Transliteration:( Alam nashrah laka sadrak )
Reason for its Revelation
The Holy Prophet had asked Allah Almighty: "O Lord, You have bestowed the robe of honour upon Hazrat Adam (On whom be peace) and granted the Tauraat to Hazrat Musa (On whom be peace). But what have you granted me?" In response to this question, the above Surah was revealed (Tafseer Roohul Bayaan).
1. By "extended your breast" it means either the chest is to be slit, or is to be opened or to be broadened. In the first meaning is denoted then it should be remembered the Holy Prophet's blessed chest had been opened three to four times and his blessed heart had been purified: Firstly, at the place of his foster mother, Bibi Halima so that there would be no inclination in the heart for play and games; then at the beginning of his youth so that during this period he would not be affected by negligence of youth; then just before. granting of Prophethood so that the heart would be able to bear the burden of Prophethood and then on the Night of Me'raaj so as to endure the sights of the angelic world and absorb the Vision of Allah Almighty. This is outward Christiansopening of the chest.
If it is meant to open, then it should be remembered that the heart has two doors: one is towards the heart, the other is towards the soul. The first is broad, the second is narrow. What is said by Allah Almighty is We have opened the door of your heart, which is towards the soul so that now, no mischief of the baser-self or Shaitaan can ever come in it. Thus, the Holy Prophet ? - is completely innocent. If it is to denote the third meaning then it would mean. We have broadened the blessed heart of the Holy Prophet ? to such an extent that it has ! room to store all knowledge of the Unseen, Divine Mysteries and Mystical knowledge of Allah Almighty. The link with the world does not make him negligent and forgetful about Allah Almighty and the link with his Creator does not make him negligent of the world.
You would be able to take care of the entire universe closely. Even today millions of salutations, Daroods and deeds of the followers are being presented to him every moment. Everyone is blessed with a reply, intercessions are continuously taking place, etc. The noble Sufis say that the chest of the Holy Prophet ? is an open door of Divine treasures.
Whoever would receive anything would be receiving from the Holy Prophet ? and whoever would reach Allah Almighty would be reaching only through the medium of the Holy Prophet. This is the function of the door. Or, that his blessed chest is an open mirror without any covers which are reflecting the knower of the Unseen and testimonies. In this verse there is a hint towards the above. Or, here extend means victory. From it, emerge a to few issues:
That the Holy Prophet ?.
1. is innocent as is understood from the first explanation of the word "to extend".
2. That the Holy Prophet has been given knowledge of the unseen is not understood from the commentary of "to extend" as provided by the noble Sufis.
3.This opening of the heart is a great bounty from Allah Almighty, for this reason Hazrat Musa (On whom be peace) had prayed for it: "O Lord! Open my heart for me" (S20:V25).
4. The Holy Prophet ? is the Beloved of the of Allah Almighty that without asking Allah Almighty provided him with this bounty. Hearts of others are purified of good deeds or through the company of the pious, Allah Almighty purifies the heart of the Holy Prophets directly. Just as when the reflection of the sun falls on a clear mirror it performs the function of the sun, similarly when Allah Almighty purified the blessed heart of the Holy Prophet ? and placed in it His Divine Effulgence. Or In Divine bounties and favours began to emerge from him. The mirror is not the sun but performs the function of the sun Likewise. The Holy Prophet is not Allah Almighty but performs the works of Allah Almighty.
1. Have We not opened your breast for you 2. And removed from you your burden. 3. Which weighed down your back 4. And have We not raised high your fame 5. Verily, along with every hardship is relief, 6. Verily, along with every hardship is relief. 7. So when you have finished, devote yourself to Allah’s worship. 8. And to your Lord turn intentions and hopes.
Allah says,
(Have We not opened your breast for you) meaning, `have We not opened your chest for you.’ This means, `We illuminated it, and We made it spacious, vast and wide.’ This is as Allah says,
(And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam.) (6:125) And just as Allah expanded his chest, He also made His Law vast, wide, accommodating and easy, containing no difficulty, hardship or burden.
(And removed from you your burden.) This means
(That Allah may forgive you your sins of the past and the future.) (48:2)
(Which weighed down your back) Al-Inqad means the sound. And more than one of the Salaf has said concerning Allah’s saying,
(Which weighed down your back) meaning, `its burden weighed heavy upon you.’
(And have We not raised high your fame?) Mujahid said, “I (Allah) am not remembered except that you are remembered with Me: I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
Qatadah said , “Allah raised his fame in this life and in the Hereafter. There is no one who gives a sermon, declares the Testimony of Faith (Shahadah), or prays a prayer (Salah) except that he proclaims it: I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
(Verily along with every hardship is relief. Veriliy along with every hardship is relief)
Allah informs that with difficulty there is ease, and then He reaffirms this information (by repeating it)
( So when you have finished, devote yourself to Allah’s worship. And to your Lord turn intentions and hopes. )
Meaning, ‘when you have completed your worldly affairs and its tasks, and you have broken away from its routine, then get up to perform the worship, and stand for it with zeal, complete devotion and purify your intention and desire for your lord.’ Similar to this is the Prophet’s statement in a hadith that is agreed-upon to be authentic,
There is no prayer when the food is served, nor when the two foul things (excrement and urine) are pressing a person.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) also said,
When the prayer has started and the dinner has been served, then begin with dinner.
Mujahid said concerning this Ayah, “When you are free from the worldly affairs, and you have stood to pray, then stand up for your Lord.”
(94:1) (O Prophet), Did We not lay open your breast[1]
1. To begin the discourse with this question, and then the subsequent theme, shows that the Messenger (peace be upon him) at that time was very disturbed and distressed at the great hardships that he was passing through in the initial stage of his mission of calling the people to Islam. Under those conditions Allah addressed him and consoling him, said: O Prophet, have We not blessed you with such and such favor. Then, why do you feel so disturbed and distressed at these initial difficulties.
A little consideration of the context wherever the word sharh-sadr (opening up of the breast) has occurred in the Quran, shows that it has two meanings:
(1) In (Surah Al-Anaam, Ayat 125), it was said: So whomever Allah wills to guide aright, He makes his breast wide open to Islam (yashrah sadrahu lil-lslam); and in (Surah Az- Zumar, Ayat 22): Can the person whose breast Allah has opened for Islam (sharahullahu sadrahu lil-Islam) and he is walking in the light shown by his Lord. At both these places sharh-sadr implies to free oneself from every kind of distraction and vacillation and to be satisfied with Islam as the only right way of life, and to regard the beliefs, principles of morality and civilization, religious instructions and injunctions, which Islam has given to man, as right and true.
(2) In (Surah Ash-Shuara, Ayat 12-13), it has been mentioned that when Allah appointed the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) to the great office of Prophethood and commanded him to go and confront the Pharaoh and his mighty empire, he submitted: My Lord, I fear that they will treat me as a liar, and my breast straitens. And in (Surah TaHa, Ayat 25-26), it has been stated that on this very occasion the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) implored Allah, saying: Lord, open up my breast for me (Rabbishrahli sadri) and make my task easy for me. Here, straitening of the breast implies a person’s finding it too hard for himself to shoulder the onerous responsibilities of Prophethood and going out to clash with a mighty and tyrannical power of disbelief all by himself, and sharh-sadr implies that his morale be boosted so that he is ready to undertake any campaign and any task however difficult and hard, without any hesitation, and he develops the nerve and courage to shoulder the great responsibilities of Prophethood.
A little consideration will show that in this verse, “opening up of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) breast”, contains both these meanings. According to the first meaning, it implied that before the Prophethood the Prophet (peace be upon him) looked upon the religion of the polytheistic Arabs, Christians, Jews and fire worshippers as false, and was not even satisfied with the hanifiyyat prevalent among some of the Arab monotheists, for it was an ambiguous creed which contained no detail of the right way. This we have explained in E.Ns of Surah As-Sajdah. But since he himself did not know what the right way was, he was mentally confused and distracted. With the blessing of Prophethood, Allah removed his mental agitation and opened up before him the way of right guidance, which brought him full peace of mind. According to the second meaning, it implies that along with the blessing of Prophethood Allah also blessed him with the courage, spirit of resolution and broad mindedness which were needed for shouldering the onerous responsibilities of the great office. He became bearer of the vast knowledge, which no other human mind could encompass and contain. He was blessed with the wisdom which could rectify any evil however grave and wide spread. He developed the capability to stand up without any equipment and the apparent help and support of a worldly power as the standard-bearer of Islam in a society sunk in ignorance and barbarism, to brave any storm of hostility without the least hesitation, to endure patiently all the difficulties and hardships of the way so that no power might cause him to abandon his position and standpoint. Thus, The verse means to impress the point: When Allah has blessed you, O Prophet, with this invaluable wealth of sharh-sadr, why do you feel distressed and depressed at the hardships you are experiencing in the initial stage of your mission.
Some commentators have taken sharh-sadr to mean shaqq- Sadr (splitting up of the breast) and have declared this verse to be a proof of the miracle of sharh-sadr as related in the traditions of the Hadith. But the fact is that the proof of that miracle is dependent only on the traditions of the Hadith, it is not correct to prove it from the Quran. According to the Arabic language, sharh-sadr can in no way be taken to mean shaqq-sadr. Allama Alusi in the Ruh al- Maani says: In the sight of the research scholars it is a weak thing to regard sharh-sadr as shaqq-sadr.
[1944]- i.e., enlighten, assure and gladden your heart with guidance.
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