بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

أَلَم نَشرَح لَكَ صَدرَكَ

Did We not open your breast for you?

EXEGESIS

Nashraḥ (we open) – is derived from the root sh-r-ḥ, which means expansion,^{‎[1]Ayn, 3/93.} cutting open, and unveiling (kashf).^{‎[2]Jawhari, 1/378.} Tashrīḥ al-laḥm, from the same root, means cutting the meat open to produce thinner strips, which involves increasing and expansion.^{‎[3]Raghib, p. 449.} Therefore, in this verse and in Whomever Allah desires to guide, He opens his (yashraḥ) breast to Islam (6:125), the verbs yashraḥ and nashraḥ mean to expand and to open the chest (ṣadr) for comprehending the higher realities of faith.^{‎[4]Mizan, 20/314.}

Ṣadr (chest) is the top part of anything.^{‎[5]Lisan, 4/445.} Ṣadr al-kitāb is the beginning of the book.^{‎[6]Al-Ifṣāḥ fī Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 62.} Here it refers to the chest in the human being because it is positioned in the top part of the human being. Ṭabrisī^{‎[7]Tabrisi, 10/770.} maintains that in the context of this verse it means the heart of the Prophet which has been expanded for prophethood and receiving divine knowledge. However, Makārim Shīrāzī^{‎[8]Nemuneh, 27/121.} opines that ṣadr is a metaphor for the soul and thought of the Prophet of God, which have been expanded.

EXPOSITION

The opening verses of this surah highlight how God has showered Prophet Muhammad (s) with His infinite blessings and bounties. The first verse is about opening his chest. Opening the chest (sharḥ al-ṣadr) in Arabic is used mainly for two meanings: to expand one’s capacity of heart for comprehension of spiritual realities, and to increase one’s tolerance and endurance to be able to remain steadfast and firm in adherence to whatever one owes allegiance without being hindered by enmities and difficulties.^{‎[9]Mizan, 20/314.} For example, we find that when Prophet Moses (a) was given the duty of speaking to the tyrant of his time (Pharoah) (20:24), he immediately says, My Lord! Open my breast (ṣadrī) for me (20:25), so that he is able to be patient and effective when speaking to Pharoah.

Of course, what is meant by breast or chest in such verses in the Quran is not the physical heart, but rather the soul and spiritual heart, which is empowered and assisted through divine guidance.^{‎[10]Nemuneh, 27/123.} Although ṣadr and qalb (heart) can both refer to the human soul, which understands and comprehends, it has been said that ṣadr is more general than qalb.

Sharḥ al-ṣadr is the opposite of ḍīq al-ṣadr, and that is the tightness of the chest which results in lack of patience and tolerance. As the Quran states, Certainly We know that you become upset (yaḍīqu ṣadruka) because of what they say (15:97).

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Ibn Abbas said regarding this verse: ‘Allah opened his chest for the religion of Islam.’^{‎[11]Suyuti, 6/363.}
2. It is reported that Gabriel came to the Prophet of God in his childhood or on the Day of Pledge, took his heart out, washed it, and filled it with faith and knowledge.^{‎[12]Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/321.}
3. Ubayy ibn Kaʿb reports that Abū Hurayrah said: ‘O Messenger of God, what was the first thing you saw of the matter of prophecy?’ The Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, straightened himself while seated and said: ‘O Abū Hurayrah! You have asked [about a great matter]. When I was twenty years and a few months of age I was in the desert. I heard a conversation going on above my head in which a man was saying to another: “Is it he?” Then they came, greeting me with faces that I had never seen in creation, and spirits that I had never found in creation, and clothes that I had never found on anyone, so they proceeded walking towards me until each one of them took my arm, while I did not feel any touch. Then one of them said to his friend: “Let him lie down.” So he laid me down without forcing or squeezing. One of them said: “Open his chest.” So the other one reached for my chest and split it as I could see without any blood or pain. He said to him: “Get out the malice and envy.” He took out something like the shape of a leech and discarded it and threw it away. Then he said to him: “Enter mercy and compassion.” Then I saw [he put in] something he had brought out, the likeness of silver. Then he shook the thumb of my right foot and said: “Go, Godspeed!” So I went back with it, feeling tenderness for the young and mercy for the old.’^{‎[13]Suyuti, 6/363.}

Note: There are other narrations in this vein, which although vary greatly in their details and especially regarding the age of the Prophet at the occurrence of this incident, they all allude to an extraordinary occasion. Certainly, to interpret the incident as a physical matter, like literally taking the physical heart out of the chest and removing malice and envy from it is absurd. So, if these narrations are to be given any credit, they allude to a spiritual unveiling (kashf) of a metaphysical experience which took place at a very young age, during the Prophet’s childhood. He was shown how he was chosen because his heart was pure of every evil and was bursting with mercy and compassion.

Some other reports suggest that the incident happened on the Night of Ascension (miʿrāj).

4. Ibn Abbas narrates that the Prophet was asked: ‘Does the chest expand?’ He said: ‘Yes,’ and was asked further: ‘Is there a sign to recognise it [that the chest has been expanded]?’ He said: ‘Yes, rising above the deceitful world, turning towards the eternal world, and preparation for death before it happens.’^{‎[14]Tabrisi, 10/770.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Regarding the expansion of the chest of the Prophet, Suyūṭī^{‎[15]Suyuti, 20/422; Razi, 32/2.} has reported that it is related to the event mentioned under Insights from Hadith. He narrates that this event took place in the Prophet’s childhood in which the angels descended, cut through his chest, took out his heart, washed it, and filled it with knowledge and love. However, Makārim Shīrāzī^{‎[16]Nemuneh, 27/123.} states that it is clear what is meant here is not the physical heart of the Prophet but rather it is a metaphor for divine guidance and removing any possible satanic thoughts or ethical shortcomings. There are no reasons to believe that the verse is about this incident, rather it appears that it carries a more general meaning and this event could be an instance of that general meaning. According to Tabatabai, sharḥ al-ṣadr alludes to the great spiritual and psychological capacity of the Prophet of God such that he is capable of receiving divine revelation and at the same time able to deliver the message and be patient in the face of difficulties which he endured.^{‎[17]Mizan, 20/314.}

[1] Ayn, 3/93.
[2] Jawhari, 1/378.
[3] Raghib, p. 449.
[4] Mizan, 20/314.
[5] Lisan, 4/445.
[6] Al-Ifṣāḥ fī Fiqh al-Lughah, p. 62.
[7] Tabrisi, 10/770.
[8] Nemuneh, 27/121.
[9] Mizan, 20/314.
[10] Nemuneh, 27/123.
[11] Suyuti, 6/363.
[12] Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Taʾwīl, 5/321.
[13] Suyuti, 6/363.
[14] Tabrisi, 10/770.
[15] Suyuti, 20/422; Razi, 32/2.
[16] Nemuneh, 27/123.
[17] Mizan, 20/314.