Tafseer of The Cloaked One · Al-Muddaththir · 74:33
And [by] the night when it departs
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, وَاللَّيْلِ إِذْ أَدْبَرَ (And by the night when it retreats): when it turns away.
And others said concerning this what Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, وَاللَّيْلِ إِذْ أَدْبَرَ (And by the night when it retreats): its retreating is its growing dark.
And the reciters (al-qurrāʾ) differed in the reading of this. Most of the reciters of Medina and Basra read it as إِذْ أَدْبَرَ (idh adbara), and some of the reciters of Mecca and Kūfa read إذا دَبَرَ (idhā dabara).
And the correct judgment concerning this, in our view, is that they are two well-known readings, both of which are correct in meaning; with whichever of the two the reciter recites, he does what is correct.
The scholars of the Arabic language differed concerning this. Some of the Kūfans said: they are two dialectal forms; one says "dabara al-nahār" and "adbara" (the day turned away), and "dabara al-ṣayf" and "adbara" (the summer turned away). He said: and likewise "qabala" and "aqbala"; but when they say "aqbala al-rākib" (the rider came forward) and "adbara" (he turned away), they say that only with the alif. And some of the Basrans said: واللَّيْل إذَا دَبَرَ (And by the night when it follows) means: when the day has departed and it is at the end of it. He said: and one says "dabaranī" when someone comes behind me, and "adbara" when he turns away.
And the correct judgment concerning this, in my view, is that they are two dialectal forms with the same meaning. That is because it has been transmitted from the Arabs: "may Allah make ugly what is qabula (in front) of him and what is dabura (behind) of him." And another argument is that the exegetes made no distinction in their exegesis between the two readings, and that is an indication that they did so because both have the same meaning.
