Surah Aadiyaat [the War-Horse] (100):
The Trailer of an Epic Scene! But it has a
conclusion..
NOTE: Read the parts in colour if you want to read through it quickly.
Ayah 1:
وَالْعَادِيَاتِ ضَبْحًا
Allah is swearing by;
'Aadiyaa
t- Adiy - to have animosity.
This word implies someone/something running forward
in battle in animosity. They dont look left or
right - they charge ahead, Aiming to attack the one in direct focus.
For the Arab listening to this, it's like a trailer or preview to a War. An attack in battle.
aadiy AAT (feminine)
= refers to female war horses (jam'u qilla [small plural]; less
than 10 racing in a group pack). These were preferred by the arabs in warfare because they are quicker and more agile.
Aadiyaat (active
participle/ism faa'il) = finally getting to do what it was made to do.
Al Baydawi says: - these horses are designed
to be used in battle. (The same way that fast car parked up in the parking lot is not
made to be driven, but to be driven/revved really fast to its highest
potential.)
Ash-Shawkani - aadiyaat
plural of aadiya - that which
is moving at speed because of animosity.
Aadiyat - aadiw ('aduw) - enemy/opposition
Dabhan ضَبْحًا - al Baydawi: the H
at the end describes the panting of the war
horse in its aggression. The horse is
going as fast as it can towards the enemy.
Dabhan - being used at the end as an emphasis without the horse taking a break.
The linguists say that dabh is not normally used for horses, its secondarily used for horses but originally used for wolves.
So the image is of wolf styled war horses racing in
a grouped pack to overpower an enemy to
devour them, with a certainty that it will destroy them (since wolves only hunt that which they are sure they can
overpower). All this is seen through the word dabh.
'Aadiyaat - a group that is adamant
- ready to pillage and destroy an opposition.
Ayah 2:
فَ الْمُورِيَاتِ قَدْحًا
fal mooriyaat qadha.
al Mooriyaat - [ism faa'il pl. Feminine] horses
causing sparks to fly.
Mooriyaat comes from Eeraa'
- adjective - causing sparks to fly.
Eeraa' implies the
rubbing of two things against each other (i.e. Rocks, wood, dry rough
materials), and a fire is sparked and lit. This is eeraa
So Allah is saying that these horses create sparks of fire. This war horse has metal hoofs which strike against rocks,
causing sparks to fly - in effect they're almost
leaving a trail of fire behind them as they speed ahead!
What Amazing imagery!
Qadh قَدْحًا-
a violent strike which is really powerful.
Every hoof strike is very very
loud and violent.
So imagine the scene; a pack of less than 10 horses, speeding through
the desert, panting heavily without stop, a trail of sparks behind them,
violent strikes of galloping, bandits riding on top without fear, ready to
attack the adversary...
Ayah 3:
فَ الْمُغِيرَاتِ صُبْحًا
moogheeraat - these horses take their riders right on top of their enemy
in ambush.
from Ighaarah
- to ambush, attack or be right on top of.
In the previous ayah; these horses were targetting.
In this ayah - they have reached right on top of
the enemy, ready to pounce and attack.
By using the word ighaarah - it literally depicts the
image of the rider of the horse, aswell as the horse
- literally hovering over the enemy i.e. He
has a spear in his hand - pointing it down at the enemy.
Igharah - also implies
to attack an enemy, rob them secretly, or pillage and kill.
Subhan -
they ambushed the enemy in the morning time.
this surah is referring to
bandits who would raid tribes in the early morning.
subh
- you want the enemy to know your presence
by coming in the morning. Just like the wolf doesnt fear to hunt his prey in the open.
Ayah 4 :
فَأَثَرْنَبِهِنَقْعًا
Now in the surah, there is a Transition from nouns
[objects] (i.e.Adiyaat, mugheeraat etc.) to verbs
[doing words] - implying actions have intensified.
fa atharNA
(Noon an-niswa)
-FEMININE plural - they, the horses (aadiyAAT) cause - Athar(to
rise). To Rise what?
Naq'a - dust.
Naq'a =
when something moves fast and a trail of dust is
left behind in the air.
Bihi
can either refer to;
bihi- makaan (location) - i.e. The battle enrages and there is dust floating around
everywhere so nothing can be seen there.
bihi (the dust) - even though its wet, (wet) dust still rises due
to the intensity of attack and combat.
Ayah 5 :
فَوَسَطْنَ بِهِ جَمْعًا
fa wasaTna
bihi jam'a.
fa - then
wasatNA (Feminine plural) = penetrate through the
middle.
So in this ambush - the bandits are taking
advantage of this rising dust which is blinding - through which they
penetrate through the centre to attack.
Why is this so powerful and full of risks?
1 - The people who see the bandits and war horses prepare to be attacked, so they get ready with their spears to fight back. So bandits should actually be cautious of this, but they don't fear - they pierce through anyway.
2 - They all went into the heart of the enemy. None of them stayed behind. The whole wolf pack attacked the enemy without betraying each other.
3 - They targetted the enemy, whilst everyone is in a state of temporary blindness - including themselves.
The scene
can also be seen of them attacking an army, with the enemy having many
rows in battle. But these bandit warriors almost form a Spearhead Effect
- so they pierce through each row and reach the heart of the army to cause the
most damage.
Jam'a = altogether. This can refer to the bandits as united. Or it can even refer to the enemy and his armyaltogether.
So these wolf warriors have pierced through the
enemy ranks - reaching the centre - with the enemy surrounding them from all
sides.
What happens next!? This is exactly what Allah wanted the listener to wonder.
The attention level has reached its peak.. So Allah
tells us what He wanted to say all along;
Ayah 6:
إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لِرَبِّهِ لَكَنُودٌ
inal insaan li Rabihi lakanood.
The Arab listener loved horses:
- He especially loved War horses.
- He especially loved female War horses.
- He especially loved female War horses that would risk their life for their
masters.
These people would make so much poetry about their horses, about their horses strength, speed, loyalty and sacrifice.
These horses would be the first to get hurt in battle by spears, yet it would
still stay loyal by staying firm in battle for its master, without running away
- even till death.
Allah says;
إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لِرَبِّهِ لَكَنُودٌ
No doubt the
human being is truly extremely ungrateful
to his Master.
The human is truly disloyal to his Master, for sure.
The listener just a few seconds ago was imagining himself riding the war horse
and how loyal she was to him.. Then suddenly he is given
a wake up call - YOU are
the slave, and you have a Master, to whom you are not loyal to at all.
continue reading;
http://linguisticmiracle.com/Adiyaat.htm