Sūrat al-ʿĀdiyāt

Classification: Meccan, though some say Medinan. It contains 11 verses and was revealed after [the Sūrah of] al-ʿAṣr.

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1. By the snorting chargers,

2. And those that strike fire with their hooves,

3. And those that raid at dawn,

4. And stir up dust therein,

5. And penetrate into the midst of a gathering therein.

6. Indeed, mankind is ungrateful to his Lord.

7. And indeed, he is a witness to that.

8. And indeed, he is intense in his love for wealth.

9. Does he not know when that which is in the graves is scattered?

10. And that which is in the breasts is brought out?

11. Indeed, their Lord is, that Day, fully Acquainted with them.

"By the snorting chargers" He swears by the horses of the warriors as they run and snort. Ḍabḥ is the sound of their breathing when they run. Ibn ʿAbbās described it as: "Aḥ, aḥ." ʿAntara said: And the horses pant when they snort in the pools of death, a snorting.

The accusative case of ḍabḥan is due to the implied verb yaḍbaḥna ḍabḥan (they snort a snorting), or it is governed by al-ʿādiyāt as if to say: wa-l-ḍābiḥāt (the snorters), because the snorting occurs with the running. Or it is a state (ḥāl), meaning: "snorting."

"And the producers of sparks" They produce the fire of ḥabāḥib (sparks), which is what strikes from their hooves.

"Striking fire" They are striking and clashing their hooves against the stones. Qadḥ is the striking, and īrāʾ is the bringing forth of fire. You say: qadaḥa fa-awrā (he struck and produced fire), or qadaḥa fa-aṣlada (he struck and produced no fire). Qadḥan is in the accusative for the same reason ḍabḥan was.

"And the raiders at dawn" They raid the enemy at the time of dawn.

"And stirred up dust therein" They raised dust at that time.

"And penetrated therein" At that time, or within the dust, meaning they penetrated the gathered crowd. Or, they penetrated while enveloped in it.

"A gathering" From the enemy's ranks. Wasaṭahu means to enter its middle. It is said the pronoun refers to the place of the raid, or to the enemy indicated by al-ʿādiyāt. It is also possible that naqʿ (dust) refers to shouting, based on the Prophet’s saying: "As long as there is no naqʿ (shouting) or laqlāqa (clamor)," and Labīd’s verse: "When a truthful cry shouts." Meaning: they stirred up shouting and clamor in the raid against them.

Abū Ḥaywa read fa-aththarna (with tashdīd), meaning: "they made dust appear," because taʾthīr contains the meaning of manifestation. Or it is a transformation of thawarna to watharna, changing the wāw to a hamza. It was also read fa-wassaṭna (with tashdīd) for transitivity. The bāʾ is an augment for emphasis, like His saying: wa-ataw bihi (and they brought it).

Ibn ʿAbbās said: "I was sitting in the Hijr when a man came and asked me about al-ʿādiyāt ḍabḥā. I interpreted it as horses. He went to ʿAlī, who was under the Siqāya of Zamzam, and asked him. ʿAlī said: 'Call him to me.' When I stood before him, he said: 'You give fatwas to people about what you have no knowledge of! By God, the first raid in Islam was Badr, and we had only two horses: the horse of al-Zubayr and a horse of al-Miqdād.' Al-ʿādiyāt ḍabḥā are the camels from ʿArafāt to Muzdalifa, and from Muzdalifa to Minā." If this report is authentic, then ḍabḥ has been metaphorically applied to camels, just as mashāfir (lips) and ḥāfir (hoof) are applied to humans, or thaghr (teeth) to a fortress. It is said ḍabḥ only occurs for horses, dogs, and foxes.

"Indeed, mankind is ungrateful to his Lord" Kanūd is the ungrateful one. Kanada the blessing means to be ungrateful. From this, the tribe of Kinda was named, because he kanada (denied/left) his father and separated from him. Al-Kalbī said: Kanūd in the dialect of Kinda is the disobedient; in the dialect of Banū Mālik, the miser; and in the dialect of Muḍar and Rabīʿa, the ungrateful. It means he is extremely ungrateful for his Lord's blessing.

"And indeed, he is to that a witness" He bears witness against himself and cannot deny it due to the clarity of his affair. It is also said: "And indeed, God is a witness to his ingratitude," as a threat.

"And indeed, he is, in love of wealth, intense" Al-khayr is wealth, from His saying: in taraka khayran (if he leaves wealth). Shadīd is the miserly, the stingy. It is said: "So-and-so is shadīd and mutashaddid." Ṭarafa said: "I see death choosing the noble... and the choice wealth of the stingy miser." Meaning: because of his love for wealth and the difficulty of spending it, he is a miser. Or, shadīd means strong; he is strong and capable in his love for wealth and pursuit of the world, but weak and sluggish in his love for worshipping God.

"When that which is in the graves is scattered" Buʿthira means buʿitha (resurrected).

"And that which is in the breasts is obtained" Ḥuṣṣila means gathered in the records, i.e., made manifest and collected. It is also said: distinguished between his good and his evil.

"Indeed, their Lord, that Day, is fully acquainted with them" His knowledge of them on the Day of Resurrection is His recompense for them according to the measure of their deeds.