فَلَآ أُقْسِمُ بِٱلشَّفَقِ 16
Translations
So I swear by the twilight glow
Transliteration
Fala uqsimu bish-shafaq
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah swears by the twilight (al-shafaq), which refers to the redness or glow that appears in the western sky after sunset. This oath introduces one of the Qur'an's most profound passages about the certainty of the Day of Judgment and the recording angels who witness all human deeds. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari note that Allah's swearing by natural phenomena emphasizes their significance as signs of His power and the certainty of the resurrection, as the twilight marks the transition between day and night, symbolizing the transition between this life and the afterlife.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Inshiqaq is a Meccan surah focused on the events of the Day of Judgment and divine accountability. This ayah is part of the opening sequence where Allah invokes oaths by celestial and natural phenomena to establish the certainty of the Day of Judgment. The context emphasizes that just as the twilight occurs with certainty each day, so too will the Day of Judgment occur with absolute certainty.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said regarding the twilight: 'When the sun sets and the night comes, the jinn are let loose.' (Sahih Bukhari 3328). Additionally, the Qur'an's use of oaths by natural phenomena relates to the hadith: 'The most truthful word spoken by a poet is the saying of Labid: 'Verily, all things except Allah are unreal.' (Sahih Bukhari 3837), emphasizing that while creation is transient, Allah's signs endure.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that the regular, observable phenomena in nature—like the daily twilight—are signs of Allah's perfect order and certainty, reminding us that just as these occur unfailingly, so too will we face accountability on the Day of Judgment. We should use these natural signs to strengthen our faith and consciousness of living under divine observation through the recording angels.