Surah 92 · Meccan · 21 Verses
الليل
SURAH AL-LAYL
The Night
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّىٰ
And [by] the day when it appears
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وَمَا خَلَقَ ٱلذَّكَرَ وَٱلْأُنثَىٰٓ
And [by] He who created the male and female,
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إِنَّ سَعْيَكُمْ لَشَتَّىٰ
Indeed, your efforts are diverse.
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فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَىٰ وَٱتَّقَىٰ
As for he who gives and fears Allāh
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وَصَدَّقَ بِٱلْحُسْنَىٰ
And believes in the best [reward].
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فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُۥ لِلْيُسْرَىٰ
We will ease him toward ease.
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وَأَمَّا مَنۢ بَخِلَ وَٱسْتَغْنَىٰ
But as for he who withholds and considers himself free of need
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وَكَذَّبَ بِٱلْحُسْنَىٰ
And denies the best [reward],
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فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُۥ لِلْعُسْرَىٰ
We will ease him toward difficulty.
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وَمَا يُغْنِى عَنْهُ مَالُهُۥٓ إِذَا تَرَدَّىٰٓ
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إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا لَلْهُدَىٰ
Indeed, [incumbent] upon Us is guidance.
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وَإِنَّ لَنَا لَلْءَاخِرَةَ وَٱلْأُولَىٰ
And indeed, to us belongs the Hereafter and the first [life].
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فَأَنذَرْتُكُمْ نَارًۭا تَلَظَّىٰ
So I have warned you of a Fire which is blazing.
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لَا يَصْلَىٰهَآ إِلَّا ٱلْأَشْقَى
None will [enter to] burn therein except the most wretched one
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ٱلَّذِى كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ
Who had denied and turned away.
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وَسَيُجَنَّبُهَا ٱلْأَتْقَى
But the righteous one will avoid it –
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ٱلَّذِى يُؤْتِى مَالَهُۥ يَتَزَكَّىٰ
[He] who gives [from] his wealth to purify himself
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وَمَا لِأَحَدٍ عِندَهُۥ مِن نِّعْمَةٍۢ تُجْزَىٰٓ
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إِلَّا ٱبْتِغَآءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ
But only seeking the face [i.e., acceptance] of his Lord, Most High.
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وَلَسَوْفَ يَرْضَىٰ
And he is going to be satisfied.
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About This Surah
Surah Al-Layl contrasts night and day, male and female, and above all divergent human striving. Giving, reverence and affirming the best lead toward ease, while withholding, self-sufficiency and denial lead toward hardship. Wealth cannot rescue a person from ruin, and sincere giving should seek God’s pleasure rather than repayment from recipients.
The opening contrasts covering night with revealing day and then states that human efforts move in different directions. The surah does not describe one social class as automatically righteous; it identifies moral choices.
The first pattern combines giving, reverence and affirming the best. The second combines stinginess, a sense of self-sufficiency and denial. Each path is “eased” toward its fitting end, a formulation that should be read with the choices named rather than used to erase responsibility.
Wealth proves unable to benefit a person at the moment of ruin. Guidance belongs to God, and both the last and first life belong to Him. A blazing fire is warned for deep rejection.
The God-conscious giver is kept away from it: wealth is given for purification, not because the recipient owes a favor. The giver seeks the pleasure of the Most High and will be satisfied. Charity here is anti-transactional, not a technique for controlling divine reward.
The chapter can be reread in two movements: begin with “Contrasts and divergent striving,” then observe how the argument reaches “Guidance, warning and sincere generosity.” Use 92:17–21 to test the relationship between “Human striving takes morally different directions” and “Giving is joined to reverence and truth.” Reading in sequence protects the text from proof-texting, keeps warning and hope in proportion, and makes clear which conclusions arise directly from the cited verses and which would need additional evidence.
Core Themes
- Human striving takes morally different directions
- Giving is joined to reverence and truth
- Self-sufficiency can become a spiritual illusion
- Wealth cannot rescue its owner
- Sincere generosity does not purchase gratitude
Structure
Verses 1-4: contrasts and divergent striving — 1-4
This section follows contrasts and divergent striving across verses 1-4. Read it within Al-Layl’s complete sequence; the passage does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, fixed ritual, or guaranteed worldly outcome.
Verses 5-11: giving and withholding paths — 5-11
This section follows giving and withholding paths across verses 5-11. Read it within Al-Layl’s complete sequence; the passage does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, fixed ritual, or guaranteed worldly outcome.
Verses 12-21: guidance, warning and sincere generosity — 12-21
This section follows guidance, warning and sincere generosity across verses 12-21. Read it within Al-Layl’s complete sequence; the passage does not independently create a private ruling, diagnosis, prediction, punishment power, fixed ritual, or guaranteed worldly outcome.
Reading Guide
Context-focused reading step 1
Compare each element of the two three-part character patterns. Keep this boundary visible: Do not use the passage to teach financial prosperity in exchange for charity. Compare the passage with the complete surah before drawing a contemporary, legal, medical, scientific, or devotional conclusion.
Context-focused reading step 2
Read ‘ease’ in relation to the path a person chooses. Keep this boundary visible: Do not claim wealth or poverty automatically reveals a person’s final status. Compare the passage with the complete surah before drawing a contemporary, legal, medical, scientific, or devotional conclusion.
Context-focused reading step 3
Notice the explicit denial of a favor owed in 92:19. Keep this boundary visible: Do not remove human responsibility from the language of being eased. Compare the passage with the complete surah before drawing a contemporary, legal, medical, scientific, or devotional conclusion.
Key Passages
Night, day and striving — 1-4
Verses 1-4 address night, day and striving. Their placement in Al-Layl supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, fixed recitation formula, or guaranteed worldly result.
Two moral patterns — 5-10
Verses 5-10 address two moral patterns. Their placement in Al-Layl supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, fixed recitation formula, or guaranteed worldly result.
Wealth, guidance and warning — 11-16
Verses 11-16 address wealth, guidance and warning. Their placement in Al-Layl supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, fixed recitation formula, or guaranteed worldly result.
Giving for purification — 17-21
Verses 17-21 address giving for purification. Their placement in Al-Layl supplies the immediate context; this overview identifies the movement without turning it into a stand-alone legal ruling, clinical diagnosis, current-event prediction, private enforcement authority, fixed recitation formula, or guaranteed worldly result.
Recitation Note
This editorial draft does not prescribe an exclusive time, repetition count, guaranteed protection, healing, provision or other worldly result for reciting Surah Al-Layl. Add a devotional-practice note only after the exact hadith collection, canonical numbering, grading and claim wording have been checked and registered.
Interpretation Limits
- Do not use the passage to teach financial prosperity in exchange for charity.
- Do not claim wealth or poverty automatically reveals a person’s final status.
- Do not remove human responsibility from the language of being eased.