(1–21) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. By the night when it covers * and by the day when it appears in brightness * and by the One who created the male and the female * surely your endeavors are greatly diverse * as for the one who gives and fears Allah * and believes in the best * We shall make the path of ease easy for him * but as for the one who is miserly and deems himself self-sufficient * and denies the best * We shall make the path of hardship easy for him * and his wealth will not benefit him when he perishes * surely it is for Us to give guidance * and surely to Us belong the Hereafter and the present life * so I have warned you of a blazing Fire.”
This is an oath from Allah by the time in which His servants perform their deeds amid their differing circumstances. He says:
“By the night when it covers”—[that is, envelops] creation in its darkness, whereupon everyone retires to his shelter and dwelling, and the servants rest from toil and weariness.
“And by the day when it appears in brightness” to creation, so that they are illuminated by its light and disperse to pursue their interests.
“And by the One who created the male and the female.” If the word mā is a relative pronoun, the oath is by His noble Self, described as being (1) the Creator of males and females. If it instead turns the clause into a verbal noun, the oath is by His creation of the male and the female. His perfect wisdom in this is that, from every species of animal whose continued existence He wills, He created a male and a female so that the species would survive and not die out. He drew each toward the other by the bond of desire and made each suited to the other. Blessed is Allah, the best of creators.
His words, “surely your endeavors are greatly diverse,” state the subject of the oath. That is: Your endeavors, O morally accountable people, vary greatly. This is due to the differences among the deeds themselves, their extent, and the vigor with which they are performed, as well as the ends intended by them. Is the intended end the Face of Allah Most High, which abides? If so, the endeavor undertaken for Him (2) will endure because He abides, and its doer will benefit from it. Or is it a fleeting, vanishing end, in which case the endeavor becomes void when its object vanishes and disappears when that object disappears?
Every deed intended for anything other than the Face of Allah Most High bears this description. Allah Most High therefore distinguished between those who act and described their deeds, saying:
“As for the one who gives”—[that is, gives] what he has been commanded to give in financial acts of worship, such as zakat, expiations, maintenance expenditures, charity, and spending in avenues of goodness; and who performs physical acts of worship, such as prayer, fasting, and the like, as well as acts combining both, such as Hajj and Umrah [and the like]—“and fears Allah” by avoiding what has been forbidden, including every kind of prohibited act and sin.
“And believes in the best”—that is, he believes in “There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,” all the religious beliefs it signifies, and the recompense in the Hereafter that follows from them.
“We shall make the path of ease easy for him”—that is, We shall facilitate his affairs, make every good easy for him (3), and make it easy for him to abandon every evil. Because he pursued the means that lead to ease, Allah granted him that ease.
“But as for the one who is miserly” with what he has been commanded to give, thereby neglecting both obligatory and recommended spending, and whose soul is unwilling to render what is due to Allah; “and deems himself self-sufficient” from Allah, thus setting aside servitude to Him and failing to recognize his utter need of his Lord—when there can be no deliverance, attainment, or success for him unless He is the one he loves and worships, whom he seeks and to whom he turns.
“And denies the best”—that is, the sound beliefs that Allah has required His servants to affirm.
“We shall make the path of hardship easy for him”—that is, the state of hardship and blameworthy qualities: evil will be made easy for him wherever it may be, and acts of disobedience will be made readily available to him. We ask Allah for well-being.
“And his wealth will not benefit him”—the wealth that caused him to transgress, through which he deemed himself self-sufficient, and which he withheld—“when he perishes” and dies, for nothing will accompany him except his righteous deeds (4).
As for his wealth [from which he did not give what was obligatory], it will become a source of ruin for him, since he sent none of it ahead for his Hereafter.
“Surely it is for Us to give guidance”—that is, the path of true guidance leads to Allah and draws one near to His pleasure. As for misguidance, its paths are barred from Allah and lead those who follow them only to severe punishment.
“And surely to Us belong the Hereafter and the present life,” in ownership and control. He has no partner in either. Therefore, let those who seek turn to Him with their requests, and let them sever their hopes from created beings.
“So I have warned you of a blazing Fire”—that is, a fire that rages and burns fiercely.