Al-Adiyat or The War Horses which run swiftly (, ''al-ʿādiyāt'', also known as "The Courser, The Chargers") is the 100th chapter (

sūrah A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into ayah, verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' (al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while ...

) of the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

, with 11 '' āyāt'' or verses. Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (''

asbāb al-nuzūl Occasions or circumstances of revelation (in Arabic - ''al-nuzūl'') names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of traditional Islam. Though of some use in reconstructing the Qur'an's historicity, ''a ...

''), it is an earlier "

Meccan surah A Meccan surah is, according to the timing and contextual background of their revelation ('' asbāb al-nuzūl'') within Islamic tradition, a chronologically earlier chapter ('' suwar'', singular ''sūrah'') of the Qur'an. The traditional chronolog ...

", which means it is believed to have been revealed in Mecca, rather than later in Medina.

Summary

*1-6 Oaths that man is ungrateful to his God *7-8 Man loves the things of this world *9-11 Man’s secret thoughts shall be discovered in the judgment-day A one liner theme of surah al-adiyat would read that this surah gives an example that horses are more grateful to their owners than men are to their Rabb (Allah). * First five of the surah consist of an oath as a metaphor enforcing the lesson. They describe a scene of horses charging, panting, producing sparks by their hooves, raiding at the time of dawn, stirring up the cloud of dust and arriving a gathering. * The substantive proposition is in verses 6-8 that Man is ungrateful to his Lord and himself is a witness to it and he is immoderate in the love of worldly good. * The last three conclude the surah with a rhetorical question that Does the man not know about the time when contents of the graves will be resurrected and that which is in men's breasts shall be brought to light on that Day their Sustainer will show that He has always been fully aware of them.

Text

Text and meaning

In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

By the racers, panting,

And the producers of sparks (when) striking

And the chargers at dawn,

Stirring up thereby (clouds of) dust,

Arriving thereby in the center collectively,

Indeed mankind, to his Lord, is ungrateful.

And indeed, he is to that a witness.

And indeed he is, in love of wealth, intense.

But does he not know that when the contents of the graves are scattered

And that within the breasts is obtained,

Indeed, their Lord with them, that Day, is (fully) Aware.
Translation:

Sahih International The Saheeh International translation is an English-language translation of the Quran that has been used by numerous Muslims, including Islam's most conservative adherents. Published by the Publishing House (dar), ''dar Abul Qasim in'' Saudi Arab ...

Period of revelation

Whether this Surah Al-Adiyat is a Makki or a Madani is disputed. But the subject matter of the Surah and its style clearly indicate that it is not only Makki, but was revealed in the early stage of Makkan period.Source: Malik Al-Qur'an Translation Translator: Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik Edition: First, Hardback Published: 1997 Publisher: The Institute of Islamic Knowledge, Houston, Texas, USA Abdullah bin Masud, Jabir, Hasan Basri, Ikrimah, and Ata say that it is Makki. Anas bin Malik, and Qatadah say that it is Madani; and from Ibn Abbas two views have been reported, first that it is a Makki Surah, and second that it is Madani. But the subject matter of the Surah and its style clearly indicate that it is not only Makki but was revealed in the earliest stage of Makkah. So the surah is considered to be Meccan conclusively.

Hadith

According to

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

this surah is recommended in

Maghrib prayer Maghrib () is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayers), and contains three cycles (''rak'a''). If counted from midnight, it is the fourth one. According to Shia and Sunni Muslims, the period for Maghrib prayer starts just after sun ...

. *

Hisham ibn Urwah Hishām ibn ʿUrwah (, ) was a prominent narrator of hadith. He was born in Medina in the year 61 A.H. (680 C.E.).Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, xi, 51: see also Al-Dhahabi, Mīzān al-I'tidāl. His father was Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, the son of Zubayr ibn a ...

said that his father used to recite the surahs like Al-Adiyat, which was recited. Abu Dawud said: This indicates that those (traditions indicating long surahs) are abrogated, and this is more sound tradition.

Sunan Abu Dawud ''Sunan Abi Dawud'' () is the third hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. It was compiled by scholar Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (). Introduction Abu Dawood compiled twenty-one books related to Hadith and preferred those (plural of " ...

813 In-book reference: Book 2, Hadith 423 English translation: Book 2, Hadith 812

Notes

References

External links

Clear Quran translation Mustafa Khattab is a Canadian–Egyptian Muslim scholar, imam, and university chaplain. He holds a professional ijâzah in the Ḥafṣ style of recitation. He is known for his translation of the Quran in "The Clear Quran" series. Career He ...

{{Authority control Adiyat