The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

This Meccan sura, addressed to the Prophet, is a continuation of the
reassurance and encouragement given in Sura 
93.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1Did We not relieve your heart for you [Prophet], 2and remove the
burden 
3that weighed so heavily on your back, 4and raise your
reputation high? 
5So truly where there is hardship there is also ease;
6truly where there is hardship there is also ease. 7The moment you
are freed [of one task] work on, 
8and turn to your Lord for
everything.
(
426)

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95. THE FIG
A Meccan sura questioning how man can deny the Judgement, and empha-
sizing the importance of faith and good deeds.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1By the fig, by the olive, 2by Mount Sinai, 3by this safe town,
a
4We create man in the finest state 5then reduce him to the lowest of
the low, 
6except those who believe and do good deeds––7they will
have an unfailing reward. After this, what makes you [man] deny the
Judgement?
b
8Is God not the most decisive of judges?
c
a
Mecca.
b
Or ‘who could say that you [Prophet] are lying about the Judgement?’ (Razi)
c
God would not create you and leave you without Judgement (cf. 
23: 115–6).
(
427)

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96. THE CLINGING FORM
a
A Meccan sura named after the term 
 alaq in verse 2. The first five verses are
known to be the 
first revelation of the Quran when the Prophet was instructed
to read. The second part came later to show that man transgresses when he
becomes self-satis
fied (as exemplified by a specific individual, Abu Jahl).
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1Read! In the name of your Lord who created: 2He created man
b
from a clinging form. 
3Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One
4who taught by [means of] the pen, 5who taught man what he did
not know.
6But man exceeds all bounds 7when he thinks he is self-sufficient:
8[Prophet], all will return to your Lord. 9Have you seen the man
who forbids 
10[Our] servant to pray? 11Have you seen whether he is
rightly guided, 
12or encourages true piety? 13Have you seen whether
he denies the truth and turns away from it? 
14Does he not realize that
God sees all? 
15No! If he does not stop, We shall drag him by his
forehead
c
––
16his lying, sinful forehead. 17Let him summon his com-
rades; 
18We shall summon the guards of Hell. 19No! Do not obey him
[Prophet]: bow down
d
in worship and draw close.
a
A stage in the development of a foetus (cf. 
22: 5), i.e. embryo.  Alaq can also mean
anything that clings: a clot of blood, a leech, even a lump of mud. All these meanings
involve the basic idea of clinging or sticking. Clinging indicates a state of total depend-
ence in contrast with verse 
7.
b
See note to 
89: 15.
c
In Hell. Many translators give ‘forelock’ instead of ‘forehead’ (cf. 
54: 48). His head
is sinful, not his forelock.
d
Sujud is a position in the Muslim prayer with head, hands, knees, and toes on the
ground, but not the rest of the body as in ‘prostration’.
(
428)

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97. THE NIGHT OF GLORY
This Meccan sura celebrates the night when the