The Sadr

In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

The Sadr

Extract from QUR’ANIC STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART II:

1. Alam nashrah laka sadraka

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94:1. Have We not opened, for you, your head¹,

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1. The Arabic word sadr literally means the head, the chairman, and, in the instant context, the most important part or, so to say, the reigning part of the human body. In earlier times – and by default even now – the heart was considered the seat of all emotions and urges, and therefore the most important part, the sadr of the body. Now that we know that seat lies in our head, I have reverted here to that original meaning of sadr. And, by the way, the divine Message in this Chapter was originally addressed to Prophet Muhammad (peace on him) during the initial period of his prophethood, and, through him, it could be considered as addressed to every believer. The opening of the head apparently entailed the cleaning of thoughts about any mistakes done in the past – burden as referred to in Verses 2 and 3 below.

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Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 19^th of April 2019.