Four lessons you can learn from Surah Ad-Duhaa

1.) ‘By the morning brightness’ [The Noble Qur'an 93:1]

The fact that Allah (swt) swears by the midmorning (al-duha) is proof of its merit. It is a noble time, in which it is recommended to pray the Duha Prayer. If someone prays the Fajr prayer in congregation and then remembers Allah until the sun has risen and then prays the Duha Prayer, they will have the reward of both Hajj and Umrah.

Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 'When you get up in the morning, charity is due from every one of your joints. There is charity in every ascription of glory to Allah; there is charity in every declaration of His Greatness; there is charity in every utterance of praise of Him; there is charity in every declaration that He is the only true God (worthy of worship); there is charity in enjoining good; there is charity in forbidding evil. Two rak'ah of Duha is equal to all this (in reward).'

[Muslim]

We are reminded there is light, there is always hope. That the days come and go, and with every sunrise is the new opportunity to do good, to grow, to change. There is hope that things won’t always be the same, so look forward to everything that is yet to come. 

2.) ‘And the Hereafter is better for you than the first (life)’ [The Noble Qur'an 93:4]

The honour which Allah will bestow upon you in the next life is far greater than that which we have bestowed upon in this life. Likewise, although the sincere believer is given mercy and blessings in this life, what is awaiting him is much better.

We are reminded that this Dunya is nothing, that it was designed to hurt us, to be a test and that real joy and happiness lie in the Hereafter. 

It is recorded by Imam Ahmed that Abdullah bin Mas’ud said, 'The Messenger of Allah was lying down on a straw mat and it left marks on his side. Then when he woke up he began to rub his side. So I said, “O Messenger of Allah! Will you allow us to spread something soft over this straw mat”. He replied, ”I have nothing to do with this world. The parable of me and this world is like a rider who rests in the shade of a tree, then he passes on and leaves it.”’

[Tirmidhi]

So always remember, whatever you feel in this world, you won’t feel those hardships in the next. Only peace and happiness will follow you. This world is only a number of days but your Hereafter is for eternity. There is always better coming, so keep firm in your hope and remember Allah will give.

3.) ‘And your Lord is going to give to you, and you will be satisfied’ [The Noble Qur'an 93:5]

We are reminded that Allah has not left us alone. He is always there, watching over us, and soon He will give.

(And verily, your Lord will give you so that you shall be well-pleased.) meaning, in the final abode Allah will give him until He pleases him concerning his followers, and in that which He has prepared for him from His generosity. From this will be the River of Al-Kawthar, which will have domes of hollowed pearls on its banks, and the mud on its banks will be the strongest frangrance of musk, as will be mentioned. Imam Abu `Amr Al-Awza`i recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, 'The Messenger of Allah was shown that which his Ummah would be blessed with after him, treasure upon treasure. So he was pleased with that.'

[Tafsir Ibn Kathir]

In the tafsir of Ma'arif Al-Qur'an, we are also told that the Prophet (saw) will be rooting for us and interceding on behalf of us:

We learn that our happiness is coming. That verily after every hardship there is ease. Allah is promising us that we will be satisfied. That after every bout of rain, there is sunshine. This verse reminds us of the love and mercy that exists within our faith, that Allah is close to us. ‘And we are closer to him than (his) jugular vein’ [The Noble Qur'an 50:16].

4.) ‘So as for the orphan, do not oppress (him). And as for the petitioner, do not repel (him). But as for the favour of your Lord, report (it)’ [The Noble Qur'an 93:9-11]

We are reminded of everything we have, of all the blessings in our lives. There are those with nothing, how can we be ungrateful to Allah?

This encourages us to give, to give ease to those in need the way we want ease from our difficulties. Allah has given us so many favours, if we were to count them all we would pass before we finish. Allah loves us, he wants us to become connected to him.

This includes upholding the rights of orphans, amongst the most vulnerable people in our Ummah. Their special status is emphasised by the fact that Allah chose an orphan- the Prophet (saw) himself- to lead the believers. Is it any surprise then that there is so much barakah in sponsoring an orphan? And that the Prophet (saw) said, ‘The one who cares for an orphan and myself will be together in Paradise like this’, and he (saw) held his two fingers together to illustrate [Bukhari].

In summary, these are the four simple lessons we can learn from this short, yet powerful Surah:

• That there is hope, even in the most difficult situations.
• That Allah loves us.
• That what is better for us is coming and it is not what we have in this world.
• That Allah will reward us, just He has before. Especially when we uplift and protect the most vulnerable memebers of our communities.

Apart from the obvious commandments, he Qur'an is full of valuable lessons that we can apply practically in our everyday lives. So why not take a look at your favourite verse now to see how you can incorporate Allah's guidance into your daily routine?

We hope this article was helpful to you! Do share it with friends and family, as the Prophet (saw) said, ‘Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like one who did it’. [Muslim]

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