By The Fig And The Olive

I have come to surahs (chapters) that begin with the word consider or by, an exclamation to witness.  In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

By the bright morning hours,
and the night when it grows still and dark
(Ad-Duha, The Bright Morning Hours, 93:1-2)

By the night as it veils (the earth) in darkness,
and the day as it rises bright
By the creation of the male and the female
(Al-Layl, The Night, 92:1-3)

By the sun and its glorious splendour
and the moon as it follows it
By the day as it reveals glory
and the night as it conceals it
By the sky and its wondrous make
and the earth and all its expanse
By the human self, and the proportion and order given to it,
and how it is imbued with its wickedness and its righteousness
(Ash-Shams, The Sun, 91:1-8)

By the heavens and the nightcomer
(At-Tariq, The Nightcomer, 86:1)

By the sky full of great constellations,
(Al-Buruj, The Great Constellations, 85:1)

By the fig and the olive,
and Mount Sinai,
and this secure city
(At-Tin, The Fig, 95:1-3)

By the daybreak
and the ten nights
By the even (numbers) and the odd
By the night as it advances
Is there (not) in these a solemn evidence of the truth for those who understand?
(Al-Fajr, The Daybreak, 89:1-5)

The recitation is of Ad-Duha (The Bright Morning Hours)

The Bright Morning Hours

I sit in my living room, computer in my lap, watching the view outside.  The sun has just come up, the sky is clear and cool.  It rained last night.  The trees are green, their leaves bright and moist.  Their reflections bright in the pond.  The orchids of purple and white and dark brown scattered on the lawn add colors.  I have a beautiful garden.

I can see my turkey pet fluffing his feathers.  He perches right on the doorstep.  I can see a squirrel playing in the tree.  An early squirrel.  Yesterday a family of monkeys came to visit.  The morning chirping birds had quietened down and I can hear the distant sound of a rooster crowing.  A late rooster.

My helper just arrived and she is doing the dishes.  I sit here in this big sofa chair waiting for my children to get ready.  I hear water running in the shower, I hear low humming of the dishwasher.  There is no more food in the house and we are going out to get breakfast then groceries.

My heart fills with gratitude for everything that I have, Alhamdulillahirabbila'lamin, all praise is due to God and God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace.  And I pray for His continued blessing.  Yet there is an innate melancholic feeling hanging in the calmness of the morning.

I google for the meaning of a verse and the page rests on Ad-Dhuha, The Bright Morning Hours.  The surah seems to have been revealed to the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, during a desolate time of his outer life.

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful


Consider the bright morning hours,
and the night when it grows still and dark.
Thy Sustainer has not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased;
for, indeed, the life to come will be better for thee than the former
And, indeed, in time will thy Sustainer grant thee, and thou shalt be well-pleased.


Has He not found thee an orphan, and given thee shelter?
And found thee lost on thy way, and guided thee?
And found thee in want, and given thee sufficiency?
Therefore, the orphan shalt thou never wrong,
and him that seeks help shalt thou never chide,
and of thy Sustainer's blessings shalt thou ever speak.