فَالمُغيراتِ صُبحًا

By the raiders at dawn.

EXEGESIS

Mughīrāt (raiders) is an active participle from the verbal noun ighāra, which means invasion, raiding, or attacking the enemy. Ghārah is a raid or an attack. The famous book al-Ghārāt by Muhammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Thaqafī is about the raids carried out by Muʿāwiyah’s troops against Imam Ali (a) and the Muslims in Iraq. 

Accordingly, the word mughīrāt refers to the warhorses penetrating deep into the enemy ranks at the time of dawn. It can also mean to hasten towards or to be severe with the enemy.^{‎[1]Tabrisi, 3/430.} Others have proposed that the word mughīrah when associated with horses or men, are those who can run extremely fast. The Arabs would call warhorses entering combat, ghārrūn.^{‎[2]Tahdhīb al-Lughah, 8/162.}

EXPOSITION

The verse continues with the narrative of the battle, introducing the third stage in the series of events, when the Muslims attacked the defiant enemies of God at the strike of dawn – the raiders at dawn. It draws the reader’s attention to its surprising and unexpected nature.^{‎[3]Jaʿfar Murtaḍā al-ʿĀmilī, Tafsīr Sūrat al-ʿĀdiyāt, p. 45.}

It is pertinent to note that the verse grammatically associates the snorting chargers and the strikers of sparks with the battle horses, giving the meaning that the direct effect of the raid are the horses themselves. However, this figuratively refers to the riders of the mounts.^{‎[4]Mizan, 20/346.} Due to their grandeur and the fact they are fighting for the sake of God, the raid itself – by attribution – is sanctified, and taking an oath indicates this magnificence.^{‎[5]Tibyan, 10/396.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Despite the consensus of the majority, the alternate reading of the narrative refers to pilgrims during hajj. In this case, the verse is speaking of the pilgrims riding their camels, rushing from Muzdalifah to Mina at the time of dawn on the day of the sacrifice, the final day of the hajj (2:196-200). Some have explained that the journey would begin at the time of dawn and the pilgrims would not ride their camels before then, in line with the practice of Prophet Muhammad (s).^{‎[6]Tabrisi, 10/804.} Rāzī^{‎[7]Razi, 32/260.} argues that in this case the meaning of ighārah would be moving with speed, and this inference would often be used by people in the Age of Ignorance.^{‎[8]Mizan, 20/346; Tabrisi, 3/429.}

[1] Tabrisi, 3/430.
[2] Tahdhīb al-Lughah, 8/162.
[3] Jaʿfar Murtaḍā al-ʿĀmilī, Tafsīr Sūrat al-ʿĀdiyāt, p. 45.
[4] Mizan, 20/346.
[5] Tibyan, 10/396.
[6] Tabrisi, 10/804.
[7] Razi, 32/260.
[8] Mizan, 20/346; Tabrisi, 3/429.