Adh-Dhaariyat

Waz-zaariyaati zarwaa

CONSIDER the winds that scatter the dust far and wide,

Falhaamilaati wiqraa

and those that carry the burden [of heavy clouds],

Faljaariyaati yusraa

and those that speed along with gentle ease,

Falmuqassimaati amraa

and those that apportion [the gift of life] at [God’s] behest!

Innamaa too'adoona la-saadiq

Verily, that which you are promised is true indeed,

Wa innad deena la waaqi'

and, verily, judgment is bound to come!

Wassamaaa'i zaatil hubuk

CONSIDER the firmament full of starry paths!

Innakum lafee qawlim mukhtalif

Verily, [O men,] you are deeply at variance as to what to believe:

Yu'faku 'anhu man ufik

perverted in his views thereon is he who would deceive himself!

Qutilal kharraasoon

They but destroy themselves, they who are given to guessing at what they cannot ascertain –

Allazeena hum fee ghamratin saahoon

they who blunder along, in ignorance lost –

Yas'aloona ayyaana yawmud Deen

they who [mockingly] ask, “When is that Day of Judgment to be?”

Yawma hum 'alan naari yuftanoon

[It will be] a Day when they will be sorely tried by the fire,

Zooqoo fitnatakum haa zal lazee kuntum bihee tas ta'jiloon

[and will be told:] “Taste this your trial! It is this that you were so hastily asking for!”

Innal muttaqeena fee jannaatinw wa 'uyoon

[But,] behold, the God-conscious will find themselves amid gardens and springs,

Aakhizeena maaa aataahum Rabbuhum; innahum kaanoo qabla zaalika muhsineen

enjoying all that their Sustainer will have granted them [because], verily, they were doers of good in the past:

kaanoo qaleelam minal laili maa yahja'oon

they would lie asleep during but a small part of the night,

Wa bilashaari hum yastaghfiroon

and would pray for forgiveness from their innermost hearts;

Wa feee amwaalihim haqqul lissaaa'ili walmahroom

and [would assign] in all that they possessed a due share unto such as might ask [for help] and such as might suffer priva­tion.

Wa fil ardi aayaatul lilmooqineen

AND ON EARTH there are signs [of God’s exis­tence, visible] to all who are endowed with inner certainty,

Wa feee anfusikum; afalaa tubsiroon

just as [there are signs thereof] within your own selves: can you not, then, see?

Wa fissamaaa'i rizqukum wa maa too'adoon

And in heaven is [the source of] your sus­tenance [on earth] and [of] all that you are promised [for your life after death]:

Fawa Rabbis samaaa'i wal ardi innahoo lahaqqum misla maa annakum tantiqoon

for, by the Sustainer of heaven and earth, this [life after death] is the very truth - as true as that you are endowed with speech!

Hal ataaka hadeesu daifi Ibraaheemal mukrameen

AND HAS the story of Abraham’s honoured guests ever come within thy ken?

Iz dakhaloo 'alaihi faqaaloo salaaman qaala salaamun qawmum munkaroon

When those [heavenly messengers] came unto him and bade him peace, he answered, “[And upon you be] peace!” - [saying to himself,] “They are strangers.”

Faraagha ilaaa ahlihee fajaaa'a bi'ijlin sameen

Then he turned quietly to his household, and brought forth a fat [roasted] calf,

Faqarrabahooo ilaihim qaala alaa taakuloon

and placed it before them, saying, “Will you not eat?”

Fa awjasa minhm khee fatan qaaloo laa takhaf wa bashsharoohu bighulaamin 'aleem

[And when he saw that the guests would not eat,] he became apprehensive of them; [but] they said, “Fear not” - and gave him the glad tiding of [the birth of] a son who would be endowed with deep knowledge.

Fa aqbalatim ra-atuhoo fee sarratin fasakkat wajhahaa wa qaalat 'ajoozun 'aqeem

Thereupon his wife approached [the guests] with a loud cry, and struck her face [in astonishment] and exclaimed: “A barren old woman [like me]!”

Qaaloo kazaaliki qaala Rabbuki innahoo huwal hakeemul 'aleem

They answered: “Thus has thy Sustainer decreed; and, verily, He alone is truly wise, all- knowing!”

Qaala famaa khatbukum ayyuhal mursaloon

Said [Abraham]: “And what [else] may you have in view, O you [heavenly] messengers?”

Qaalooo innaaa ursilnaaa ilaa qawmim mujrimeen

They answered: “Behold, we have been sent unto a people lost in sin,

Linursila 'alaihim hijaa ratam min teen

to let loose upon them stone-hard blows of chastisement,

Musawwamatan 'inda rabbika lilmusrifeen

marked out in thy Sustainer’s sight for [the punishment of] such as have wasted their own selves.”

Fa akhrajnaa man kaana feehaa minal mu'mineen

And in the course of time We brought out [of Lot ’s city] such [few] believers as were there:

Famaa wajadnaa feehaa ghaira baitim minal muslimeen

for apart from one [single] house We did not find there any who had surrendered themselves to Us.

Wa taraknaa feehaaa aayatal lillazeena yakhaafoonal 'azaabal aleem

And so We left therein a message for those who fear the grievous suffering [which awaits all evildoers].

Wa fee Moosaaa iz arsalnaahu ilaa Fir'wna bisultaa nim mubeen

AND IN [the story of Pharaoh and] Moses, too, [We left the same message: for] when We sent him unto Pharaoh with [Our] manifest authority,

Fatawalla biruknihee wa qaala saahirun aw majnoon

and he turned away in [the pride of] his power and said, “A sorcerer [is this Moses], or a madman!” –

Fa akhaznaahu wa junoo dahoo fanabaznaahum fil yammi wa huwa muleem

We seized him and his hosts, and cast them all into the sea: and [none but Pharaoh] himself was to blame [for what happened].

Wa fee 'Aadin iz arsalnaa 'alaihimur reehal'aqeem

And [you have the same message] in [what happened to the tribe of] Ad, when We let loose against them that life-destroying wind

Maa tazaru min shai'in atat 'alaihi illaa ja'alat hu karrameem

which spared nothing of what it came upon, but caused [all of] it to become like bones dead and decayed.

Wa fee Samooda iz qeela lahum tamatta''oo hattaa heen

And in [the story of the tribe of] Thamud, too, when they were told, “You shall enjoy your life for [but] a little while,”

Fa'ataw 'an amri Rabbihim fa akhazal humus saa'iqatu wa hum yanzuroon

after they had turned with disdain from their Sustainer’s commandment - whereupon the thunderbolt of punishment overtook them while they were [helplessly] looking on:

Famas tataa'oo min qiyaaminw wa maa kaanoo muntasireen

for they were unable even to rise, and could not defend themselves.

Wa qawma Noohim min qablu innahum kaano qawman faasiqeen

And [thus, too, We destroyed] Noah’s people aforetime: for they were iniquitous folk.

Wassamaaa'a banainaa haa bi aydinw wa innaa lamoosi'oon

AND IT IS We who have built the universe with [Our creative] power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it.

Wal arda farashnaahaa fani'mal maahidoon

And the earth have We spread out wide - and how well have We ordered it!

Wa min kulli shai'in khalaqnaa zawjaini la'allakum tazakkaroon

And in everything have We created oppos­ites, so that you might bear in mind [that God alone is One].

Fafirrooo ilal laahi innee lakum minhu nazeerum mubeen

And so, [O Muhammad, say unto them:] “Flee unto God [from all that is false and evil]! Verily, I am a plain warner to you from Him!

Wa laa taj'aloo ma'al laahi ilaahan aakhara innee lakum minhu nazeerum mubeen

And do not ascribe divinity to aught side by side with God: verily, I am a plain warner to you from Him!”

Kazaalika maaa atal lazeena min qablihim mir Rasoolin illaa qaaloo saahirun aw majnoon

[But] thus it is: never yet came any apostle to those who lived before their time but they said, “A spellbinder [Lit., "sorcerer".] [is he], or a madman!”

Atawaasaw bih; bal hum qawmun taaghoon

Have they, perchance, handed down this [way of thinking] as a legacy unto one another? Nay, they are people filled with overweening ar­rogance!

Fatawalla 'anhum famaaa anta bimaloom

Turn, then, away from them, and thou shalt incur no blame;

Wa zakkir fa innaz zikraa tanfa'ul mu'mineen

yet go on reminding [all who would listen]: for, verily, such a reminder will profit the believers.

Wa maa khalaqtul jinna wal insa illaa liya'budoon

And [tell them that] I have not created the invisible beings and men to any end other than that they may [know and] worship Me.

Maaa ureedu minhum mir rizqinw wa maaa ureedu anyyut'imoon

[But withal,] no sustenance do I ever demand of them, nor do I demand that they feed Me:

Innal laaha Huwar Razzaaqu Zul Quwwatil Mateen

for, verily, God Himself is the Provider of all sustenance, the Lord of all might, the Eternal!

Fa inna lillazeena zalamoo zanoobam misla zanoobi ashaabihim falaa yasta'jiloon

And, verily, they who are bent on doing evil shall have their share [of evil] like unto the share of their fellows [of old]: so let them not ask Me to hasten [their doom]!

Fawailul lillazeena kafaroo miny yawmihimul lazee yoo'adoon

For, woe unto those who are bent on denying the truth - [woe] on the Day which they have been promised