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