Al-Qamar

iq'tarabati l-sāʿatu wa-inshaqqa l-qamaru

The Hour draws near; the moon is split in two.

wa-in yaraw āyatan yuʿ'riḍū wayaqūlū siḥ'run mus'tamirrun

Whenever the disbelievers see a sign, they turn away and say, ‘Same old sorcery!’

wakadhabū wa-ittabaʿū ahwāahum wakullu amrin mus'taqirrun

They reject the truth and follow their own desires––everything is recorded––

walaqad jāahum mina l-anbāi mā fīhi muz'dajarun

although warning tales that should have restrained them have come down to them––

ḥik'matun bālighatun famā tugh'ni l-nudhuru

farreaching wisdom––but these warnings do not help:

fatawalla ʿanhum yawma yadʿu l-dāʿi ilā shayin nukurin

so [Prophet] turn away from them. On the Day the Summoner will summon them to a horrific event,

khushaʿan abṣāruhum yakhrujūna mina l-ajdāthi ka-annahum jarādun muntashirun

eyes downcast, they will come out of their graves like swarming locusts

muh'ṭiʿīna ilā l-dāʿi yaqūlu l-kāfirūna hādhā yawmun ʿasirun

rushing towards the Summoner. The disbelievers will cry, ‘This is a stern day!’

kadhabat qablahum qawmu nūḥin fakadhabū ʿabdanā waqālū majnūnun wa-uz'dujira

The people of Noah rejected the truth before them: they rejected Our servant, saying, ‘He is mad!’ Noah was rebuked,

fadaʿā rabbahu annī maghlūbun fa-intaṣir

and so he called upon his Lord, ‘I am defeated: help me!’

fafataḥnā abwāba l-samāi bimāin mun'hamirin

So We opened the gates of the sky with torrential water,

wafajjarnā l-arḍa ʿuyūnan fal-taqā l-māu ʿalā amrin qad qudira

burst the earth with gushing springs: the waters met for a preordained purpose.

waḥamalnāhu ʿalā dhāti alwāḥin wadusurin

We carried him along on a vessel of planks and nails

tajrī bi-aʿyuninā jazāan liman kāna kufira

that floated under Our watchful eye, a reward for the one who had been rejected.

walaqad taraknāhā āyatan fahal min muddakirin

We have left this as a sign: will anyone take heed?

fakayfa kāna ʿadhābī wanudhuri

How [terrible] was My punishment and [the fulfilment of] My warnings!

walaqad yassarnā l-qur'āna lildhik'ri fahal min muddakirin

We have made it easy to learn lessons from the Quran: will anyone take heed?

kadhabat ʿādun fakayfa kāna ʿadhābī wanudhuri

The people of 'Ad also rejected the truth. How [terrible] was My punishment and [the fulfilment of] My warnings!

innā arsalnā ʿalayhim rīḥan ṣarṣaran fī yawmi naḥsin mus'tamirrin

We released a howling wind against them on a day of terrible disaster;

tanziʿu l-nāsa ka-annahum aʿjāzu nakhlin munqaʿirin

it swept people away like uprooted palm trunks.

fakayfa kāna ʿadhābī wanudhuri

How [terrible] was My punishment and [the fulfilment of] My warnings!

walaqad yassarnā l-qur'āna lildhik'ri fahal min muddakirin

We have made it easy to learn lessons from the Quran: will anyone take heed?

kadhabat thamūdu bil-nudhuri

The people of Thamud also rejected the warnings:

faqālū abasharan minnā wāḥidan nattabiʿuhu innā idhan lafī ḍalālin wasuʿurin

they said, ‘What? A man? Why should we follow a lone man from amongst ourselves? That would be misguided; quite insane!

a-ul'qiya l-dhik'ru ʿalayhi min bayninā bal huwa kadhābun ashirun

Would a mes-sage be given to him alone out of all of us? No, he is an insolent liar!’

sayaʿlamūna ghadan mani l-kadhābu l-ashiru

‘Tomorrow they will know who is the insolent liar,

innā mur'silū l-nāqati fit'natan lahum fa-ir'taqib'hum wa-iṣ'ṭabir

for We shall send them a she-camel to test them: so watch them [Salih] and be patient.

wanabbi'hum anna l-māa qis'matun baynahum kullu shir'bin muḥ'taḍarun

Tell them the water is to be shared between them: each one should drink in turn.’

fanādaw ṣāḥibahum fataʿāṭā faʿaqara

But they called their companion, who took a sword and hamstrung the camel.

fakayfa kāna ʿadhābī wanudhuri

How [terrible] was My punishment and [the fulfilment of] My warnings!

innā arsalnā ʿalayhim ṣayḥatan wāḥidatan fakānū kahashīmi l-muḥ'taẓiri

We released a single mighty blast against them and they ended up like a fencemaker’s dry sticks.

walaqad yassarnā l-qur'āna lildhik'ri fahal min muddakirin

We have made it easy to learn lessons from the Quran: will anyone take heed?

kadhabat qawmu lūṭin bil-nudhuri

The people of Lot rejected the warnings.

innā arsalnā ʿalayhim ḥāṣiban illā āla lūṭin najjaynāhum bisaḥarin

We released a stonebearing wind against them, all except the family of Lot. We saved them before dawn

niʿ'matan min ʿindinā kadhālika najzī man shakara

as a favour from Us: this is how We reward the thankful.

walaqad andharahum baṭshatanā fatamāraw bil-nudhuri

He warned them of Our onslaught, but they dismissed the warning-

walaqad rāwadūhu ʿan ḍayfihi faṭamasnā aʿyunahum fadhūqū ʿadhābī wanudhuri

they even demanded his guests from him- so We sealed their eyes- ‘ Taste My [terrible] punishment and [the fulfilment of] My warnings!’-

walaqad ṣabbaḥahum buk'ratan ʿadhābun mus'taqirrun

and early in the morning a punishment seized them that still remains-

fadhūqū ʿadhābī wanudhuri

‘Taste My [terrible] punishment and [the fulfilment of] My warnings!’

walaqad yassarnā l-qur'āna lildhik'ri fahal min muddakirin

We have made it easy to learn lessons from the Quran: will anyone take heed?

walaqad jāa āla fir'ʿawna l-nudhuru

The people of Pharaoh also received warnings.

kadhabū biāyātinā kullihā fa-akhadhnāhum akhdha ʿazīzin muq'tadirin

They rejected all Our signs so We seized them with all Our might and power.

akuffārukum khayrun min ulāikum am lakum barāatun fī l-zuburi

‘Are your disbelievers any better than these? Were you given an exemption in the Scripture?’

am yaqūlūna naḥnu jamīʿun muntaṣirun

Do they perhaps say, ‘We are a great army and we shall be victorious’?

sayuh'zamu l-jamʿu wayuwallūna l-dubura

Their forces will be routed and they will turn tail and flee.

bali l-sāʿatu mawʿiduhum wal-sāʿatu adhā wa-amarru

But the Hour is their appointed time- the Hour is more severe and bitter:

inna l-muj'rimīna fī ḍalālin wasuʿurin

truly the wicked are misguided and quite insane––

yawma yus'ḥabūna fī l-nāri ʿalā wujūhihim dhūqū massa saqara

on the Day when they are dragged on their faces in Hell. ‘Feel the touch of Hell.’

innā kulla shayin khalaqnāhu biqadarin

We have created all things in due measure;

wamā amrunā illā wāḥidatun kalamḥin bil-baṣari

when We ordain something it happens at once, in the blink of an eye;

walaqad ahlaknā ashyāʿakum fahal min muddakirin

We have destroyed the likes of you in the past. Will anyone take heed?

wakullu shayin faʿalūhu fī l-zuburi

Everything they do is noted in their records:

wakullu ṣaghīrin wakabīrin mus'taṭarun

every action, great or small, is recorded.

inna l-mutaqīna fī jannātin wanaharin

The righteous will live securely among Gardens and rivers,

fī maqʿadi ṣid'qin ʿinda malīkin muq'tadirin

secure in the presence of an all-powerful Sovereign.