Ad-Duha الضحى
The Morning Brightness
Ad-Duha was revealed, tradition holds, after a gap in revelation long enough that the Prophet's ﷺ opponents began mocking that God had abandoned him. The surah answers that directly: by the morning brightness and the settling night, your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased — what comes after will be better than what came before. It then turns personal and biographical, reminding the Prophet ﷺ of three past states of need God met — an orphan given shelter, one who was lost and was guided, one who was poor and was enriched — before closing with three matching instructions: do not oppress the orphan, do not repel the beggar, and speak of your Lord's favor. The surah's structure, reassurance answered by a call to pass the same care on to others, is often read as a model for how gratitude is meant to translate into action.
وَٱلضُّحَىٰ
By the morning brightness
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَىٰ
and by the night when it grows still,
مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَىٰ
your Lord has not forsaken you [Prophet], nor does He hate you,
وَلَلْـَٔاخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ ٱلْأُولَىٰ
and the future will be better for you than the past;
وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰٓ
your Lord is sure to give you so much that you will be well satisfied.
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَـَٔاوَىٰ
Did He not find you an orphan and shelter you?
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَآلًّا فَهَدَىٰ
Did He not find you lost and guide you?
وَوَجَدَكَ عَآئِلًا فَأَغْنَىٰ
Did He not find you in need and make you self-sufficient?
فَأَمَّا ٱلْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ
So do not be harsh with the orphan
وَأَمَّا ٱلسَّآئِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ
and do not chide the one who asks for help;
وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ
talk about the blessings of your Lord.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Eleven verses.
Meccan, revealed in Makkah.
Tradition holds it was revealed after a pause in revelation during which the Prophet's ﷺ opponents mocked that God had abandoned him — the surah reassures him that this is not so.
Three things, each answering an earlier stated favor: do not oppress the orphan, do not repel the one who asks, and speak of your Lord's blessing.