Chapter 84, 25 verses
When the heaven bursts asunder,
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم إذا السماء انشقت
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. When the heaven is split asunder
And obeys its Lord and it must.
وأذنت لربها وحقت
And attentive to her Lord in fear,
And when the earth is stretched,
وإذا الأرض مدت
And when the earth is spread out
And casts forth what is in it and becomes empty,
وألقت ما فيها وتخلت
And hath cast out all that was in her, and is empty
And obeys its Lord and it must.
وأذنت لربها وحقت
And attentive to her Lord in fear!
O man! surely you must strive (to attain) to your Lord, a hard striving until you meet Him.
يا أيها الإنسان إنك كادح إلى ربك كدحا فملاقيه
Thou, verily, O man, art working toward thy Lord a work which thou wilt meet (in His presence).
Then as to him who is given his book in his right hand,
فأما من أوتي كتابه بيمينه
Then whoso is given his account in his right hand
He shall be reckoned with by an easy reckoning,
فسوف يحاسب حسابا يسيرا
He truly will receive an easy reckoning
And he shall go back to his people joyful.
وينقلب إلى أهله مسرورا
And will return unto his folk in joy.
And as to him who is given his book behind his back,
وأما من أوتي كتابه وراء ظهره
But whoso is given his account behind his back,
He shall call for perdition,
فسوف يدعو ثبورا
He surely will invoke destruction
And enter into burning fire.
ويصلى سعيرا
And be thrown to scorching fire.
Surely he was (erstwhile) joyful among his followers.
إنه كان في أهله مسرورا
He verily lived joyous with his folk,
Surely he thought that he would never return.
إنه ظن أن لن يحور
He verily deemed that he would never return (unto Allah).
Yea! surely his Lord does ever see him.
بلى إن ربه كان به بصيرا
Nay, but lo! his Lord is ever looking on him!
But nay! I swear by the sunset redness,
فلا أقسم بالشفق
Oh, I swear by the afterglow of sunset,
And the night and that which it drives on,
والليل وما وسق
And by the night and all that it enshroudeth,
And the moon when it grows full,
والقمر إذا اتسق
And by the moon when she is at the full,
That you shall most certainly enter one state after another.
لتركبن طبقا عن طبق
That ye shall journey on from plane to plane.
But what is the matter with them that they do not believe,
فما لهم لا يؤمنون
What aileth them, then, that they believe not
And when the Quran is recited to them they do not make obeisance?
وإذا قرئ عليهم القرآن لا يسجدون ۩
And, when the Qur'an is recited unto them, worship not (Allah) ?
Nay! those who disbelieve give the lie to the truth.
بل الذين كفروا يكذبون
Nay, but those who disbelieve will deny;
And Allah knows best what they hide,
والله أعلم بما يوعون
And Allah knoweth best what they are hiding.
So announce to them a painful punishment~
فبشرهم بعذاب أليم
So give them tidings of a painful doom,
Except those who believe and do good; for them is a reward that shall never be cut off.
إلا الذين آمنوا وعملوا الصالحات لهم أجر غير ممنون
Save those who believe and do good works, for theirs is a reward unfailing.