إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انشَقَّتْ (1)
When once the heaven is split asunder |
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ (2)
In obedience to the command of its Creator and in payment of its duty to Him |
وَإِذَا الْأَرْضُ مُدَّتْ (3)
And when the earth is stretched out |
وَأَلْقَتْ مَا فِيهَا وَتَخَلَّتْ (4)
And disgorges its contents and empties itself of the dead |
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ (5)
In obedience to the command of its Creator and in payment of its duty to Him; there and then shall people be adjudged |
يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ (6)
Remember O man, you are arduously labouring and painfully toiling toward your Creator Whom you shall meet in the end |
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ (7)
Then he who is given his book bearing his record in his right hand will have no cause to apprehend |
فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا (8)
His reckoning will be gracefully conducted |
وَيَنقَلِبُ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا (9)
And to his people will he go back rejoicing and greatly delighted |
وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ وَرَاءَ ظَهْرِهِ (10)
But he who is given his book, bearing his record in his left hand from the back |
فَسَوْفَ يَدْعُو ثُبُورًا (11)
Will wish he could perish |
وَيَصْلَىٰ سَعِيرًا (12)
He will suffer the blazes |
إِنَّهُ كَانَ فِي أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا (13)
How vainly did he rejoice among his people before and disregarded the concord of this discord |
إِنَّهُ ظَنَّ أَن لَّن يَحُورَ (14)
He emphatically thought he would never return to his Creator, Whom he never recognized nor adored |
بَلَىٰ إِنَّ رَبَّهُ كَانَ بِهِ بَصِيرًا (15)
But in effect Allah, his Creator had kept him in view and was fully aware of his actions |
فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالشَّفَقِ (16)
I swear by the glow of light and display of colour in the sky at the close of the day when the sun sets |
وَاللَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ (17)
And by the night when life closes its lids and past events come to memory and the night-eyed can see and the night wanderer wanders about and the soul roves heaven’s realm |
وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا اتَّسَقَ (18)
And by the moon at full when its entire disk is illuminated thus dispelling the darkness of the night |
لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍ (19)
That you people shall ride from one circumstance to another and from one mode of existence to another and from a state of things, in which events stand disposed at a particular time, to another, and from one world to another; for in the actual system of things man changes, from one condition to another. He is governed by the inherent dominating power by which actions and feelings are determined |
فَمَا لَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ (20)
What then prevents them -the infidels- from justifying faith as a conviction operative on their character and will |
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقُرْآنُ لَا يَسْجُدُونَ ۩ (21)
When the Quran is recited to them, they neither open their hearts' ears nor their minds to stand in awe of Allah and bow to the ground in adoration |
بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُكَذِّبُونَ (22)
No, but the infidels inherently deny the truth which they obstinately reject and the path of righteousness they tend to deviate from |
وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يُوعُونَ (23)
Allah is fully cognizant of what they conceal in their hearts and what is forged in their bosoms and He knows that infidelity is their very prevalent inclination |
فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ (24)
Therefore, tell them O Muhammad to expect a condign punishment |
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ (25)
But not those who believed with hearts impressed with the image of religious and spiritual virtues and with deeds imprinted with wisdom and piety; these are destined to a fortune that is elate, and they will be requited with a reward which will not abate |
