100:1 Al-Aadiyaat (The Chargers)

أقسم الله تبارك وتعالى بالخيل، لما فيها من آيات الله الباهرة، ونعمه الظاهرة، ما هو معلوم للخلق. وأقسم [تعالى] بها في الحال التي لا يشاركها [فيه] غيرها من أنواع الحيوانات، فقال: { وَالْعَادِيَاتِ ضَبْحًا } أي: العاديات عدوًا بليغًا قويًا، يصدر عنه الضبح، وهو صوت نفسها في صدرها، عند اشتداد العدو .

يقسم تعالى بالخيل إذا أجريت في سبيله فعدت وضبحت وهو الصوت الذي يسمع من الفرس حين تعدو "والعاديات ضبحا" قال الإبل وقال علي هي الإبل وقال ابن عباس هى الخيل فبلغ عليا قول ابن عباس فقال ما كانت لنا خيل يوم بدر قال ابن عباس إنما كان ذلك في سرية بعثت. قال ابن أبى حاتم وابن جرير وحدثنا يونس أخبرنا ابن وهب أخبرنى أبو صخر عن أبي معاوية البجلي عن سعيد بن جبير عن ابن عباس حدثه قال بينا أنا في الحجر جالسا جاء رجل فسألنى عن " العاديات ضبحا " فقلت له الخيل حين تغير في سبيل الله ثم تأوى إلى الليل فيصنعون طعامهم ويورون نارهم فانفتل عني فذهب إلى علي رضي الله عنه وهو عند سقاية زمزم فسأله عن العاديات ضبحا فقال سألت عنها أحدا قبلي؟ قال نعم سألت ابن عباس فقال الخيل حين تغير في سبيل الله قال اذهب فادعه لي فلما وقف على رأسه قال أتفتي الناس بما لا علم لك؟ والله لئن كان أول غزوة في الإسلام بدر وما كان معنا إلا فرسان فرس للزبير وفرس للمقداد فكيف تكون العاديات ضبح؟ إثما العاديات ضبحا من عرفة إلى المزدلفة ومن المزدلفة إلى منى قال ابن عباس فنزعت عن قولي ورجعت إلى الذي قال علي رضي الله عنه وبهذا الإسناد عن ابن عباس قال: قال علي إنما العاديات ضبحا من عرفة إلى المزدلفة فإذا أووا إلى المزدلفة أوروا النيران وقال العوفي وغيره عن ابن عباس هي الخيل. وقد قال بقول علي إنها الإبل جماعة منهم إبراهيم وعبد بن عمير وقال بقول ابن عباس آخرون منهم مجاهد وعكرمة وعطاء وقتادة والضحاك واختاره ابن جرير وقال ابن عباس وعطاء ما ضبحت دابة قط إلا فرس أو كلب وقال ابن جريج عن عطاء سمعت ابن عباس يصف الضبح أح أح. وقال أكثر هؤلاء في قوله " فالموريات قدحا " يعني بحوافرها وقيل أسعرت الرب بين ركبانهن قاله قتادة وعن ابن عباس ومجاهد فالموريات قدحا يعني مكر الرجال وقيل هو إيقاد النار إذا رجعوا إلى منازلهم من الليل وقيل المراد بذلك نيران القبائل وقال من فسرها بالخيل هو إيقاد النار بالمزدلقة وقال ابن جرير والصواب الأول: أنها الخيل حين تقدح بحوافرها. وقوله تعالى " فالمغيرات صبحا " قال ابن عباس ومجاهد وقتادة يعني إغارة الخيل صبحا في سبيل الله وقال من فسرها بالإبل هو الدفع صبحا من المزدلفة إلى منى وقالوا كلهم في قوله " فأثرن به نقعا " وهو المكان الذي حلت فيه أثارت به الغبار أما في حج أو غزو. وقوله تعالى " فوسطن به جمعا " قال العوفى عن ابن عباس وعطاء وعكرمة وقتادة والضحاك يعني جمع الكفار من العدو ومحتمل أن يكون فوسطن بذلك المكان جميعهن ويكون جمعا منصوبا على الحال المؤكدة وقد روى أبو بكر البزار ههنا حديثا غريبا جدا فقال حدثنا أحمد بن عبدة حدثنا حفص بن جميع حدثنا سماك عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس قال بعث رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم خيلا فأشهرت شهرا لا يأتيه منها خير فنزلت " والعاديات ضبحا " ضبحت بارجلها " فالموريات قدحا " قدحت بحوافرها الحجارة فأورت نارا " فالمغيرات صبحا " صبحت القوم بغارة " فأثرن به نقعا " أثارت بحوافرها الشراب " فوسطن به جمعا " قال صبحت القوم جميعا.

Which was revealed in Makkah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

(In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Swearing by the Horses of War about the Ungratefulness of Man and His Zeal for Wealth

Allah swears by the horses when they are made to gallop into battle in His path (i.e., Jihad), and thus they run and pant, which is the sound that is heard from the horse when it runs.

فَالمُورِيَـتِ قَدْحاً

(Striking sparks of fire.) meaning, the striking of their hooves on the rocks, which causes sparks of fire to fly from them.

فَالْمُغِيرَتِ صُبْحاً

(And scouring to the raid at dawn.) meaning, the raid that is carried out in the early morning time. This is just as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to perform raids in the early morning. He would wait to see if he heard the Adhan (call to prayer) from the people. If he heard it he would leave them alone, and if he didn't hear it he would attack. Then Allah says,

فَأَثَرْنَ بِهِ نَقْعاً

(And raise the dust in clouds the while.) meaning, dust at the place of the battle with the horses.

فَوَسَطْنَ بِهِ جَمْعاً

(And penetrating forthwith as one into the midst.) means, then are all in the middle of that spot, together. Allah's saying;

فَالْمُغِيرَتِ صُبْحاً

(And scouring to the raid at dawn.) Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah, all said, "This means the invasion of the horses in the morning in the way of Allah." And His statement,

فَأَثَرْنَ بِهِ نَقْعاً

(And raise the dust in clouds the while.) This is the place in which the attack takes place. The dust is stirred up by it. And His statement,

فَوَسَطْنَ بِهِ جَمْعاً

(And penetrating forthwith as one into the midst.) Al-`Awfi narrated from Ibn `Abbas, `Ata, `Ikrimah, Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak that they all said, "This means into the midst of the disbelieving enemy." Concerning Allah's statement,

إِنَّ الإِنسَـنَ لِرَبِّهِ لَكَنُودٌ

(Verily, man is ungrateful (Kanud) to his Lord.) This is the subject what is being sworn about, and it means that he (man) is ungrateful for the favors of His Lord and he rejects them. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, Abu Al-Jawza', Abu Al-`Aliyah, Abu Ad-Duha, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Muhammad bin Qays, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and Ibn Zayd all said, "Al-Kanud means ungrateful." Al-Hasan said, "Al-Kanud is the one who counts the calamities (that befall him) and he forgets Allah's favors."

Concerning Allah's statement,

وَإِنَّهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ لَشَهِيدٌ

(And to that He bears witness.) Qatadah and Sufyan Ath-Thawri both said, "And indeed Allah is a witness to that." It is also possible that the pronoun (He) could be referring to man. This was said by Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi. Thus, its meaning would be that man is a witness himself to the fact that he is ungrateful. This is obvious in his condition, meaning this is apparent from his statements and deeds. This is as Allah says,

مَا كَانَ لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ أَن يَعْمُرُواْ مَسَاجِدَ الله شَـهِدِينَ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِم بِالْكُفْرِ

(It is not for the idolators, to maintain the Masajid of Allah, while they witness disbelief against themselves.) (9:17) Allah said;

وَإِنَّهُ لِحُبِّ الْخَيْرِ لَشَدِيدٌ

(And verily, he is violent in the love of wealth.) meaning, and indeed in his love of the good, which is wealth, he is severe. There are two opinions concerning this. One of them is that it means that he is severe. There are two opinions concerning this. One of them is that it means that he is severe in his love of wealth. The other view is that it means he is covetous and stingy due to the love of wealth. However, both views are correct.

The Threat about the Hereafter

Then Allah encourages abstinence from worldly things and striving for the Hereafter, and He informs of what the situation will be after this present condition, and what man will face of horrors. He says,

أَفَلاَ يَعْلَمُ إِذَا بُعْثِرَ مَا فِى الْقُبُورِ

(Knows he not that when the contents of the graves are poured forth) meaning, the dead that are in it will be brought out.

وَحُصِّلَ مَا فِى الصُّدُورِ

(And that which is in the breasts shall be made known) Ibn `Abbas and others have said, "This means what was in their souls would be exposed and made apparent."

إِنَّ رَبَّهُم بِهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَّخَبِيرٌ

(Verily, that Day their Lord will be Well-Acquainted with them.) meaning, He knows all of that they used to do, and He will compensate them for it with the most deserving reward. He does not do even the slightest amount of injustice. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Al-`Adiyat, and all praise and thanks are due to Allah.

By the chargers the steeds that charge in attack and snort with a snorting — this being the name of the sound which they emit from inside them when they charge;

Place of Revelation

According to Sayyidna Ibn Masud, Jabir, Hasan Basri, ` Ikramah and ` Ata' رحمۃ اللہ علیہم Surah Al-` Adiyat was revealed in Makkah and, according to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Anas ؓ ، Imam Malik and Qatadah رحمۃ اللہ علیہما ، the Surah was revealed in Madinah. [ Qurtubi ].

In this Surah Allah describes the special features of war-horses or chargers, and swears by them. The subject of the oath states that man is very ungrateful to his Lord. It has been explained time and again previously that it is the prerogative of Allah to swear oath by any of his creatures to recount an event or set down ordinances. It is not permitted for any of the human beings to take oath by any of the creatures. The purpose of swearing an oath is to confirm or give weight to a subsequently stated truth. It is also mentioned earlier that when the Holy Qur'an swears an oath by an object, it has some nexus with the subject of the oath. Here the hard tasks of the war-horses are called to bear testimony to the fact that man is very ungrateful for Allah's favours. In other words, man needs to look at the horses, especially the war-horses, who risk their lives to travel under very dangerous and difficult conditions, especially in the battlefields where they follow the commands of their masters, whereas man has not created them, he has not even created the fodder he gives to them. His task is merely to give them the fodder that Allah has created. The horses recognize and acknowledge this little favor man does to them, and are prepared to risk their lives and bear the greatest of hardships. As against this, Allah has created man with an insignificant drop of sperm and endowed him with high faculties, abilities, intellect and senses to perform various types of tasks, thus making him the crown of His creation. He [ Allah ] provided him with all types of food. Facilities are created for all his needs and necessities in an amazing manner. But man does not recognize and acknowledge any of these sublime favors, nor does he express his gratitude to his Creator.

Lexicographical Analysis

The word عَادِیَات adiyat is derived from the root ` adw' which means 'to run'. The ضَبح dabh means 'the sound coming out of the chest of a horse when it runs fast and breathes laboriously; panting.' The word مُورِیَاتِ muriyat is the active participle of the infinitive of اِیراَء ‘ira. The infinitive means 'to strike or produce fire with a particular piece of wood.' The word قَدح qadh means 'to strike or produce fire with a flint; striking sparks of fire when the horse runs fast on a rocky ground with horse-shoes on'. The word مُغِیرَات mughirat is active participle of the infinitive اِغَارَۃ igharah. The infinitive means 'to attack, or make a sudden hostile excursion upon, an enemy'. The word subh means 'morning or dawn'. This time has been specifically mentioned because it was the practice of Arabs to attack their enemy at dawn, and not at night in order to show off their bravery. They thought making a hostile excursion on the enemy in the darkness of night was an act of cowardice. The word اَثَرنَ atharna is derived from ` itharah, which means 'to raise dust'. The word نَقع naq' means 'dust'. This implies that the dust became stirred up and spread upon the horizon, especially in the morning when the horses run fast. Normally, this is not the time for clouds of dust to fly in this way, unless it was caused by very fast running.