Chapter 81, 29 verses
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. When the sun is overthrown,
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم إذا الشمس كورت
When the sun (with its spacious light) is folded up;
And when the stars fall,
وإذا النجوم انكدرت
When the stars fall, losing their lustre;
And when the hills are moved,
وإذا الجبال سيرت
When the mountains vanish (like a mirage);
And when the camels big with young are abandoned,
وإذا العشار عطلت
When the she - camels, ten months with young, are left untended;
And when the wild beasts are herded together,
وإذا الوحوش حشرت
When the wild beasts are herded together (in the human habitations);
And when the seas rise,
وإذا البحار سجرت
When the oceans boil over with a swell;
And when souls are reunited,
وإذا النفوس زوجت
When the souls are sorted out, (being joined, like with like);
And when the girl - child that was buried alive is asked
وإذا الموءودة سئلت
When the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned -
For what sin she was slain,
بأي ذنب قتلت
For what crime she was killed;
And when the pages are laid open,
وإذا الصحف نشرت
When the scrolls are laid open;
And when the sky is torn away,
وإذا السماء كشطت
When the world on High is unveiled;
And when hell is lighted,
وإذا الجحيم سعرت
When the Blazing Fire is kindled to fierce heat;
And when the Garden is brought nigh,
وإذا الجنة أزلفت
And when the Garden is brought near; -
(Then) every soul will know what it hath made ready.
علمت نفس ما أحضرت
(Then) shall each soul know what it has put forward.
Oh, but I call to witness the planets,
فلا أقسم بالخنس
So verily I call to witness the planets - that recede,
The stars which rise and set,
الجوار الكنس
Go straight, or hide;
And the close of night,
والليل إذا عسعس
And the Night as it dissipates;
And the breath of morning
والصبح إذا تنفس
And the Dawn as it breathes away the darkness; -
That this is in truth the word of an honoured messenger,
إنه لقول رسول كريم
Verily this is the word of a most honourable Messenger,
Mighty, established in the presence of the Lord of the Throne,
ذي قوة عند ذي العرش مكين
Endued with Power, with rank before the Lord of the Throne,
(One) to be obeyed, and trustworthy;
مطاع ثم أمين
With authority there, (and) faithful to his trust.
And your comrade is not mad.
وما صاحبكم بمجنون
And (O people!) your companion is not one possessed;
Surely he beheld Him on the clear horizon.
ولقد رآه بالأفق المبين
And without doubt he saw him in the clear horizon.
And he is not avid of the Unseen.
وما هو على الغيب بضنين
Neither doth he withhold grudgingly a knowledge of the Unseen.
Nor is this the utterance of a devil worthy to be stoned.
وما هو بقول شيطان رجيم
Nor is it the word of an evil spirit accursed.
Whither then go ye ?
فأين تذهبون
When whither go ye?
This is naught else than a reminder unto creation,
إن هو إلا ذكر للعالمين
Verily this is no less than a Message to (all) the Worlds:
Unto whomsoever of you willeth to walk straight.
لمن شاء منكم أن يستقيم
(With profit) to whoever among you wills to go straight:
And ye will not, unless (it be) that Allah willeth, the Lord of Creation.
وما تشاءون إلا أن يشاء الله رب العالمين
But ye shall not will except as Allah wills, - the Cherisher of the Worlds.