Al-Lail — The Night
سُورَةُ اللَّيۡلِ
Verses
21
Revealed
9th
Period
Makkan
Juz
30
Al-Lail opens with three oaths — by the night that covers, the day that reveals, and the One who created male and female — to drive home a single truth: your efforts are diverse. Human beings are not all heading to the same destination. The surah then divides humanity into two clear types and follows each to its end, contrasting the giver who is conscious of Allah with the hoarder who thinks himself self-sufficient.
The surah's logic is striking: it links what you do with your wealth to which path Allah eases you toward. The one who gives, fears Allah, and affirms the best reward is eased toward ease; the one who withholds and denies is eased toward hardship. It closes with the portrait of the truly God-fearing — the one who spends his wealth seeking nothing but the Face of his Lord Most High — and the promise that he will surely be pleased.
Three opening oathsTwo diverging pathsGiving vs. hoardingSeeking the Face of AllahEase vs. hardship
Before you begin
Start with sincerity — ask Allah to make this easy for you and to let what you learn benefit you. A short dua to begin with:
رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
Rabbi zidni ‘ilma — “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.” (Qur'an 20:114)
0/3 sections learned
Core message
Three oaths — the night that covers, the day that reveals, and the Creator of male and female — establish that creation runs in opposites, and so do people: your efforts are truly diverse. Two characters are then drawn. The first gives, fears Allah, and affirms the best reward, so Allah eases him toward ease. The second withholds, thinks himself beyond need, and denies the reward, so Allah eases him toward hardship — and his wealth will not save him when he falls into ruin.
1–2
وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَىٰ•وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّىٰ
By the night when it covers And [by] the day when it appears
3–4
وَمَا خَلَقَ ٱلذَّكَرَ وَٱلْأُنثَىٰٓ•إِنَّ سَعْيَكُمْ لَشَتَّىٰ
And [by] He who created the male and female, Indeed, your efforts are diverse.
5–7
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَىٰ وَٱتَّقَىٰ•وَصَدَّقَ بِٱلْحُسْنَىٰ•فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُۥ لِلْيُسْرَىٰ
As for he who gives and fears Allah And believes in the best [reward], We will ease him toward ease.
8–10
وَأَمَّا مَنۢ بَخِلَ وَٱسْتَغْنَىٰ•وَكَذَّبَ بِٱلْحُسْنَىٰ•فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُۥ لِلْعُسْرَىٰ
But as for he who withholds and considers himself free of need And denies the best [reward], We will ease him toward difficulty.
11
وَمَا يُغْنِى عَنْهُ مَالُهُۥٓ إِذَا تَرَدَّىٰٓ
And what will his wealth avail him when he falls?
Memory hook — two mirror triplets
The two paths are built as exact mirrors. The good path: a'ṭā (gave) + ittaqā (feared Allah) + ṣaddaqa bil-ḥusnā (affirmed the best) → fa-sanuyassiruhu lil-yusrā (eased to ease). The bad path: bakhila (withheld) + istaghnā (felt self-sufficient) + kadhdhaba bil-ḥusnā (denied the best) → fa-sanuyassiruhu lil-'usrā (eased to hardship). Same sentence frame, opposite verbs. Learn one and flip it.
Yusrā vs. 'usrā — v.7 & v.10
Notice the near-identical wording: lil-yusrā (toward ease) and lil-'usrā (toward hardship) differ by a single letter, mirroring how close the two paths look at the start yet how opposite their ends become. The surah teaches that Allah facilitates for each soul the road it sincerely chooses.
Section 1 — The oaths and the two paths (vv. 1–11)
ٱلَّيْلِ
al-layl
The night
v.1 — the first oath and the surah's title
يَغْشَىٰ
yaghshā
When it covers / envelops
v.1 — the night covering the day
سَعْيَكُمْ
sa'yakum
Your effort / striving
v.4 — declared to be diverse (lashattā)
أَعْطَىٰ
a'ṭā
He gave
v.5 — the first trait of the good path
وَٱتَّقَىٰ
wattaqā
And feared Allah
v.5 — the second trait of the good path
ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ
al-ḥusnā
The best [reward]
v.6 & v.9 — affirmed by one, denied by the other
بَخِلَ
bakhila
He withheld / was stingy
v.8 — the first trait of the bad path
وَٱسْتَغْنَىٰ
wastaghnā
And thought himself free of need
v.8 — the self-sufficiency that breeds denial
Section 2 — Guidance and the warning (vv. 12–16)
لَلْهُدَىٰ
lal-hudā
The guidance
v.12 — incumbent upon Allah to make clear
ٱلْءَاخِرَةَ
al-ākhirata
The Hereafter
v.13 — which belongs to Allah
وَٱلْأُولَىٰ
wal-ūlā
And the first [life]
v.13 — this world, also belonging to Allah
فَأَنذَرْتُكُمْ
fa-andhartukum
So I have warned you
v.14 — the duty of conveying the warning
تَلَظَّىٰ
talaẓẓā
Blazing / flaming fiercely
v.14 — describing the Fire
ٱلْأَشْقَى
al-ashqā
The most wretched one
v.15 — the only one to enter that Fire
وَتَوَلَّىٰ
wa tawallā
And turned away
v.16 — the second mark of the wretched
Section 3 — The most God-fearing (vv. 17–21)
ٱلْأَتْقَى
al-atqā
The most God-fearing one
v.17 — kept far from the Fire
يُؤْتِى
yu'tī
He gives / brings
v.18 — gives of his wealth to purify himself
يَتَزَكَّىٰ
yatazakkā
To purify himself
v.18 — the aim of his giving
نِّعْمَةٍ
ni'matin
A favour / blessing
v.19 — none owed to him that he is repaying
ٱبْتِغَآءَ
ibtighā'a
Seeking / desiring
v.20 — seeking only Allah's Face
وَجْهِ
wajhi
Face / countenance
v.20 — the Face of his Lord Most High
ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ
al-a'lā
The Most High
v.20 — an attribute of his Lord
يَرْضَىٰ
yarḍā
He will be pleased / satisfied
v.21 — the surah's closing promise
On the paired structure
Al-Lail is built on contrasts — night and day, giving and withholding, ease and hardship, the wretched and the God-fearing. Reciters often lean into this symmetry, giving the two character portraits a parallel cadence so the listener feels the divergence the surah describes. At 21 verses it is short enough for a single rak'ah but splits cleanly for longer prayers.
Full surah — single rak'ah
Verses 1–21 · keeping the full contrast intact
Reciting all 21 verses in one rak'ah preserves the complete arc: the oaths, the two paths, Allah's role and warning, and the closing portrait of the sincere giver.
Let the two mirror passages (vv.5–7 and vv.8–10) echo one another in pace, then land firmly on the final promise wa la-sawfa yarḍā.
Two-part split — across two rak'ahs
Split at v.11 or v.16
Option 1 — split at v.11: Rak'ah 1 covers vv.1–11 (the oaths and the two diverging paths); rak'ah 2 covers vv.12–21 (Allah's guidance, the warning, and the most God-fearing).
Option 2 — split at v.16: Rak'ah 1 covers vv.1–16, ending on the wretched one who denied and turned away; rak'ah 2 covers vv.17–21, the uplifting portrait of the sincere giver and his reward.
Natural stopping points
v.4
inna sa'yakum lashattā — the thesis of the surah after the three oaths; a strong, complete statement before the two paths are detailed.
v.11
wa mā yughnī 'anhu māluhu idhā taraddā — the end of the two-paths passage and the most common mid-surah stop.
v.16
alladhī kadhdhaba wa tawallā — the definition of the wretched one closes the warning section before the contrast that follows.
v.21
wa la-sawfa yarḍā — the final verse, ending the surah on the promise of being well pleased; a perfect landing before ruku'.