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Surah 93 · Makkah · 11 āyāt

Phase 01 · Ḥirāʾ and the first call(c. 13–11 BH) — view in timeline

Ad-DuhāThe Morning Brightness

الضحى

A short Makkan surah revealed to console the Prophet ﷺ during a pause in revelation. It moves from an oath by light and stillness, to a direct reassurance, to evidence drawn from his own life story, and finally to three obligations that turn comfort received into comfort given.

Why it was revealed

Revelation paused for a period (fatrat al-waḥy). The Prophet ﷺ was grieved, and some of the Quraysh taunted him, saying his Lord had abandoned him.

Jundub ibn Sufyān reported: the Prophet ﷺ fell ill and did not stand for prayer for a night or two. A woman came and said, 'Muhammad, I think your devil has left you.' Then Allah revealed: 'By the morning brightness, and the night when it settles, your Lord has not forsaken you, nor has He detested you.'

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4950; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1797

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

Lossc. 53–45 BH · Age Birth – 8 · Makkah / Abwāʾ

Orphaned before birth and in childhood

His father ʿAbdullāh died before he was born, his mother Āminah when he was about six, and his grandfather ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib two years later — then his uncle Abū Ṭālib took him in.

Recalled in āyah 6

أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَـَٔاوَىٰ

Did He not find you an orphan and give [you] shelter?

Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah; Ibn Kathīr on 93:6

THEME 01Āyāt 1–2

The oath: light and stillness both come from Him

Allah swears by the morning brightness and by the night when it settles. Both are His, both are mercy. The bright morning of revelation and the quiet night of its pause come from the same hand.

1

وَٱلضُّحَىٰ

By the morning brightness,

2

وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَىٰ

and by the night when it settles,

From the tafsīr

Allah swears by the day when its light spreads and by the night when it grows still and dark — a pairing that shows His full control over both states.

— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

Al-ḍuḥā is the early forenoon when the sun has risen; sajā means the night became calm and settled — quiet, not hostile.

— Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān

Key takeaways

  • Silence from Allah is not absence — night is part of the same design as day.
  • The oath is chosen to fit the complaint: the one who feels darkness is reminded who made the dark.

Reflect

What 'night' are you currently reading as abandonment?

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Question 1 of 2

In āyah 2, what state of the night does sajā convey?

Question 2 of 2

What is the point of pairing the forenoon with the night in the oath?

THEME 02Āyāt 3–5

The reassurance: you were never left

The core answer: your Lord has neither said farewell to you nor detested you. Then a promise that widens — the next life is better than this one, and He will keep giving until you are content.

3

مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَىٰ

your Lord has not forsaken you, nor has He detested you.

4

وَلَلْـَٔاخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ ٱلْأُولَىٰ

And the Hereafter is better for you than the first [life].

5

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰ

And your Lord is going to give you, and you will be satisfied.

From the tafsīr

'He has not forsaken you' — He has not abandoned you; 'nor detested you' — nor has He hated you. It is a rebuttal of exactly what the taunters claimed.

— Ibn Kathīr

'And your Lord is going to give you, and you will be satisfied' — a general promise of increase in this world and the next, including his intercession for his ummah.

— Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān

Key takeaways

  • Allah answers the accusation directly, using the same words the mockers used.
  • Comfort here is not 'your problem will end' but 'your Lord's relationship with you has not changed'.
  • The promise is measured by your contentment, not by a quantity.

Reflect

Where are you measuring Allah's love by circumstance rather than by His word?

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Question 1 of 2

By what standard is the giving in āyah 5 bounded?

Question 2 of 2

What accusation is rebutted by 'He has not forsaken you, nor detested you'?

THEME 03Āyāt 6–8

The evidence: read your own life backwards

Three rhetorical questions, each naming a lack and then Allah's response to it: orphan → shelter, lost → guidance, poor → sufficiency. The proof of future care is documented past care.

6

أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَـَٔاوَىٰ

Did He not find you an orphan and give [you] shelter?

7

وَوَجَدَكَ ضَآلًّا فَهَدَىٰ

And He found you unaware [of the message] and guided [you].

8

وَوَجَدَكَ عَآئِلًا فَأَغْنَىٰ

And He found you in need and made [you] self-sufficient.

From the tafsīr

He found you an orphan and sheltered you with Abū Ṭālib; found you unaware of the Book and faith and taught you; found you poor and made you free of need.

— Ibn Kathīr

The One who took care of you in your weakest states will not neglect you now — this is an argument from His established habit with you.

— Al-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān

Key takeaways

  • Gratitude is an evidence-gathering exercise: list what He already did.
  • Guidance is a gift given, not a merit earned.
  • Every verse pairs a hardship with its outcome — never a hardship alone.

Reflect

Write your own three verses: 'He found me ___, and He ___.'

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Question 1 of 2

What is the logic of āyāt 6–8?

Question 2 of 2

How is ḍāllan in āyah 7 to be understood?

THEME 04Āyāt 9–11

The response: pass the mercy on

Each favour becomes a duty in the same order: you were an orphan, so do not oppress the orphan; you were in need, so do not repel the one who asks; you were given, so speak of your Lord's favour.

9

فَأَمَّا ٱلْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ

So as for the orphan, do not oppress [him].

10

وَأَمَّا ٱلسَّآئِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ

And as for the one who asks, do not repel [him].

11

وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ

But as for the favour of your Lord, speak of it.

From the tafsīr

Treat the orphan as you would have wanted to be treated; do not rebuff the beggar but respond gently; and mention Allah's blessing upon you — 'to speak of the blessing is gratitude'.

— Ibn Kathīr

Ḥaddith (speak of it) includes teaching and calling others to what you were given, not boasting about it.

— Al-Qurṭubī

Key takeaways

  • Mercy received creates an obligation to be merciful, matched one-to-one.
  • Gratitude has a tongue: naming the blessing out loud is part of thanking for it.
  • Kindness to the vulnerable is treated as worship, not optional charity.

Reflect

Which of the three duties is easiest for you to skip this week?

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Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

How does the closing section answer the section before it?

Question 2 of 2

What does it mean to 'speak of' your Lord's favour?

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VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

ر ب ب

āyāt 3, 5, 11

to nurture, raise, own and sustain something to completion

  • رَبّlord, sustainer
  • رَبَّىٰhe raised, nurtured
  • رِبِّيّdevoted to the Lord

و ج د

āyāt 6, 7, 8

to find, to come upon

  • وَجَدَhe found
  • وُجُودexistence
  • وِجْدَانfeeling, inner sense

ي ت م

āyāt 6, 9

to be alone, left without a father

  • يَتِيمorphan
  • يَتِيمَةa unique, unmatched thing

ه د ي

āyāt 7

to guide gently toward a goal

  • هُدًىguidance
  • هَدِيَّةgift
  • هَادِيguide

غ ن ي

āyāt 8

to be free of need, self-sufficient

  • غَنِيّrich, independent
  • أَغْنَىٰhe made [someone] free of need
  • ٱسْتَغْنَىٰhe considered himself beyond need

ن ع م

āyāt 11

softness, ease — hence a blessing that makes life soft

  • نِعْمَةfavour, blessing
  • نَعِيمbliss
  • أَنْعَمَhe bestowed

Carry this with you

  • A pause is not a rejection.
  • Your past is the proof of your future care.
  • Every mercy you received names someone you now owe mercy to.
  • Speaking about Allah's favour is an act of gratitude, not pride.
FINAL ASSESSMENT

Full exam — the whole surah, from memory

Every question from every theme, interleaved and reworded. Interleaving is what turns recognition into recall. Each answer updates your review schedule, your mistakes list and your mastery score for that theme.

Ad-Duhā — full exam

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8 questions across 4 themes.

Ad-Duhā · The evidence: read your own life backwards

How do āyāt 6–8 function as proof?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol