Virtues and benefits of Surah Ash-Sharh
No hadith attributes a specific virtue to Surah Ash-Sharh: its merit is that it belongs to the Mufassal, by which the Prophet ﷺ was favoured over the other prophets. It continues Ad-Duha by listing Allah’s blessings upon His Prophet ﷺ: the expansion of his breast, the raising of his rank and mention, and the promise to remove his hardships.
Its virtues at a glance
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A surah of the Mufassal
It belongs to the Mufassal, given to the Prophet ﷺ as an extra grace by which he was favoured over the other prophets, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’: “I was given in place of the Torah the seven long ones… and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
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The expansion of the Prophet’s ﷺ breast
Expanding the breast means widening it to receive every virtue; it includes the physical opening of the Prophet’s ﷺ breast and its spiritual expansion through faith, guidance and knowledge. Ibn Kathir explains: “We illuminated it and made it wide and spacious.”
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A call to gratitude and constancy in good deeds
The surah ends by commanding the Prophet ﷺ to persist in righteous deeds, to long for what is with Allah and to turn to His remembrance, in gratitude for these blessings.
What the surah is about
- A list of Allah’s blessings upon His Messenger ﷺ
- The expansion of his breast ﷺ for faith, guidance and knowledge
- The raising of his rank and mention ﷺ
- Allah’s promise to remove the hardships that befell him
- The command to persist in good deeds, long for what is with Allah and turn to His remembrance
Main purpose: To recall Allah’s favour upon the Prophet ﷺ in completing His spiritual blessings upon him.
About Surah Ash-Sharh
Ash-Sharh (“the Expansion”) is a Meccan surah, also called “Alam nashrah” and “Al-Inshirah”. It is the 94th surah in the order of the Qur’an and the 12th in the order of revelation, revealed after Ad-Duha and before Al-’Asr; it has eight verses. After Allah listed some of His blessings upon His Prophet ﷺ in Ad-Duha, this surah recalls others and urges him to be grateful for them so that He may increase them.
Tafsir of Surah Ash-Sharh Listen to Ash-Sharh by other reciters
Detailed study in Arabic
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
- التعريف بسورة الشرح
- فضائل سورة الشرح
- موضوعات سورة الشرح
- تلخيص سورة الشرح
- الأحاديث الواردة في الفضل ودرجتها
Virtues of other surahs
All 114 surahs- Virtues of Surah Al-Kahf A light between two Fridays and protection from the Dajjal
- Virtues of Surah Al-Mulk Intercedes for its reciter and protects from the grave’s punishment
- Virtues of Surah Ya-Sin Whoever recites it at night seeking Allah’s Face is forgiven
- Virtues of Surah Al-Baqarah Satan flees the house where it is recited; it is the peak of the Qur’an
- Virtues of Surah Al-Fatihah The greatest surah of the Qur’an, without which there is no prayer
- Virtues of Surah Al-Ikhlas It equals a third of the Qur’an; loving it earns Allah’s love
- Virtues of Surah Al-Waqi’ah One of the surahs that greyed the Prophet ﷺ; he recited it at Fajr
- Virtues of Surah Ar-Rahman Recited by the Prophet ﷺ to the jinn, who responded better than people
- Ayat al-Kursi The greatest verse in the Book of Allah, a guard against Satan