by Amani Iqbal
Many of us know surah ad-duha
off by heart and have probably read its meaning many times as well, which seems
quite straightforward. How many of us, though, have actually gone into the
reason behind its revelation and derived the lessons and implications this surah
has in our lives?
This surah was revealed to
Prophet Muhammad (saw) at a time when he had not received any revelation for
six months, not even in the form of a dream! The Prophet (saw) was in a very
disturbed state of mind, feeling negative and depressed and believing that
Allah was displeased with him, had forgotten him, and did not want him as a Nabi
anymore.
Don’t we have similar feelings in
our lives? Times when our level of imaan is low, our khushoo in salah
wavers and we feel a drop in our connection with Allah? We feel like our duas
are not being answered, our salah is not having a positive impact on our
hearts, and worst of all the feeling that we’re horrible human beings, that
Allah doesn’t love us or doesn’t care about us anymore.
Surah Ad-Duha was revealed to the Prophet (saw) to relieve him of these
negative feelings and to give him hope, positivity, and the assurance that
Allah is with him no matter what. From it we too can find peace, hope, and a
renewed faith in Allah when we go through similar states of depression,
sadness, and hopelessness.
So what does this surah say?
Wad duhaa— By the morning brightness
This is the first thing you need to
hear when you’re depressed: Wake up, look at the sunshine! Everything in
life is not doom and gloom– you just have to look up!
Wal laili iza sajaa— And [by] the
night when it covers with darkness,
Why is this aayah immediately
talking about darkness? As a reminder to us that the night is meant to cover
and give us comfort and rest.
Generally when we’re depressed, we
tend to get into a very bad sleep pattern by staying up at night and sleeping
all day, thereby worsening our state of mind. This aayah reminds us to use
the night as a comfort to ease our distress.
Ma wad da’aka rabbuka wa ma qalaa—
Your Lord has not taken leave of you, [O Muhammad], nor has He detested [you].
This is a very powerful verse from
Allah telling us that He doesn’t hate us and hasn’t forgotten us– reminding the
depressed person that He is always by his or her side!
Walal-aakhiratu khairul laka
minal-oola— And the Hereafter is better for you than the first [life].
Many times when we’re depressed we
think: Is this all my life is going to be? Is it never going to get better?
This aayah serves as a
perfect answer to those questions, reminding us that life in this world is
temporary and that Aakhira is certainly a better, more permanent place
for us than this world could ever be.
This makes us look forward to
attaining our place in Jannah and helps us look at any problems in our lives as
temporary tests of our faith from Allah.
Wa la sawfa y’uteeka rabbuka
fatarda— And your Lord is going to give you, and you will be satisfied.
A promise from Allah that very soon
he will give us a massive reward (Jannah) and we will be happy! Subhanallah!
Isn’t this the best thing to hear
when you’re depressed and fed up with this worldly life and the problems you’re
facing?
Alam ya jidka yateeman fa aawaa –
Did He not find you an orphan and give [you] refuge?
From this verse onwards, Allah gives
us reason to believe His declarations and promises in the first half of the surah.
Now many of us may think:
how would this aayah about orphans relate to the majority of us? Think
about it– weren’t there many times in your life when you were sick or lonely
and felt like you had nobody who cared about you? Who was the only one by your
side at that time? Allah! It was He who took care of you and guided you out of
that stage in life.
Wa wa jadaka daal lan fahada— And He
found you lost and guided [you].
How many of us, despite being born
Muslims, have found ourselves misguided and straying away from Islam in the
past? It was Allah who gave us that hidaya and brought us back to the straight
path and to Him and made us practicing Muslims. Alhamdulillah!
Wa wa jadaka ‘aa-ilan fa aghnaa— And
He found you poor and made [you] self-sufficient.
Many of us have probably gone
through many periods in our lives when we have been short of money and wealth.
Now when we look back we realize that it was only Allah who gave us that rizq
in some form and got us through those tough financial times.
When a person is depressed, giving
him or her examples of how Allah has helped them in the past will strengthen
their conviction and belief in the promises Allah makes in this surah
for their future.
Fa am mal yateema fala taqhar — So
as for the orphan, do not oppress [him].
This aayah is the ultimate
antidote to depression!
Depressed people are mostly consumed
with their situation and feel that nobody could possibly be in a worse
situation.
This aayah reminds us to look
at people who are in far worse situations than ourselves when we’re feeling
hopeless and depressed— Look at the orphans, who have no family or loved
ones and nobody to care for them. We have families and parents who love us, a
roof over our heads and food on the table and we still think we’re in a
bad situation? Subhanallah!
Wa am mas saa-ila fala tanhar— And
as for the petitioner, do not repel [him].
Another example is of the beggar –
to once again remind us of the many material blessings that Allah has given us
that we take for granted – food, clothing and shelter. How many of us have ever
gone to sleep hungry? How many of us don’t have clothes to wear? Or don’t have
a home to go to?
These examples of the orphan and the
beggar are ones we should constantly remind ourselves of to be thankful for the
numerous blessings Allah has given us, get over our depression and feel
connected to Allah again, out of gratitude.
Wa amma bi ne’mati rabbika fahad
dith – But as for the favor of your Lord, report [it].
This final aayah is about
maintaining that renewed faith and bond with Allah – by pondering, glorifying
and talking about the blessings of Allah! Either in terms of halaqas,
discussions with family and friends or even da’wah! Dhikr, reading quran and
listening to lectures are also great ways to keep the remembrance of Allah
close to your heart!
So the next time you feel
disconnected, disheartened or depressed with your level of Imaan and your
connection with Allah – read Surah Ad Duha and ponder over its meanings –
Inshallah it will restore your faith and increase your belief in the greatness
and power of Allah.
Notes
This article was inspired by Sheikh
Tawfique Chowdry’s talk on Surah Ad Duha. The full video can be accessed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoqhNz7wD3I
Translation from: http://quran.com/93
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