17:78 ? Who witnesses the Recital of the Quran at Dawn?

[Adil Husain]

17:78
 Establish worship at the going down of the sun until the dark of night, and (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn. Lo! (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn is ever witnessed. (Pickthall's translation)

From Quranic teaching it is clear that Allah knows and witness everything , everywhere and at every time from sub-atomic level to Heavenly bodies and beyond that.
what Could me meaning of Recital in Dawn is ever witnessed ?
If it refers to the Angels , what  extra importance it carries because Allah knows everything whether it be witnessed by Angels or not ?

[Mubashir]

Salam Br Adil

Here is an explanatory exposition by Dr Kamal (www.islamawakened.com):

17:78 and (also establish) Al-Quran of Al-Fajr (‘the day-break’). [This recommendation covers the offering of Salat-ul-Fajr as well as early morning study of the Quran]. Verily Quran-al-Fajr [‘Early morning recitation’ (in Salat-ul-Fajr) or early morning study of the Quran for understanding its Message] became one used as a witness (i.e., it is retained in memory and then becomes a witness to every act, deed, thought and concept and guides them all the time).
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Make sense?

[HOPE]

Salaam,

God has appointed angels for various tasks.  Although He is Al-Khabeer, we have the Kiraman katibeena 82:11 recorders around us. 10:21. 43:80.
 You are asking why and  I can only speculate.  God makes judgments with wisdom. Our own body parts will also be used as witnesses, too. 

7:172 we testified that He is our Lord so we would not say "we knew nothing of this" on Judgment Day.

Fajr is a time when day and night blend into each other thus holding the view that the twice many angels are present witnessing your deeds is not so far-fetched. 

[HOPE]

Salaam,

Previously I said "Fajr is a time when day and night blend into each other thus holding the view that the twice many angels are present witnessing your deeds is not so far-fetched."   

 Now I'm questioning the veracity of this conclusion because of its opposite coordinate  when they merge into each other again.  Is  Maghrib  the opposite of fajr? 

Brother Joseph, please help


 

[Joseph Islam]

Salamun Alaikum

According to the Quran, its reading is actually witnessed at any time of the day when it is actually read. Therefore, the Fajr recitation would arguably carry no extra 'witness' over and beyond any other part of the day. Verse 17:78 merely confirms the witnessing mentioned in verse 10:61.

010:061
"And you are not (engaged) in any affair, nor do you recite concerning it any portion of the Quran, nor do you do any work but We are witnesses over you when you enter into it, and there does not lie concealed from your Lord the weight of an atom in the earth or in the heaven, nor any thing less than that nor greater, but it is in a clear book"

Therefore, the more pertinent question is why has the Quran at Fajr been singled out for specific mention? Here I'll share just a couple of possibilities.

• That in the darkness of the night leading to the early morn, one's mind is clearer, distractions less and hence, perceptive faculties to absorb the message far more acute than at other parts of the day.  There is some support for this in verse 73:6 where such a period of night has been described as a time when impression is most keen and speech is more certain (watan wa-aqwamu qilan). In the context of the surrounding verses, it is clear that the main subject is the Quran.
• Given that the theme of the verse is salat, and all prayer periods have been covered bar the morning prayer, the Quran at Fajr covers both its reading and provides some overlap with Salat-Fajr which is also conducted at the same time. (Implying some synonymy). This is a time of the day which has also been emphasised in other verses as a time for God's glorification and hence also emphasised in this verse.

I also humbly feel that one should not overlook the spiritual significance of the time of Fajr when light begins to illuminate the sky from a period of utter darkness. This resonates well with the reading of the Quran at this time which itself provides by way of it guidance, a path which leads from darkness into light.

Finally, in my humble opinion, there is no mention of specific witnessing of angels; the presence of night / day angels or special rewards to be incurred with such a recitation at Fajr. These interpretations are usually inferred from extraneous sources.

I hope that helps, God willing.
Joseph.

[Adil Husain]

Salamun alaikum ,

Thanks for replying and helping me.

@Mubashir , yes it makes a sense , reading and memorizing  the Quran  was important in those days. Possibly there were not many copies of the Quran in those days , so memorized Quran would have played important role in transmission of its message to others , which was witnessed by them.
Considering that perceptive capacity is more during morning , Quranic principles are better remembered when recited at dawn , Which will help in its implementation which will be witnessed by all.


@Joseph Islam , I agree with you. Thanks for linking this verse with other verses , thereby making this topic much more clear to me.

Only Allah knows what the true meaning is.