وَالشَّفعِ وَالوَترِ

And by the even and the odd.

EXEGESIS

The noun shafʿ means double, pair, doubling,^{‎[1]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 489.} while the noun watr means odd number, one, individual. It has also been interpreted as ‘the one, distinguished from the many’.^{‎[2]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 1010.}

EXPOSITION

The third oath is by the even and the odd. Exegetes have suggested many explanations for this verse and close to thirty-six interpretations have been suggested, many of which seem arbitrary,^{‎[3]Mizan, 20/280.} but the more significant ones are the following:

1. The even and the odd are suggested to refer to the even and odd nights of the ten nights sworn by in the preceding verse.^{‎[4]Tabrisi.J, 6/485; Zamakhshari, 4/746.}
2. The even and the odd are suggested to refer to numbers;^{‎[5]Tabari, 30/108-110; Razi, 31/150; Mizan, 20/280.} this is an opinion attributed to Hasan al-Baṣrī.^{‎[6]Tabari, 30/108-110; Tibyan, 10/341; Tabrisi, 10/736.} Hence, God swears by numbers, which are entities around which revolve counting and calculation, and by means of which exists order, system, and organisation. So it is as if God is swearing by the phenomenon of order, regularity, and calculation, which are foundational realities on which human life is based. This is also suggested to have been the understanding of Abū Muslim.^{‎[7]Tabrisi, 10/736.} Mughniyyah seems to have preferred this explanation too, writing that the even and the odd refer to the phenomenon of counting and calculation in general as God has mentioned the even and the odd without specifying them.^{‎[8]Mubin, 1/806.}
3. The even is identified as yawm al-naḥr, (the day of the sacrifice), also known as the day of Eid al-Aḍḥā, which is the tenth day of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, while the odd is the Day of ʿArafah, which is the ninth day of the month of Dhū al-Ḥijjah.^{‎[9]Tabrisi.J, 6/485; Zamakhshari, 4/746; Nur, 5/571.} Ṭabrisī mentions that this identification is transmitted from the Prophet through the agency of Jābir.^{‎[10]Tabrisi, 10/736.} Ṭūsī and Ṭabarī write that such was the opinion of Ibn Abbas,^{‎[11]Suyuti, 6/346.} ʿIkramah, and al-Ḍaḥḥāk,^{‎[12]Tabari, 30/108-110; also reported in Tibyan, 10/341; Tabrisi, 10/736; Nur, 5/571; Mizan, 20/279.} where the latter two are attributed to have explained that God has sworn by these two days due to their excellence over the first ten days of the month of Dhū al-Ḥijjah.^{‎[13]Suyuti, 6/347.} The same opinion is also reported of Kalbī and al-Farrāʾ.^{‎[14]Nahj al-Bayān ʿan Kashf Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 5/358-359.} Rāzī has written: ‘As for swearing by these two (the Day of ʿArafah and day of Eid al-Aḍḥā), it is because of their nobility, since the rituals of the hajj revolve around the Day of ʿArafah, and as is transmitted: “The pilgrimage is the Day of ʿArafah.” As for the day of sacrifice [i.e. the day of Eid al-Aḍḥā], that is because so many rituals of the hajj occur on that day, such as the throwing of the stones at the pillars, the sacrifice of the animals, the shaving of the head, the circumambulation of the Kaaba, and as is narrated: “The day of sacrifice is the greatest day of the hajj.”’^{‎[15]Razi, 31/149.}

An interpretation slightly different from the former is reported from Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī that when the Prophet was asked about this verse he responded by saying that the even refers to two days and the odd to a night. The two days are the Day of ʿArafah (ninth of Dhū al-Ḥijjah) and the day of sacrifice (tenth of Dhū al-Ḥijjah), while the night is the night of sacrifice, the night of gathering (which is the night preceding the tenth day of Dhū al-Ḥijjah).^{‎[16]Thalabi, 10/192.}

Another slightly different but related interpretation for the even and the odd is suggested where the even is said to refer to the day of al-tarwiyah (the eighth day of the month of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, when the pilgrims of the hajj prepare to halt on the mountain of Arafat), and the odd refers to the Day of ʿArafah (which the pilgrims spend on the plains of Arafat).^{‎[17]Amthal, 19/174.} Tabatabai inclined to this last interpretation, stating that it seems the most appropriate identification for this verse, especially as it would conform to and be consistent with the interpretation of the first and second verses of this surah as referring to the dawn of the first day of the month of Dhū al-Ḥijjah and the first ten nights of the same month, respectively.^{‎[18]Mizan, 20/279.} This last interpretation is also attributed to Imam al-Bāqir (a) and Imam al-Ṣādiq (a).^{‎[19]Tabrisi.J, 6/485; Tabrisi, 10/736; Nur, 5/571; Burhan, 5/651.}

4. Even are the two days after Eid al-Aḍḥā, while odd is the day thereafter, all three days being collectively known as the ayyām al-tashrīq, which Ṭabarī reports to have been the opinion of Ibn Zayd.^{‎[20]Tabari, 30/108-110.} These days are mentioned in 2:203.^{‎[21]Tabrisi, 10/737.} Rāzī reports that those who favour this explanation argue that the identification of the even and the odd with these three days is better than identifying them with the Day of ʿArafah and the day of Eid al-Aḍḥā since these two days are already subsumed within the last verse which mentions ten nights. Furthermore, many rituals of the hajj also take place in these three days and to identify the even and the odd with these three days would render all the days of the hajj within these oaths.^{‎[22]Razi, 31/149.}

A slightly different but related interpretation to the latter is suggested for the even and the odd in the Quranic commentary Tanwīr al-Miqbās min Tafsīr Ibn ʿAbbās, where it is suggested that the even refers to the Day of ʿArafah and the day of sacrifice together, while the odd refers to the three days after the day of Eid al-Aḍḥā, that is the ayyām al-tashrīq.^{‎[23]Ibn Abbas, p. 753.}

Nevertheless, despite the multiple suggestions made for the identification of this verse, a point made earlier and worthy of note here again is that if the letters alif and lām attached to al-shafʿ (even) and al-watr (odd), which make these two words definite, purport to denote universality and generalisation and as indicating the species of a thing, then all the meanings above can equally apply to this verse.^{‎[24]Amthal, 19/175.} Ṭabarī inclined to this opinion and wrote: ‘The correct opinion is that God has sworn by the even and the odd without specifying the even and the odd clearly, and so therefore all the different opinions stated are different valid instances of the even and the odd since the oath is general in its wording.’^{‎[25]Tabari, 30/110.} Rāzī, who records twenty different identifications for the even and the odd, also inclined to this idea, and writes that in light of the perplexing number of suggestions for the even and the odd it is better to maintain that the alif and lām which make the even and the odd definite, denote generality and universality.^{‎[26]Razi, 31/150.} Tabatabai also inclined to this view, saying that in light of the fact that several traditions have been transmitted from the Prophet and the Imams in the books of the Sunnis and the Shias which identify the even and the odd to different things, it means therefore these different identifications could be reconciled by maintaining that the verse refers to the ‘even’ and the ‘odd’ in a general and unrestricted sense, where the specific identifications suggested are examples of some of its valid instances.^{‎[27]Mizan, 20/286.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Suyūṭī reports from ʿAṭiyyah, as reporting from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, from the Prophet, that the fajr in verse 1 is the normal dawn known and recognised by the common people, the ten nights refer to the first ten nights of the month of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, while the even refers to God’s creation (78:8), and the odd refers to the being of God.^{‎[28]Suyuti, 6/345.} When ʿAṭiyyah was asked as to whether he was transmitting this from a companion of the Prophet, he replied in the affirmative, saying he was transmitting this explanation from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, from the Prophet.^{‎[29]Thalabi, 10/192.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Some of the less significant interpretations suggested for the even and the odd are that these refer to the daily ritual prayers, their odd and their even cycles,^{‎[30]Tabari, 30/108-110; Mizan, 20/279.} which is reported from the Prophet by ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥuṣayn,^{‎[31]Tabari, 30/108-110; Tabrisi, 10/736; Nur, 5/571; Tibyan, 10/341; Razi, 31/149.} while Qummī suggests that the even and the odd refer to the prayers of shafʿ and watr respectively, which form part of the night prayer (ṣalāt al-layl).^{‎[32]Qummi, 2/419.}

Yet another suggestion is that the even refers to creation, while the odd refers to God.^{‎[33]Tabari, 30/108-110; Suyuti, 6/346.} Various reasons have been suggested for the identification of the even with creation or members of it, and the odd with God, such as the reason that the even is said to refer to creation because creation is in pairs (13:3, 36:36, 43:12, 51:49, 78:8, 4:1, 16:72, 30:21, 35:11, 39:6, 53:45), while the odd refers to the being of God as He has no pair or likeness to Him (42:11). Another justification for such an identification for the even and the odd is that creation has peers or equals to themselves in others, while God is singularly unique, having no peer or likeness to Himself. This opinion is also attributed to the Prophet, supposedly transmitted by Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī.^{‎[34]Tibyan, 10/341; Tabrisi, 10/736; Nur, 5/571.} Yet another justification for the identification of even and odd to creation and Creator respectively, is that the even refers to creation because the characteristics of creation have opposites and therefore possess duality, such as life and death, knowledge and ignorance, etc., while the odd refers to God’s characteristics which do not entertain opposites.^{‎[35]Tabrisi, 10/737; Razi, 31/150.} However, Rāzī records a critique of this interpretation as made by some theologians, who argued that there is an elided term in the construction of these four oaths/verses, which makes these oaths into a possessive construct. That term is rabb (Lord), as in: wa rabb al-fajr, wa rabb layālin ʿashrin, wa rabb al-shafʿ wa al-watr, which would mean: By the Lord of dawn, and by the Lord of ten nights, and by the Lord of the even and the odd. In such a case the identification of the even and the odd has to be made solely with creation and not the Creator.^{‎[36]Razi, 31/149.}

Then again, even has been suggested to refer to Prophet Adam (a) and Eve, and the odd as referring to God.^{‎[37]Suyuti, 6/346. Tustari, p. 282, suggests that the even refers to Adam and Eve but he also suggests that the even refers to all that God has created in opposites such as life and death, man and woman, night and day, light and darkness, etc., while the odd refers to the being of God. Again, it is also suggested that the even refers to man and woman, believer and disbeliever, the sincere and the hypocrite, the righteous and the sinful, while the odd refers to God.} Also, that even and odd are all of creation, their even and their odd,^{‎[38]Tabari, 30/108-110; Razi, 31/150; Mizan, 20/280; Tibyan, 10/341; Tabrisi.J, 6/485; Zamakhshari, 4/746.} since from one perspective all of creation is in pairs, and from another, each one of them has its unique singularity in terms of characteristics not shared by others. The latter opinion is attributed to Mujāhid,^{‎[39]Tabari, 30/108-110; Suyuti, 6/346.} Ibn Abbas,^{‎[40]We find an example suggested for this interpretation in Ibn Abbas, p. 753, where the even is suggested to refer to heaven and earth, worldly life and the life hereafter, and paradise and hell, while the odd refers to everything that is odd in number.} and Ibn Zayd.^{‎[41]Tibyan, 10/341.}

[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 489.
[2] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 1010.
[3] Mizan, 20/280.
[4] Tabrisi.J, 6/485; Zamakhshari, 4/746.
[5] Tabari, 30/108-110; Razi, 31/150; Mizan, 20/280.
[6] Tabari, 30/108-110; Tibyan, 10/341; Tabrisi, 10/736.
[7] Tabrisi, 10/736.
[8] Mubin, 1/806.
[9] Tabrisi.J, 6/485; Zamakhshari, 4/746; Nur, 5/571.
[10] Tabrisi, 10/736.
[11] Suyuti, 6/346.
[12] Tabari, 30/108-110; also reported in Tibyan, 10/341; Tabrisi, 10/736; Nur, 5/571; Mizan, 20/279.
[13] Suyuti, 6/347.
[14] Nahj al-Bayān ʿan Kashf Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 5/358-359.
[15] Razi, 31/149.
[16] Thalabi, 10/192.
[17] Amthal, 19/174.
[18] Mizan, 20/279.
[19] Tabrisi.J, 6/485; Tabrisi, 10/736; Nur, 5/571; Burhan, 5/651.
[20] Tabari, 30/108-110.
[21] Tabrisi, 10/737.
[22] Razi, 31/149.
[23] Ibn Abbas, p. 753.
[24] Amthal, 19/175.
[25] Tabari, 30/110.
[26] Razi, 31/150.
[27] Mizan, 20/286.
[28] Suyuti, 6/345.
[29] Thalabi, 10/192.
[30] Tabari, 30/108-110; Mizan, 20/279.
[31] Tabari, 30/108-110; Tabrisi, 10/736; Nur, 5/571; Tibyan, 10/341; Razi, 31/149.
[32] Qummi, 2/419.
[33] Tabari, 30/108-110; Suyuti, 6/346.
[34] Tibyan, 10/341; Tabrisi, 10/736; Nur, 5/571.
[35] Tabrisi, 10/737; Razi, 31/150.
[36] Razi, 31/149.
[37] Suyuti, 6/346. Tustari, p. 282, suggests that the even refers to Adam and Eve but he also suggests that the even refers to all that God has created in opposites such as life and death, man and woman, night and day, light and darkness, etc., while the odd refers to the being of God. Again, it is also suggested that the even refers to man and woman, believer and disbeliever, the sincere and the hypocrite, the righteous and the sinful, while the odd refers to God.
[38] Tabari, 30/108-110; Razi, 31/150; Mizan, 20/280; Tibyan, 10/341; Tabrisi.J, 6/485; Zamakhshari, 4/746.
[39] Tabari, 30/108-110; Suyuti, 6/346.
[40] We find an example suggested for this interpretation in Ibn Abbas, p. 753, where the even is suggested to refer to heaven and earth, worldly life and the life hereafter, and paradise and hell, while the odd refers to everything that is odd in number.
[41] Tibyan, 10/341.