An-Naazi'aat

Wan naazi 'aati gharqa

CONSIDER those [stars] that rise only to set,

Wan naa shi taati nashta

and move [in their orbits] with steady motion,

Wass saabi-haati sabha

and float [through space] with floating serene,

Fass saabi qaati sabqa

and yet overtake [one another] with swift overtaking:

Fal mu dab-bi raati amra

and thus they fulfil the [Creator's] behest!

Yawma tarjufur raajifa

[HENCE, think of] the Day when a violent convulsion will convulse [the world],

Tatba'u har raadifa

to be followed by further [convulsions]!

Quloobuny-yau maaiziw-waaji-fa

On that Day will [men's] hearts be throbbing,

Absaa ruhaa khashi'ah

[and] their eyes downcast...

Ya qoo loona a-inna lamar doo doona fil haafirah

[And yet,] some say, "What! Are we indeed to be restored to our former state –

Aizaa kunna 'izaa man-nakhirah

even though we may have become [a heap of] crumbling bones?"

Qaalu tilka izan karratun khaasirah.

[And] they add, "That, then, would be a return with loss!"

Fa inna ma hiya zajratuw-waahida

[But,] then, that [Last Hour] will be [upon them of a sudden, as if it were] but a single accusing cry -

Faizaa hum biss saahirah

and then, lo, they will be fully awakened [to the truth]!

Hal ataaka hadeethu Musaa

HAS THE STORY of Moses ever come within thy ken.

Iz nadaahu rabbuhu bil waadil-muqad dasi tuwa

Lo! His Sustainer called out to him in the twice-hallowed valley:

Izhab ilaa fir'auna innahu taghaa.

"Go unto Pharaoh - for, verily, he has transgressed all bounds of what is right -

Faqul hal laka ilaa-an tazakka.

and say [unto him], 'Art thou desirous of attaining to purity?

Wa ahdi yaka ila rabbika fatakh sha

[If so,] then I shall guide thee towards [a cognition of] thy Sustainer, so that [henceforth] thou wilt stand in awe [of Him].’"

Fa araahul-aayatal kubra.

And thereupon he [went to Pharaoh and] made him aware of the great wonder [of God's grace].

Fa kazzaba wa asaa.

But [Pharaoh] gave him the lie and rebelliously rejected [all guidance],

Thumma adbara yas'aa.

and brusquely turned his back [on Moses];

Fa hashara fanada.

and then he gathered [his great ones], and called [unto his people],

Faqala ana rabbu kumul-a'laa.

and said, "I am your Lord All-Highest!"

Fa-akha zahul laahu nakalal aakhirati wal-oola.

And thereupon God took him to task, [and made him] a warning example in the life to come as well as in this world.

Inna fee zaalika la'ibratal limaiy-yaksha

In this, behold, there is a lesson indeed for all who stand in awe [of God].

A-antum a shaddu khalqan amis samaa-u banaaha.

[O MEN!] Are you more difficult to create than the heaven which He has built?

Raf'a sam kaha fasaw waaha

High has He reared its vault and formed it in accordance with what it was meant to be;

Wa aghtasha lailaha wa akhraja duhaaha.

and He has made dark its night and brought forth its light of day.

Wal arda b'ada zaalika dahaaha.

And after that, the earth: wide has He spread its expanse,

Akhraja minha maa-aha wa mar 'aaha.

and has caused its waters to come out of it, and its pastures,

Wal jibala arsaaha.

and has made the mountains firm:

Mataa'al lakum wali an 'aamikum.

[all this] as a means of livelihood for you and your animals.

Fa-izaa jaaa'atit taaam matul kubraa.

AND SO, when the great overwhelming event [of, resurrection] comes to pass –

Yauma Yata zakkarul insaanu ma sa'aa.

on that Day man will [clearly] remember all that he has ever wrought;

Wa burrizatil-jaheemu limany-yaraa.

and the blazing fire [of hell] will be lad open before all who [are destined to] see it.

Fa ammaa man taghaa.

For, unto him who shall have transgressed the bounds of what is right,

Wa aasaral hayaatad dunyaa

and preferred the life of this world [to the good of his soul],

Fa innal jaheema hiyal maawaa.

that blazing fire will truly be the goal!

Wa ammaa man khaafa maqaama Rabbihee wa nahan nafsa 'anil hawaa

But unto him who shall have stood in fear of his Sustainer's Presence, and held back his inner self from base desires,

Fa innal jannata hiyal maawaa

paradise will truly be the goal!

Yas'aloonaka 'anis saa'ati ayyaana mursaahaa

THEY WILL ASK thee [O Prophet] about the Last Hour: "When will it come to pass?"

Feema anta min zikraahaa

[But] how couldst thou tell anything about it,

Ilaa Rabbika muntahaa haa

[seeing that] with thy Sustainer alone rests the beginning and the end [of all knowledge] thereof?

Innamaaa anta munziru maiy yakshaahaa

Thou art but [sent] to warn those who stand in awe of it.

Ka annahum Yawma yarawnahaa lam yalbasooo illaa 'ashiyyatan aw duhaahaa

On the Day when they behold it, [it will seem to them] as if they had tarried [in this world] no longer than one evening or [one night, ending with] its morn!