Tafseer of The Overthrowing · At-Takwir · 81:17
And by the night as it closes in
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.
Explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ ("By the night when it passes") (81:17).
Our Lord — exalted be His praise — swore by the night when it passes (ʿasʿasa). He says: and I swear by the night when it passes.
The scholars of interpretation (tafsīr) differed concerning His word: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ . Some said: by His word إِذَا عَسْعَسَ is meant: when it retreats (adbara).
* Mention of those who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ — he says: when it retreats.
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, concerning His word: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ — he means: when it retreats.
ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bayān al-Yashkurī related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Yazīd related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Abū Ẓabyān, who said: I followed ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib — may Allah be pleased with him — as he was going out toward the east, and he turned toward the dawn and recited this verse: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ .
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allah, on the authority of Saʿd ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, who said: ʿAlī — peace be upon him — came out from the side of the market gate, when the morning or the dawn had risen, and he recited: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ * وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ ("By the night when it passes * and by the morning when it breathes") and said: where is the one who asked about the witr? Yes, this is the hour of the witr.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ — he said: its coming, and it is also said: its passing.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ : when it retreats.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: إِذَا عَسْعَسَ — he said: when it retreats.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His word: إِذَا عَسْعَسَ : when it retreats.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Misʿar, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, who said: ʿAlī — peace be upon him — came out after the muezzin had given the call to the morning prayer, and he said: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ * وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ — where is the one who asked about the witr? He said: yes, this is the hour of the witr.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ — he said: ʿasʿasa means: it turned away; and he said: the morning breathed from here — and he pointed toward the east, the rising of the dawn.
And others said: by His word إِذَا عَسْعَسَ is meant: when it comes with its darkness.
* Mention of those who said that:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ — he said: when it covers the people.
Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣudāʾī related to us, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of al-Fuḍayl, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya: وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ — he said: and he pointed with his hand toward the west.
The correct of the two interpretations in this, according to my judgment, is the saying of the one who said: its meaning is: when it retreats. That is because of His word: وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ ("and by the morning when it breathes"), for thereby it is indicated that the oath was sworn by the night while it retreats and by the day while it comes. The Arabs say: ʿasʿasa al-layl and saʿsaʿa al-layl: when it retreats and only a little of it remains. Belonging to this is the saying of Ruʾba ibn al-ʿAjjāj:
"O Hind, how swiftly has it slipped away, and had he hoped to follow youth, he would have followed it."
This is the language of the one who says: saʿsaʿa. As for the language of the one who says: ʿasʿasa, that is the saying of ʿAlqama ibn Qurṭ:
"Until the morning breathed for her, and her night retreated from her and passed (ʿasʿasa)."
He means: it retreated. Some who were acquainted with the language of the Arabs claimed that ʿasʿasa means: it approached its beginning and grew dark. Al-Farrāʾ said: Abū al-Balād the grammarian recited a verse:
"The night passed (ʿasʿasa), so much so that, had he wished when it drew near, he could have kindled a little fire from its light."
He says: "had he wished when it drew near" (idh danā), but he assimilated the dhāl into the dāl. Al-Farrāʾ said: they were of the opinion that this verse was fabricated.
