094- AL-SHARH
EXPANSION
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL
# Did We not expand for thee thy breast, # and lift from thee thy burden # that weighed heavily upon thy back? # And did We not elevate thy renown? # For truly with hardship comes ease! # Truly with hardship comes ease! # So when thou art free, exert thyself; # and let thy desire be for thy Lord.
COMMENTARY
# Did We not expand for thee thy breast,
1 The expansion of the breast relates to ease, especially in matters pertaining to religion, and is thus considered a characteristic of those who are rightly guided. This is particularly evident in the famous prayer of Moses when he received the call to prophethood: My Lord! Expand for me my breast! Make my affair easy for me, and untie a knot from my tongue, that they may understand my speech (20:25–28). In contrast, the constriction or contraction of the breast is seen as a characteristic of those who are astray, as in 6:125: Whomsoever God wishes to guide, He expands his breast for submission. And whomsoever He wishes to lead astray, He makes his breast narrow and constricted, as if he were climbing to the sky. Those who are rightly guided can also experience straitening of the breast through trials and hardship. In this vein the verse can be seen as an allusion to God’s providing the Prophet with the patience and forbearance necessary to bear the insults of his enemies, as in 15:97: And certainly We know that thy breast is straitened because of what they say. This verse has also been seen as an allusion to the manner in which God expanded the Prophet’s breast and made his heart a container for the wisdom of the revelation or for prophethood and knowledge. According to some, this verse refers to the relief that came to the Prophet’s breast after a period of solitude on Mt. Ḥirāʾ. According to others, it refers to the end of a period in which the revelation was said to have been interrupted (see introduction to Sūrah 93). Still others read it as a reference to an episode in the Prophet’s youth when two angels opened his breast and removed a dark clot that is said to represent the root of malice and envy within the soul .
# and lift from thee thy burden
2 This verse is seen by many commentators as an allusion to the Prophet’s being forgiven all sins, as in 48:1–2: Truly We have granted thee a manifest victory, that God may forgive thee thy sins that went before and that which is to come, and complete His Blessing upon thee, and guide thee upon a straight path.
# that weighed heavily upon thy back?
3 Weighed heavily (anqaḍa) implies something pushing down so hard that one’s back makes a sound. Some say this verse refers to God’s lightening the burden of prophethood. Vv. 2–3 can also be seen as a reference to the lifting of the burden of ignorance and confusion, said to have afflicted Arabia, through the revelation of God’s edicts and decrees.
#And did We not elevate thy renown?
4 The Prophet’s renown was elevated when he was given the title “Messenger of God” (a title connected with the Name of God) and placed in the testimony of faith, “I bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God”, versions of which are recited in the call to prayer and in the greeting recited silently at the end of each prayer cycle. The Prophet’s title is also closely connected to the Name of God in other verses of the Quran (e.g., 4:13, 59; 9:26). The strongest indicator of the Prophet’s great renown is in 33:56: Truly God and His angels invoke blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe! Invoke blessings upon him, and greetings of peace! According to some it is such blessings to which v. 4 refers. Others say that this verse refers to the mention of the Prophet Muhammad in previous scriptures.
# For truly with hardship comes ease!
# Truly with hardship comes ease!
5–6 These verses can be read as indicating that enduring hardship with patience results in ease in this life and the Hereafter. A well-known ḥadīth states, “One instance of hardship (ʿusr) will never overcome two instances of ease (yusrayn)”. Also see, 65:7: God tasks no soul beyond that which He has given it. God will bring ease after hardship; and 2:185: God desires ease for you, and He does not desire hardship for you.
# So when thou art free, exert thyself;
7 Or, “So when thou art relieved [of thy burden], toil,” meaning that after completing the obligatory devotions, one should supplicate the Lord and perform supererogatory devotions, or when free from worldly affairs, one should pray. Or, “So when thou art devoted [to God], exert thyself,” meaning that one should always seek to deepen one’s prayers. Or, “So when thou art spent, toil,” meaning one should never cease to strive in the way of God and cease to exert oneself more to do God’s Will. It can also be taken to mean, “When thou art free from striving against thine enemies, exert thyself in worshipping the Lord”.
# and let thy desire be for thy Lord.
8 This verse is understood to mean, “Do not desire this world—let your desire be for God alone”. On the one hand, this is an exhortation to prayer; on the other, it is an exhortation to pray only to God and to do good deeds only to please God.
(Source: The study Quran, by Sayyed Hossein Nasr and 4 others)
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