Surat Ad-Duha (The Morning Hours) | Mishary Rashid Alafasy | مشاري بن راشد العفاسي | سورة الضحى

Theme and Subject-Matter:

The theme of this Surah is to console the Prophet (pbuh) and its object is to remove his anxiety and distress, which was caused by the suspension of revelation. The Prophet is reassured: "Your Rabb has not at all forsaken you, nor is he displeased with you." Then, he is given the good news that the hardships that he was experiencing in the initial stage of his mission will not last long and the later period of life for him will be better than the former period. Before long, Allah will bless him so abundantly that he will be well pleased. This is one of the express prophecies of the Qur'an, which proved literally true later on. When this prophecy was made, there seemed not to be the remotest chance that the helpless and powerless man who had come out to wage a war against ignorance and paganism would ever achieve such wonderful success.

The Prophet (pbuh) is then told: "What made you think that your Rabb has forsaken you, and that We are displeased with you? Whereas the fact is that We have been good to you with kindness after kindness ever since the day of your birth. You were born an orphan, We made the best arrangement for your upbringing and care: you were unaware of the Way, We showed you the Way; you were indigent, We made you rich. All this shows that you have been favored by Us from the very beginning and Our grace and bounty has been constantly focussed on you." These are the similar words which Allah said to console Prophet Musa (Moses) when he was sent to Pharaoh as described in Surah TuaHa vv. 37-42: "We have been looking after you with kindness ever since your birth; therefore, you should be satisfied that you will not be left alone in this dreadful mission. Our bounty will constantly be with you."

Source: Malik Surah Introductions