Thafseer Lafzi 1 — Sūrat al-Layl (92) — the whole sūrah, word by word سُورَةُ ٱللَّيْل

0 · The frame the class set

• Why we study it this way. The Qurʾān must be connected to our own lives, not left as a recitation subject learned in the madrasah as letters and dots. Reciting is a real gain — but we must go further than that.
• What tafsīr lafẓī adds: you see how the words of the āyah stand in the Arabic language, and after that come the rulings the āyah carries — even when a fiqh rule sits inside a single āyah.
• Where it must reach: the spiritual life first, then family life, then wealth and economic dealings, then social dealings — the whole life measured against the Qurʾān. When the Companions asked ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها about the character of the Prophet ﷺ, her answer was that his character was the Qurʾān. (The class recording is garbled at that point; only the frame survives.)

1 · The sūrah at a glance

Why it is named al-Layl: the sūrah opens with the oath by the night, وَٱلَّيْلِ — and that opening word gives the sūrah its name. That is the usual way these sūrahs are named: by a prominent word at the beginning.

2 · Āyah 1 — the oath by the night

وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَىٰ

wa-l-layli idhā yaghshā — "By the night when it covers over [with its darkness]."

The rule to hold: at the head of a sūrah a wāw of this type is the wāw al-qasam, and the noun that follows it is put in the genitive — hence al-layli with a kasrah, not al-laylu.

Ṣarf — parsing يَغْشَىٰ

• yaghshā is a fiʿl muḍāriʿ (present/future tense verb).
• Its māḍī is غَشِيَ ghashiya, on the faʿila pattern — like عَلِمَ ʿalima and رَضِيَ raḍiya.
• Its third radical is a yāʾ, so its lām al-fiʿl is defective (muʿtall) — that is why the muḍāriʿ ends in the long alif, yaghshā.
• Meaning of the root: to cover, to envelop. The māḍī carries past meaning, the muḍāriʿ carries present and future — so yaghshā = "it covers / it will cover".
• With a feminine subject the māḍī is ghashiyat and the muḍāriʿ is taghshā; the muḍāriʿ prefix changes to match each pronoun.

3 · Āyah 2 — the oath by the day

وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّىٰ

wa-n-nahāri idhā tajallā — "By the day when it shines forth in brightness."

Ṣarf — parsing تَجَلَّىٰ

• tajallā is a fiʿl māḍī, a five-letter (khumāsī) verb — tāʾ, jīm, lām doubled, then the final alif.
• Its muḍāriʿ is يَتَجَلَّىٰ yatajallā.
• Verbs of this shape are common — the tafaʿʿala family: taʿallama (he learned), tafaḍḍala, taḥaddatha (he spoke).

4 · Āyah 3 — the oath by the Creator

وَمَا خَلَقَ ٱلذَّكَرَ وَٱلْأُنثَىٰ

wa mā khalaqa dh-dhakara wa-l-unthā — "And by the One who created the male and the female."

The trap the class flagged. Before a verb you would normally expect mā of negation: mā naṣara = "he did not help", mā ʿalima = "he did not know", mā ḍaraba = "he did not strike". That is not the mā here. Here it is the relative mā — so wa mā khalaqa = "and by Him who created", an oath by Allah, the Creator. (Contrast āyah 11, where the mā really is negative.)

Full meaning: by Him who created the male and the female — by Allah, the Creator of male and female.

Ṣarf — parsing خَلَقَ

• khalaqa is a fiʿl māḍī, a plain three-letter (thulāthī) verb: "he created".
• Through the persons: khalaqa (he created), khalaqat (she created), khalaqta / khalaqti (you), khalaqtu (I created).
• Its muḍāriʿ is يَخْلُقُ yakhluqu — with huwa the muḍāriʿ takes the yāʾ prefix.
• The ḥurūf al-muḍāraʿah — the prefixes that mark a muḍāriʿ — are yāʾ, tāʾ, hamzah, nūn. A muḍāriʿ verb always begins with one of those four letters.

5 · Āyah 4 — the thing sworn to

Three oaths have now been sworn: by the night, by the day, and by Allah who created the male and the female. Then comes what they were sworn over:

إِنَّ سَعْيَكُمْ لَشَتَّىٰ

inna saʿyakum la-shattā — "Truly your striving is diverse, of many different kinds."

The pattern to notice: whenever the Qurʾān piles up oaths like this, the matter sworn to is something weighty. Three oaths precede it, so the point that follows is a great one — and it is addressed to all people: your striving is not all one thing; it takes many different directions.

6 · Āyah 5 — the first man: he gave and feared Allah

فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَىٰ وَٱتَّقَىٰ

fa-ammā man aʿṭā wa-ttaqā — "As for the one who gives and fears Allah…"

Ṣarf

• أَعْطَىٰ aʿṭā — a fiʿl māḍī, a four-letter (rubāʿī) verb beginning with a hamzah, on the afʿala pattern, like akrama (he honoured) and ajzala. Its muḍāriʿ is يُعْطِي yuʿṭī — and for these four-letter verbs the muḍāraʿah letter carries a ḍammah (yu-, not ya-).
• ٱتَّقَىٰ ittaqā — on the iftaʿala pattern (formed on iftiʿāl); its muḍāriʿ is يَتَّقِي yattaqī.

Meaning so far: as for the one who gave his wealth in a good cause and feared Allah…

7 · The four patterns of the four-letter verb

Having met خَلَقَ (three letters), تَجَلَّىٰ (five letters) and أَعْطَىٰ (four letters), the class lined up the four awzān that four-letter verbs come in:

And ٱتَّقَى ittaqā is of the iftaʿala type, muḍāriʿ yattaqī. Whenever a four-letter verb takes a muḍāriʿ, the prefix letter — yāʾ, tāʾ, hamzah or nūn — is vowelled with a ḍammah.

8 · Āyah 6 — and he affirmed the good

وَصَدَّقَ بِٱلْحُسْنَىٰ

wa ṣaddaqa bi-l-ḥusnā — "And affirms the truth of the best reward."

Complete: and who affirms the good that Allah has promised to be true.

9 · Āyah 7 — his reward: the easy way

فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْيُسْرَىٰ

fa-sanuyassiruhu li-l-yusrā — "We shall ease his way to the state of ease."

Ṣarf

• The root verb is يَسَّرَ yassara (faʿʿala pattern); its muḍāriʿ is يُيَسِّرُ yuyassiru. Here it appears with the nūn prefix — نُيَسِّرُ nuyassiru, "We make easy" — because Allah speaks in the plural of majesty.
• Through the persons: yuyassiru (he), tuyassiru (she / you masc.), tuyassirīna (you fem.), uyassiru (I), nuyassiru (we). The verb here begins with nūn, so it is "we".

So: for the one who gave, feared Allah, and affirmed the good — Allah will make the easy road easy for him.

10 · The future markers سَ and سَوْفَ

• A muḍāriʿ on its own can mean present or future.
• Put سَ sa- or سَوْفَ sawfa in front of it and the meaning is fixed to the future — it can no longer mean the present. sa- indicates the near future ("soon, shortly"); sawfa also marks the future.
• Example: نَصَرَ naṣara → muḍāriʿ يَنْصُرُ yanṣuru ("he helps / will help"); سَيَنْصُرُ sayanṣuru = "he will help"; سَوْفَ يَنْصُرُ sawfa yanṣuru = the same.
• Hence فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ = "We shall certainly make it easy for him" — an event in the future. The rule returns at the end of this very sūrah (āyah 17 with sa-, āyah 21 with sawfa).

11 · Āyah 8 — the second man: miserly and self-sufficient

وَأَمَّا مَنۢ بَخِلَ وَٱسْتَغْنَىٰ

wa ammā man bakhila wa-staghnā — "But as for the one who is miserly and thinks himself self-sufficient…"

He behaves as though he has no need — no need of Allah's bounties, no need of anything. Full sense: as for the one who was miserly and considered himself beyond need, turning away from what Allah gives.

Tajwīd point — iqlāb in مَنۢ بَخِلَ

When a nūn sākinah or a tanwīn is followed by a bāʾ, the nūn is pronounced as a mīm — this is iqlāb. So مَنۢ بَخِلَ is recited "mam-bakhila", not "man-bakhila".

12 · Āyah 9 — and he denied the good

وَكَذَّبَ بِٱلْحُسْنَىٰ

wa kadhdhaba bi-l-ḥusnā — "And denies the best reward as a lie."

The mirror: the very same al-ḥusnā that the first man affirmed (āyah 6), this man rejects as false.

13 · Āyah 10 — his outcome: the hard road

فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْعُسْرَىٰ

fa-sanuyassiruhu li-l-ʿusrā — "We shall ease his way to hardship."

The same verb just parsed — fa-sanuyassiruhu, "We shall make it easy for him" — but now لِلْعُسْرَىٰ li-l-ʿusrā, toward difficulty: We shall make easy for him the road that leads to hardship, that is, the Fire.

14 · Āyah 11 — his wealth will not save him

وَمَا يُغْنِي عَنْهُ مَالُهُ إِذَا تَرَدَّىٰ

wa mā yughnī ʿanhu māluhu idhā taraddā — "And his wealth will not avail him when he falls into the Fire."

Full meaning: when he has fallen into the Fire, his wealth will be of no use to him whatsoever.

15 · Āyah 12 — guidance is upon Us

إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا لَلْهُدَىٰ

inna ʿalaynā la-l-hudā — "Truly, upon Us rests the guidance."

So: truly it is upon Us to give guidance.

16 · Āyah 13 — both worlds belong to Him

وَإِنَّ لَنَا لَلْآخِرَةَ وَٱلْأُولَىٰ

wa inna lanā la-l-ākhirata wa-l-ūlā — "And truly to Us belong the Hereafter and this first life."

Both belong to Allah.

17 · Āyah 14 — the warning

فَأَنذَرْتُكُمْ نَارًا تَلَظَّىٰ

fa-andhartukum nāran talaẓẓā — "So I have warned you of a blazing Fire."

Ṣarf: the māḍī is أَنْذَرَ andhara, an afʿala-pattern verb meaning "he warned, he put someone in fear of a danger"; here it carries the first-person ending plus the object pronoun — "I have warned you".

18 · Āyāt 15–16 — who burns in it

لَا يَصْلَاهَا إِلَّا ٱلْأَشْقَى

lā yaṣlāhā illā l-ashqā — "None shall burn in it except the most wretched."

ٱلَّذِي كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ

alladhī kadhdhaba wa tawallā — "the one who denied the truth and turned away."

Meaning: the one who called the truth brought by Our Messengers a lie, and turned his back on it.

19 · Āyah 17 — the God-fearing kept far from it

وَسَيُجَنَّبُهَا ٱلْأَتْقَى

wa sayujannabuhā l-atqā — "And the most God-fearing shall be kept far from it."

Ṣarf — the muḍāriʿ majhūl (the passive)

• The māḍī is جَنَّبَ jannaba (faʿʿala pattern, "to keep away"), and its ordinary muḍāriʿ would be yujannibu. Here it is the muḍāriʿ majhūl — the passive.
• The rule: in the passive muḍāriʿ the letter before the last takes a fatḥah, and the muḍāraʿah prefix takes a ḍammah. That is how you recognise it — yujannabu, not yujannibu.
• majhūl means the doer is not named; only the one acted upon is mentioned.

20 · Āyah 18 — the giver who purifies himself

ٱلَّذِي يُؤْتِي مَالَهُ يَتَزَكَّىٰ

alladhī yuʾtī mālahu yatazakkā — "He who gives his wealth in charity, purifying himself."

Meaning: the one who gives his wealth away in charity, thereby purifying himself of sin.

21 · Āyāt 19–20 — he owes no one a favour

وَمَا لِأَحَدٍ عِندَهُ مِن نِّعْمَةٍ تُجْزَىٰ

wa mā li-aḥadin ʿindahu min niʿmatin tujzā — "He owes no one any favour that must be repaid."

إِلَّا ٱبْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ

illā btighāʾa wajhi rabbihi l-aʿlā — "except seeking the Face of his Lord, the Most High."

Meaning: he is not paying anybody back — there is no favour owed to any person that he is discharging by his giving. He spent for no purpose other than seeking the pleasure of his Lord Most High.

22 · Āyah 21 — and he shall be well pleased

وَلَسَوْفَ يَرْضَىٰ

wa la-sawfa yarḍā — "And he is going to be well pleased."

So: he shall certainly be well pleased — Allah will give him until he is satisfied.

23 · The occasion of revelation — Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq

• Sūrat al-Layl is Makkan, revealed in the earliest period of Islam.
• In that period some Companions were slaves, and when they accepted Islam their masters punished them severely. Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه used to spend his wealth buying them and setting them free.
• His father put a question to him: since you are spending so much wealth anyway, if you spent it on strong, powerful men and freed them, they would stand with you, they would be a support, and if trouble came they would be men able to defend you. (The exchange is garbled in the recording; this is the recoverable gist.)
• But Abū Bakr was buying the weak, defenceless Companions who were being tortured for their faith — and everything he spent was purely for the pleasure of Allah, nothing else. That is exactly āyāt 19–20: no favour owed, nothing sought except the Face of his Lord Most High.
• These āyāt are understood to refer to Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه.

24 · The lessons the class drew

1. The worth of a person lies in his deeds. A man's outcome is not decided by his material or physical position, but by what he does and what he strives for.
2. The purification of the soul. Spending one's wealth in the path of Allah purifies the soul and cleanses it of greed.
3. The law of consequences. Good for the doer of good, evil for the doer of evil. What you send forward as good comes back to you as good.

What this class did not cover

• The paradigms the lecturer recited aloud for ghashiya and for the muḍāriʿ pronouns were only partly recoverable from the recording — what is written above is what came through.
• The exact sūrah names he gave for the revelation order were garbled; only the standard placement is noted, flagged as such.
• No further tafsīr beyond the word meanings, the ṣarf notes, the Abū Bakr occasion and the three lessons was given in this class. The next class takes the next sūrah.