping Him. It reminds us to fulfill orphans’ rights and remember that their Prophet (saw) too was born an orphan. Do not hurt orphans and do not look down upon them. If you are given accountability for their property, fulfill this responsibility with goodness and give them from your wealth.
The Prophet Muhammad (saw) increased his index finger and middle finger and said:
′I and the guardian of an orphan will be like these two (fingers) together in Paradise’.
Benefits of Surah Ad-Duha:
- If you are depressed because of wealth or health issues, recite Surah Ad-Duha, it is the best remedy to relieve depression.
- Surah Ad-Duha encourages the focus on life’s purpose and the hereafter life.
- Surah Ad-Duha brings hope for us for the better tomorrow.
- He who recites Surah Ad-Duha will be among those Allah is satisfied with.
- The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) may moderate for him who recites Surah Ad-Duha,
- The individual will be rewarded ten times for each orphan or needy.
- Whoever recites Surah Ad-Duha in one day or night, everything that rises from the earth would stand witness for his recitation on the Day of Judgment.
- If a person goes behind and forgets to carry it with him, then recites Surah Ad-Duha; that item will stay under Allah’s protection until the person returns and collects it.
- Whenever you feel lonesome, recite Surah Ad-Duha and remember Allah Almighty is always with you.
