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Consider this ayah from Surat Ash-Sharĥ:

فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ فَانصَبْ

(Qur'an 94:7)

  • So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship].
    (Sahih International)
  • Therefore, when thou art free (from thine immediate task), still labour hard,
    (Yusuf Ali)
  • So when you are at leisure, (i.e., not o) then labor,
    (Dr. Ghali)

This has been translated a number of different ways, but they all convey the same basic message: When you're not working you should either "stand up [for worship]" or "labour hard".

According to this ayah, can I conclude that having a vacation* is discouraged in Islam? If so, to what extent (e.g haram, or makruh) would this be discouraged?

In addition, if there are any ahadith explaining this issue, they would be very much appreciated.

* By vacation, I mean stopping constructive work and taking time off just for rest and relaxation. For example, even though your work or school can give you some time off, you can still do some constructive work on your free time, so my question isn't about that. I am asking about the situation where you go to a place for a while to do nothing but rest, or staying at home doing nothing (still doing obligatory ibadat though).

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    FYI, you wouldn't just read one ayah or hadith and derive a ruling yourself. You go to scholars and find out what they know, because the body of proofs is really vast, and includes Qur'an, sunnah, ijmaa, qiyaas, and much, much more.
    – ashes999
    Commented Jul 4, 2012 at 16:22
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    "You go to scholars and find out what they know" -> This is what I am doing asking this question here.
    – user44
    Commented Jul 4, 2012 at 16:33
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    I don't think there are too many scholars here. More like people who study at different levels.
    – ashes999
    Commented Jul 4, 2012 at 16:40
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    Those people might be able to provide me answers referencing the trusted scholars.
    – user44
    Commented Jul 4, 2012 at 17:14

2 Answers 2

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The verse is not intended for this. In no way is it discouraging vacation. Every verse has to be understood in its context. This whole surah addresses the Holy Prophet. As for ayah 7-8 I quote Islahi:

This verse directs the Prophet (sws) to prepare for the ultimate destination

and

In other words, two aspects are being highlighted in these verses: First, they bring glad tidings to the Prophet (sws) that he shall soon successfully complete his mission. Second, they assert that even after accomplishing the mission, he should continue with even more fervour and direct all his energies and efforts in seeking the Almighty and in preparing for the final journey which will confront him with the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

You can read more here

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On the contrary, if you looked at the way fa ra gha and na 9a ba is used in the Quran, it gives a totally different perspective than that of commonly translated.

lets look at how it's used here : http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=frg http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=nSb

in the former, faragha hints to the notion of having reached the end of a life cycle of an action/state. the latter, na9aba hints to the notion of a treat/share/recovery of fatigue this is very much evident in 18:62

to associate na9aba with offering of prayers is contradicting the notions of the verses 5:3 and 5:90, where by is disallowed to do such traditions of offerings

so when we know we are fatigued after a hard time of work, then we need to take a rest and let our Lord do the necessary things for us..as He is the Merciful, the Compassionate

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