| 1. Wal-Fajr وَالْفَجْرِ By the break of Day |
| 2. Wa layaalin 'ashr وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ By the Nights twice five; |
| 3. Wash shaf'i wal watr وَالشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ By the even and odd (contrasted); |
| 4. Wallaili izaa yasr وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ And by the Night when it passeth away;- |
| 5. Hal fee zaalika qasamul lizee hijr هَلْ فِي ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِذِي حِجْرٍ Is there (not) in these an adjuration (or evidence) for those who understand? |
| 6. Alam tara kaifa fa'ala rabbuka bi'aad أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the ´Ad (people),- |
| 7. Iramaa zaatil 'imaad إِرَمَ ذَاتِ الْعِمَادِ Of the (city of) Iram, with lofty pillars, |
| 8. Allatee lam yukhlaq misluhaa fil bilaad الَّتِي لَمْ يُخْلَقْ مِثْلُهَا فِي الْبِلَادِ The like of which were not produced in (all) the land? |
| 9. Wa samoodal lazeena jaabus sakhra bil waad وَثَمُودَ الَّذِينَ جَابُوا الصَّخْرَ بِالْوَادِ And with the Thamud (people), who cut out (huge) rocks in the valley?- |
| 10. Wa fir'awna zil awtaad وَفِرْعَوْنَ ذِي الْأَوْتَادِ And with Pharaoh, lord of stakes? |
| 11. Allazeena taghaw fil bilaad الَّذِينَ طَغَوْا فِي الْبِلَادِ (All) these transgressed beyond bounds in the lands, |
| 12. Fa aksaroo feehal fasaad فَأَكْثَرُوا فِيهَا الْفَسَادَ And heaped therein mischief (on mischief). |
| 13. Fasabba 'alaihim Rabbuka sawta 'azaab فَصَبَّ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّكَ سَوْطَ عَذَابٍ Therefore did thy Lord pour on them a scourge of diverse chastisements: |
| 14. Inna Rabbaka labil mirsaad إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ For thy Lord is (as a Guardian) on a watch-tower. |
| 15. Fa ammal insaanu izaa mab talaahu Rabbuhoo fa akramahoo wa na' 'amahoo fa yaqoolu Rabbeee akraman فَأَمَّا الْإِنْسَانُ إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَأَكْرَمَهُ وَنَعَّمَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَكْرَمَنِ Now, as for man, when his Lord trieth him, giving him honour and gifts, then saith he, (puffed up), "My Lord hath honoured me." |
| 16. Wa ammaaa izaa mabtalaahu faqadara 'alaihi rizqahoo fa yaqoolu Rabbeee ahaanan وَأَمَّا إِذَا مَا ابْتَلَاهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقَهُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّي أَهَانَنِ But when He trieth him, restricting his subsistence for him, then saith he (in despair), "My Lord hath humiliated me!" |
| 17. Kalla bal laa tukrimooo nal yateem كَلَّا ۖ بَلْ لَا تُكْرِمُونَ الْيَتِيمَ Nay, nay! but ye honour not the orphans! |
| 18. Wa laa tahaaaddoona 'alaata'aamil miskeen وَلَا تَحَاضُّونَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ Nor do ye encourage one another to feed the poor!- |
| 19. Wa taakuloonat turaasa aklal lammaa وَتَأْكُلُونَ التُّرَاثَ أَكْلًا لَمًّا And ye devour inheritance - all with greed, |
| 20. Wa tuhibboonal maala hubban jammaa وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا And ye love wealth with inordinate love! |
| 21. Kallaaa izaaa dukkatil ardu dakkan dakka كَلَّا إِذَا دُكَّتِ الْأَرْضُ دَكًّا دَكًّا Nay! When the earth is pounded to powder, |
| 22. Wa jaaa'a Rabbuka wal malaku saffan saffaa وَجَاءَ رَبُّكَ وَالْمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا And thy Lord cometh, and His angels, rank upon rank, |
| 23. Wa jeee'a yawma'izim bi jahannnam; Yawma 'iziny yatazakkarul insaanu wa annaa lahuz zikraa وَجِيءَ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِجَهَنَّمَ ۚ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَتَذَكَّرُ الْإِنْسَانُ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُ الذِّكْرَىٰ And Hell, that Day, is brought (face to face),- on that Day will man remember, but how will that remembrance profit him? |
| 24. Yaqoolu yaa laitanee qaddamtu lihayaatee يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِي He will say: "Ah! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my (Future) Life!" |
| 25. Fa Yawma izil laa yu'azzibu 'azaabahooo ahad فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُ أَحَدٌ For, that Day, His Chastisement will be such as none (else) can inflict, |
| 26. Wa laa yoosiqu wasaaqa hooo ahad وَلَا يُوثِقُ وَثَاقَهُ أَحَدٌ And His bonds will be such as none (other) can bind. |
| 27. Yaaa ayyatuhan nafsul mutma 'innah يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ (To the righteous soul will be said:) "O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction! |
| 28. Irji'eee ilaa Rabbiki raadiyatam mardiyyah ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً "Come back thou to thy Lord,- well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him! |
| 29. Fadkhulee fee 'ibaadee فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي "Enter thou, then, among My devotees! |
| 30. Wadkhulee jannatee وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي "Yea, enter thou My Heaven! |
Recitation by Mishary Al-Alfasy
The Surah is so designated after the word wal-fajr with which it opens.
Period of Revelation
Its contents show that it was
revealed at the stage when persecution of the new converts to Islam had begun in
Makkah. On that very basis the people of Makkah have been warned of the evil end
of the tribes of Ad and Thamud and of Pharaoh.
Theme and Subject Matter
Its theme is to affirm the meting out of rewards and punishments in the
Hereafter, which the people of Makkah were not prepared to acknowledge, Let us
consider the reasoning in the order in which it has been presented.
First
of all, swearing oaths by the dawn, the ten nights, the even and the odd, and
the departing night, the listeners have been asked: "Are these things not enough
to testify to the truth of that which you are refusing to acknowledge?" From the
explanation that we have given of these four things in the corresponding notes,
it will become clear that these things are a symbol of the regularity that
exists in the night and day, and swearing oaths by these the question has been
asked in the sense: Even after witnessing this wise system established by God,
do you still need any other evidence to show that it is not beyond the power of
that God Who has brought about this system to establish the Hereafter, and that
it is the very requirement of his wisdom that He should call man to account for
his deeds?
Then, reasoning from man's own history, the evil end of the Ad
and the Thamud and Pharaoh has been cited as an example to show that when they
transgressed all limits and multiplied corruption in the earth, Allah laid upon
them the scourge of His chastisement. This is a proof of the fact that the
system of the universe is not being run by deaf and blind forces, nor is the
world a lawless kingdom of a corrupt ruler, but a Wise Ruler is ruling over it,
the demand of Whose wisdom and justice is continuously visible in the world
itself in man's own history that He should call to account, and reward and
punish accordingly, the being whom He has blessed with reason and moral sense
and given the right of appropriation in the world.
After this, an
appraisal has been made of the general moral state of human society of which
Arab paganism was a conspicuous example; two aspects of it in particular, have
been criticized: first the materialistic attitude of the people on account of
which overlooking the moral good and evil, they regarded only the achievement of
worldly wealth, rank and position, or the absence of it, as the criterion of
honor or disgrace, and had forgotten that neither riches was a reward nor
poverty a punishment, but that Allah is trying man in both conditions to see
what attitude he adopts when blessed with wealth and how he behaves when
afflicted by poverty. Second, the people's attitude under which the orphan child
in their society was left destitute on the death of the father. Nobody asked
after the poor; whoever could, usurped the whole heritage left by the deceased
parent, and drove away the weak heirs fraudulently. The people were so afflicted
with an insatiable greed for wealth that they were never satisfied however much
they might hoard and amass. This criticism is meant to make them realize as to
why the people with such an attitude and conduct in the life of the world should
not be called to account for their misdeeds.
The discourse has been
concluded with the assertion that accountability shall certainly be held and it
will be held on the Day when the Divine Court will be established. At that time
the deniers of the judgment will understand that which they are not
understanding now in spite of instruction and admonition, but understanding then
will be of no avail. The denier will regret and say, "Would that I had provided
for this Day beforehand while I lived in the world." But his regrets will not
save him from Allah's punishment. However, as for the people who would have
accepted the Truth, which the heavenly books and the Prophets of God were
presenting, with full satisfaction of the heart in the world, Allah will be
pleased with them and they will be well pleased with the rewards bestowed by
Allah. They will be called upon to join the righteous and enter Paradise.