An-Najm

wal-najmi idhā hawā

By the star when it sets!

mā ḍalla ṣāḥibukum wamā ghawā

Your companion has not strayed; he is not deluded;

wamā yanṭiqu ʿani l-hawā

he does not speak from his own desire.

in huwa illā waḥyun yūḥā

The Quran is nothing less than a revelation that is sent to him.

ʿallamahu shadīdu l-quwā

It was taught to him by [an angel] with mighty powers

dhū mirratin fa-is'tawā

and great strength, who stood

wahuwa bil-ufuqi l-aʿlā

on the highest horizon

thumma danā fatadallā

and then approached––coming down

fakāna qāba qawsayni aw adnā

until he was two bow-lengths away or even closer––

fa-awḥā ilā ʿabdihi mā awḥā

and revealed to God’s servant what He revealed.

mā kadhaba l-fuādu mā raā

[The Prophet’s] own heart did not distort what he saw.

afatumārūnahu ʿalā mā yarā

Are you going to dispute with him what he saw with his own eyes?

walaqad raāhu nazlatan ukh'rā

A second time he saw him:

ʿinda sid'rati l-muntahā

by the lote tree beyond which none may pass

ʿindahā jannatu l-mawā

near the Garden of Restfulness,

idh yaghshā l-sid'rata mā yaghshā

when the tree was covered in nameless [splendour].

mā zāgha l-baṣaru wamā ṭaghā

His sight never wavered, nor was it too bold,

laqad raā min āyāti rabbihi l-kub'rā

and he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.

afara-aytumu l-lāta wal-ʿuzā

[Disbelievers], consider al-Lat and al-Uzza,

wamanata l-thālithata l-ukh'rā

and the third one, Manat––

alakumu l-dhakaru walahu l-unthā

are you to have the male and He the female?

til'ka idhan qis'matun ḍīzā

That would be a most unjust distribution!––

in hiya illā asmāon sammaytumūhā antum waābāukum mā anzala l-lahu bihā min sul'ṭānin in yattabiʿūna illā l-ẓana wamā tahwā l-anfusu walaqad jāahum min rabbihimu l-hudā

these are nothing but names you have invented yourselves, you and your forefathers. God has sent no authority for them. These people merely follow guesswork and the whims of their souls, even though guidance has come to them from their Lord.

am lil'insāni mā tamannā

Is man to have everything he wishes for,

falillahi l-ākhiratu wal-ūlā

when the present life and the life to come belong only to God?

wakam min malakin fī l-samāwāti lā tugh'nī shafāʿatuhum shayan illā min baʿdi an yadhana l-lahu liman yashāu wayarḍā

There are many angels in heaven whose intercession will be of no use until God gives permission to those He will, whose words He will accept.

inna alladhīna lā yu'minūna bil-ākhirati layusammūna l-malāikata tasmiyata l-unthā

Those who deny the life to come give the angels female names.

wamā lahum bihi min ʿil'min in yattabiʿūna illā l-ẓana wa-inna l-ẓana lā yugh'nī mina l-ḥaqi shayan

They have no knowledge to base this on: they merely follow guesswork. Guesswork is of no value against the Truth.

fa-aʿriḍ ʿan man tawallā ʿan dhik'rinā walam yurid illā l-ḥayata l-dun'yā

So [Prophet] ignore those who turn away from Our revelation, who want only the life of this world.

dhālika mablaghuhum mina l-ʿil'mi inna rabbaka huwa aʿlamu biman ḍalla ʿan sabīlihi wahuwa aʿlamu bimani ih'tadā

Their knowledge does not go beyond that. Your Lord knows best who strays from His path and who follows guidance.

walillahi mā fī l-samāwāti wamā fī l-arḍi liyajziya alladhīna asāū bimā ʿamilū wayajziya alladhīna aḥsanū bil-ḥus'nā

Everything in the heavens and earth belongs to God. He will repay those who do evil according to their deeds, and reward, with what is best, those who do good.

alladhīna yajtanibūna kabāira l-ith'mi wal-fawāḥisha illā l-lamama inna rabbaka wāsiʿu l-maghfirati huwa aʿlamu bikum idh ansha-akum mina l-arḍi wa-idh antum ajinnatun fī buṭūni ummahātikum falā tuzakkū anfusakum huwa aʿlamu bimani ittaqā

As for those who avoid grave sins and foul acts, though they may commit small sins, your Lord is ample in forgiveness. He has been aware of you from the time He produced you from the earth and from your hiding places in your mothers’ wombs, so do not assert your own goodness:He knows best who is mindful of Him.

afara-ayta alladhī tawallā

[Prophet], consider that man who turned away:

wa-aʿṭā qalīlan wa-akdā

he only gave a little and then he stopped.

aʿindahu ʿil'mu l-ghaybi fahuwa yarā

Does he have knowledge of the Unseen? Can he see [the Hereafter]?

am lam yunabba bimā fī ṣuḥufi mūsā

Has he not been told what was written in the Scriptures of Moses

wa-ib'rāhīma alladhī waffā

and of Abraham, who fulfilled his duty:

allā taziru wāziratun wiz'ra ukh'rā

that no soul shall bear the burden of another;

wa-an laysa lil'insāni illā mā saʿā

that man will only have what he has worked towards;

wa-anna saʿyahu sawfa yurā

that his labour will be seen

thumma yuj'zāhu l-jazāa l-awfā

and that in the end he will be repaid in full for it;

wa-anna ilā rabbika l-muntahā

that the final goal is your Lord;

wa-annahu huwa aḍḥaka wa-abkā

that it is He who makes people laugh and weep;

wa-annahu huwa amāta wa-aḥyā

that it is He who gives death and life;

wa-annahu khalaqa l-zawjayni l-dhakara wal-unthā

that He Himself created the two sexes, male and female,

min nuṭ'fatin idhā tum'nā

from an ejected drop of sperm;

wa-anna ʿalayhi l-nashata l-ukh'rā

that He will undertake the second Creation;

wa-annahu huwa aghnā wa-aqnā

that it is He who gives wealth and possessions;

wa-annahu huwa rabbu l-shiʿ'rā

that He is the Lord of Sirius;

wa-annahu ahlaka ʿādan l-ūlā

that it was He who destroyed, in their entirety, ancient 'Ad

wathamūdā famā abqā

and Thamud,

waqawma nūḥin min qablu innahum kānū hum aẓlama wa-aṭghā

and before them the people of Noah who were even more unjust and insolent;

wal-mu'tafikata ahwā

that it was He who brought down the ruined cities

faghashāhā mā ghashā

and enveloped them in the punishment He ordained for them?

fabi-ayyi ālāi rabbika tatamārā

Which then of your Lord’s blessings do you deny?

hādhā nadhīrun mina l-nudhuri l-ūlā

This is a warning just like the warnings sent in former times.

azifati l-āzifatu

The imminent Hour draws near

laysa lahā min dūni l-lahi kāshifatun

and only God can disclose it.

afamin hādhā l-ḥadīthi taʿjabūna

Do you [people] marvel at this?

wataḍḥakūna walā tabkūna

Why do you laugh instead of weeping?

wa-antum sāmidūna

Why do you pay no heed?

fa-us'judū lillahi wa-uʿ'budū

Bow down before God and worship.