Sūrah aḍ-Ḍuḥā and Sūrah ash-Sharḥ
Sūrah aḍ-Ḍuḥā and Sūrah ash-Sharḥ
Observations on the structural relationship between Sūrah aḍ-Ḍuḥā and Sūrah ash-Sharḥ
Sūrah aḍ-Ḍuḥā (The Morning Hours) and Sūrah ash-Sharḥ (The Relief) are two suwar that provide encouragement and optimism to those who recite them. They were originally a source of hope for the Messenger ﷺ and it is through his example that we internalize the positive messaging. They are placed next to each other in the Quran and appear to form a complimentary pair.
Sūrah aḍ-Ḍuḥā
If we were to summarize the contents of Sūrah aḍ-Ḍuḥā, it seems that they form a small ring structure:
Summarizing it another way:
Sūrah ash-Sharḥ
Sūrah ash-Sharḥ shares similar themes to Sūrah aḍ-Ḍuḥā and can also be organized into a ring structure:
Summarized another way:
Similar to Sūrah al-Kawthar, we’re again witnessing the motif of worship being paired with gratitude.
Parallels
When the two suwar are placed side-by-side, they appear to form a parallel structure:
Looking at the contents of [E] and [E’] another way, we find that they are both made up of two points:
As we have just observed, these suwar beautifully exemplify, in both structure and content, what it means to encourage, give hope, and be grateful.
والله أعلم - And Allah knows best
Sources
Personal notes and reflections