Surah Al-Adiyat is a Meccan Surah with eleven verses. Al-Adiyat means Those that Run. The Surah has been so entitled after the word Al-Adiyat with which it opens.
There’s a difference of opinion over this Surah to be Makki or Madini. But from its style and theme, it’s more fitting into a Makki Surah.
The general chaos and confusion prevailed in Arabia, with which the whole country was in turmoil, has been presented as an argument in this Surah. Bloodshed, loot and plunder raged on every side. Tribes were subjecting tribes to raids, and no one could have peaceful sleep at night from fear that some enemy tribe might raid his settlement early in the morning. Every Arab was fully conscious of this state of affairs and realized that it was wrong. They knew the evil of these acts but couldn’t find a way out.
Referring to this very state of affairs, it has been said,
Unaware of the second life after death and his accountability before God in it, man has become ungrateful to his Lord and Sustainer. He is using the powers and abilities given by God for oppression and tyranny. Blinded by the love of worldly wealth he tries to obtain it by every means. However impure and filthy, the inner of man itself testifies that by abusing the powers bestowed by his Lord he is being ungrateful to Him. He would never have behaved so, had he known the time when the dead will be raised from the graves, and when the intentions and motives with which he had done all sorts of deeds in the world, will be exposed and brought out before everyone to see. At that time the Lord and Sustainer of men shall be well informed of what one had done and what punishment or reward one deserved.
The object of this Surah is to make the people realize how evil man becomes when he denies the Hereafter, or becomes heedless of it, and also to warn them that in the Hereafter not only their visible and apparent deeds but even the secrets hidden in their hearts too will be subjected to accountability.
The Surah starts with five oaths that Allah takes in its first five verses, and its purpose is to drag the attention of people especially the Arabs back in time. The Arabs were people who always broke into fights, tribes fighting against tribes and topic of battles was always hit list for them. Also they were the people of poetry, they communicated many ideas through poetry. They loved stories of battles, poetry of battles, everything to deal with that. The main icon of battles was horses so this Surah takes oaths in horses and battlefields to drag their attention towards something significant. Allah draws attention by highlighting oaths in battle horses and scenes at battles.
Al-Adiyat can be understood as I swear by battle horses who are running forward with enemosity. Like charged up horses running fiercely towards the target.
ضَبْحًا
means the panting, the fierce breath of a horse when it is engaged in aggressive motion, while running. Allah describes a scene in this oath that a horse marching fiercely towards the enemy full speed and panting!
Now this is the continuation of the previous scene. Allah swears upon the dashing sparks. فَالْمُورِيَاتِ means when two things rub against each other and create a spark or fire. So the same horses on whom the oath has been taken are further discussed. These horses are creators of fire as they gallop and Allah swears on that now. These horses run faster with their horse shoe on and when it strikes against rocks and land, sparks are produced. Allah is adding the intensity to the scene. Every strike produced by horses is very dashing.
Then Allah swears in connection with the same scene that the horses take its rider for attack on top of the enemy in the morning or ambush right on top! The practice among the Arabs was that when they had to mount a raid on a settlement, they marched out in the night so as to take the enemy by surprise; then they would launch a sudden attack early in the morning so that everything became visible in the light of day, and at the same time it did not become so bright that the victim could notice their movement from a distance and be ready to meet the offensive.
Further it continues, where the scene of action begins. These horses cause cloud of dust to rise with their running and as fighting continues in battlefield.
This is the final oath when the horses penetrate in the middle of the enemy gathering, at the heart of the battle.
Then Allah mentions the subject of these oaths He took that most surely man is ungrateful to His Lord! In specific it was meant for the Arabs, and in general for all humanity.
For Arabs…
The general bloodshed, loot and plunder was prevalent in Arabia at that time. In the pre-Islamic days of ignorance the night was a very dreadful thing: in it the people of every tribe and settlement apprehended the danger of a sudden attack by some unknown enemy, and when the light of day appeared they would heave a sigh of relief that the night had passed in peace. The tribes also raided others in order to deprive them of their worldly goods and herds and to capture their women and children to be made slaves. This kind of tyranny was carried mostly by means of the horses, which Allah is presenting here as an argument for the fact that man is ungrateful to his Lord. That is the powers which man is using for fighting, shedding blood had not been given him by God for this purpose. Therefore this indeed is sheer ingratitude that the resources granted by Allah and the power given by Him should be used for causing corruption to spread in the earth, which Allah disapproves. Allah gained their attention and made His point, that you are so proud of your horses to obey you fully at sacrifice of their lives, and I Am your true Master yet you’re so ungrateful to your Lord.
For All Humanity
For Arabs it were the horses, but in our time.. The racers, chargers are any cavalry mode of ride that is used in a war, and narrates beautifully that although all these beings are not conscious beings like Humans but despite that only because man gives them food/fuel they become ready to sacrifice themselves for him and enter in the battlefield without their personal interests or gains. But you O human being despite God has blessed you with conscious and with the blessing of true knowledge through his revelations even then how ungrateful you are towards your Lord.
Whatever resources Allah blessed us with, be grateful for it and use in obedience to Him, the true way of gratitude!
Allah says when it comes to be ungrateful to the Lord, man himself is a good witness to that. Human being is witness to his own ingratitude and disloyalty. The biggest testimony against ourselves is our own inner. In Akhirah we will be witness against our own selves. Our hands, tongues, limbs will bear witness against us. And even in Dunia every person knows deep down inside how loyal he is to his Lord? This verse speaks to the deeply rooted nature of human being. is a witness to that because he has insight into himself. If he could conceal his true inner character from others he would not be able to hide it from Allah and his own conscience; whether he confesses this fact or not.
Then it is said that no doubt the love of man for wealth is intense. And the same tenaciousness in the love of wealth causes his ungratefulness and miserliness. In this verse the word ‘khair’ is used for the sense of ‘wealth’ as for the sake of wealth itself, which is a good thing because it can be the means of doing numerous kinds of good, however, the ungrateful disbelieving man changes its real goal and uses it in the way of self-interest.
Allah questions here that doesn’t man know that a day will come when the graves will spill out everything it had? The dead men will be raised back as living men from whatever state and wherever they would be lying buried in the earth.
Then the court of Allah will be established and all the intentions, aims, ideas, thoughts and the motives behind acts and deeds that lie hidden in the hearts will be exposed and examined in order to sort out the good from the evil. In other words judgment will not be passed only on the apparent deeds to what a man practically did but the secrets hidden in the hearts also will be brought out to see what were the intentions and motives under which a man did an act. If man only considers this he cannot help admitting that real and complete justice cannot be done anywhere except in the Court of God.
Allah alone can examine the underlying motives behind every apparent act of man as well as take the decision as to what reward or punishment he deserves. Then, as is evident from the words of the verse, this judgment will not be passed merely on the basis of the knowledge which Allah already has about the intentions and motives of the hearts, but on Resurrection Day these secrets will be exposed and brought out openly before the people and after a thorough scrutiny in the Court it will be shown what was the good in it and what was the evil.
Surah At-Tariq states to too:
“The Day the hidden secrets are held to scrutiny.”
(V: 9)
That Day Allah will be knowing full well who is who, and what punishment or reward he deserves.
03*********
03*********
