Commentary on Sūrat al-Sharh (The Expansion)

“In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.”

“Have We not opened your heart for you, and relieved you of your burden, which weighed heavily upon your back, and raised your renown? For indeed, with hardship comes ease. Indeed, with hardship comes ease. So when you have finished, strive diligently, and direct your longing to your Lord alone.”

The basmala has already been discussed.

Allah Almighty, explaining His blessing upon His Prophet Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—says: “Have We not opened your heart for you?” The scholars state that this is a question intended to affirm what follows. This kind of question occurs frequently in the Quran and is understood as a past-tense verb prefixed by qad. Thus, “Have We not opened your heart for you?” is understood to mean: “We have indeed opened your heart for you,” because Allah is affirming that He opened his heart. The same applies whenever you encounter a question of affirmation: it is understood as a past-tense verb prefixed by qad.

It is understood as a past-tense verb because the matter has already been completed and has taken place. It is prefixed by qad because, when this particle precedes a past-tense verb, it conveys certainty. When it precedes a present-tense verb, it may indicate infrequency, although it may also convey certainty. In the common expression, “A miser may sometimes be generous,” qad indicates infrequency. By contrast, in Allah’s words, “He surely knows your circumstances” [al-Nūr: 64], it unquestionably conveys certainty.

Allah Almighty says: “Have We not opened your heart for you?”—that is, expanded it. This opening is spiritual, not physical. To have one’s heart opened means that it is broad and receptive to Allah Almighty’s ruling in both its forms: Allah’s revealed ruling, which is—