Al-Lail - Theme and Subject Matter

Theme and Subject Matter

The mufassirūn (Quranic commentators) note a similarity that in all of the aforementioned three suras the wonder and contrast between night and day are appealed to for the consolation of man in his spiritual yearning. According to an interpretation expounded on in the tafsīr (commentary) written by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi (d. 1979) entitled Tafhim al-Qur'an, the primary theme of Surat al-Lail is distinguishing between two different ways of life and explaining the contrast between their ultimate ends and results. Sayyid Qutb (d. 1966), who was an Egyptian author, Islamist, and leading intellectual of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, surmised the overall theme of Surat Al-Lail in the introduction to his extensive Quranic commentary, Fi Zilal al-Qur'an (In the shades of the Qur'an) by saying:

Within a framework of scenes taken from the universe and the realm of human nature, this surah states emphatically the basic facts of action and reward. This issue had diverse aspects… The end in the hereafter is also varied, according to the type of action and the direction taken in this life… The subject matter of the surah, i.e., action and reward, is by nature double directional, so the framework chosen for it at the beginning of the surah is of dual coloring. It is based on contrasting aspects in the creation of man and the universe.

—Sayid Qutb, Fi Zilal al-Qur'an

According to an account from the book A Comprehensive Commentary on the Quran, translated by George Sale, Jalal ad-Din as-Suyūti – co-author of the classical Sunni tafsīr known as Tafsir al-Jalalayn - had speculated that this whole description belongs peculiarly to Abu Bakr; for when he had purchased Bilal ibn Rabah, the Ethiopian (afterwards Muhammad’s muadhdhin, or crier to prayers), who had been put to the rack on account of his faith, the infidels said he did it only out of a view of interest; upon which this passage was revealed. However, the style and language of this chapter are against this explanation. It is best, therefore, to regard the whole as addressed to Muhammad’s hearers generally.

In his book The Corân, William Muir classifies Al-Lail in a Quranic sub-category known as the Soliloquies - a literary form of discourse in which Muhammad talks to himself or reveals his thoughts without addressing a listener. However, Sale argues that this sūrah seems to be ruled out of that category by the statements of āyāt 14 where Muhammad appears as a warner, and therefore is entered upon his public ministry. Regarding subject matter, Sayyid Maududi suggests this surah can generally be divided into two parts, the first consisting of āyāt 1 through 11, and the second of āyāt 12 through 21.