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