Qaf

qaf wal-qur'āni l-majīdi

Qaf By the glorious Quran!

bal ʿajibū an jāahum mundhirun min'hum faqāla l-kāfirūna hādhā shayon ʿajībun

But the disbelievers are amazed that a warner has come from among them and they say, ‘How strange!

a-idhā mit'nā wakunnā turāban dhālika rajʿun baʿīdun

To come back [to life] after we have died and become dust? That is too farfetched.’

qad ʿalim'nā mā tanquṣu l-arḍu min'hum waʿindanā kitābun ḥafīẓun

We know very well what the earth takes away from them: We keep a comprehensive record.

bal kadhabū bil-ḥaqi lammā jāahum fahum fī amrin marījin

But the disbelievers deny the truth when it comes to them; they are in a state of confusion.

afalam yanẓurū ilā l-samāi fawqahum kayfa banaynāhā wazayyannāhā wamā lahā min furūjin

Do they not see the sky above them––how We have built and adorned it, with no rifts in it;

wal-arḍa madadnāhā wa-alqaynā fīhā rawāsiya wa-anbatnā fīhā min kulli zawjin bahījin

how We spread out the earth and put solid mountains on it, and caused every kind of joyous plant to grow in it,

tabṣiratan wadhik'rā likulli ʿabdin munībin

as a lesson and reminder for every servant who turns to God;

wanazzalnā mina l-samāi māan mubārakan fa-anbatnā bihi jannātin waḥabba l-ḥaṣīdi

and how We send blessed water down from the sky and grow with it gardens, the harvest grain,

wal-nakhla bāsiqātin lahā ṭalʿun naḍīdun

and tall palm trees laden with clusters of dates,

riz'qan lil'ʿibādi wa-aḥyaynā bihi baldatan maytan kadhālika l-khurūju

as a provision for everyone; how with water We give [new] life to a land that is dead? This is how the dead will emerge [from their graves].

kadhabat qablahum qawmu nūḥin wa-aṣḥābu l-rasi wathamūdu

The people of Noah disbelieved long before these disbelievers, as did the people of Rass, Thamud,

waʿādun wafir'ʿawnu wa-ikh'wānu lūṭin

Ad, Pharaoh, Lot,

wa-aṣḥābu l-aykati waqawmu tubbaʿin kullun kadhaba l-rusula faḥaqqa waʿīdi

the Forest-Dwellers, Tubba: all of these people disbelieved their messengers, and so My warning was realized.

afaʿayīnā bil-khalqi l-awali bal hum fī labsin min khalqin jadīdin

So were We incapable of the first creation? No indeed! Yet they doubt a second creation.

walaqad khalaqnā l-insāna wanaʿlamu mā tuwaswisu bihi nafsuhu wanaḥnu aqrabu ilayhi min ḥabli l-warīdi

We created man––We know what his soul whispers to him: We are closer to him than his jugular vein––

idh yatalaqqā l-mutalaqiyāni ʿani l-yamīni waʿani l-shimāli qaʿīdun

with two receptors set to record, one on his right side and one on his left:

mā yalfiẓu min qawlin illā ladayhi raqībun ʿatīdun

he does not utter a single word without an ever-present watcher.

wajāat sakratu l-mawti bil-ḥaqi dhālika mā kunta min'hu taḥīdu

The trance of death will bring the Truth with it: ‘This is what you tried to escape.’

wanufikha fī l-ṣūri dhālika yawmu l-waʿīdi

The Trumpet will be sounded: ‘This is the Day [you were] warned of.’

wajāat kullu nafsin maʿahā sāiqun washahīdun

Each person will arrive attended by an [angel] to drive him on and another to bear witness:

laqad kunta fī ghaflatin min hādhā fakashafnā ʿanka ghiṭāaka fabaṣaruka l-yawma ḥadīdun

‘You paid no attention to this [Day]; but today We have removed your veil and your sight is sharp.’

waqāla qarīnuhu hādhā mā ladayya ʿatīdun

The person’s attendant will say, ‘Here is what I have prepared’-

alqiyā fī jahannama kulla kaffārin ʿanīdin

‘Hurl every obstinate disbeliever into Hell,

mannāʿin lil'khayri muʿ'tadin murībin

everyone who hindered good, was aggressive, caused others to doubt,

alladhī jaʿala maʿa l-lahi ilāhan ākhara fa-alqiyāhu fī l-ʿadhābi l-shadīdi

and set up other gods alongside God. Hurl him into severe punishment!’-

qāla qarīnuhu rabbanā mā aṭghaytuhu walākin kāna fī ḍalālin baʿīdin

and his [evil] companion will say, ‘Lord, I did not make him transgress; he had already gone far astray himself.’

qāla lā takhtaṣimū ladayya waqad qaddamtu ilaykum bil-waʿīdi

God will say, ‘Do not argue in My presence. I sent you a warning

mā yubaddalu l-qawlu ladayya wamā anā biẓallāmin lil'ʿabīdi

and My word cannot be changed: I am not unjust to any creature.’

yawma naqūlu lijahannama hali im'talati wataqūlu hal min mazīdin

We shall say to Hell on that day, ‘Are you full?’ and it will reply, ‘Are there no more?’

wa-uz'lifati l-janatu lil'muttaqīna ghayra baʿīdin

But Paradise will be brought close to the righteous and will no longer be distant:

hādhā mā tūʿadūna likulli awwābin ḥafīẓin

‘This is what you were promised––this is for everyone who turned often to God and kept Him in mind,

man khashiya l-raḥmāna bil-ghaybi wajāa biqalbin munībin

who held the Most Gracious in awe, though He is unseen, who comes before Him with a heart turned to Him in devotion-

ud'khulūhā bisalāmin dhālika yawmu l-khulūdi

so enter it in peace. This is the Day of everlasting Life.’

lahum mā yashāūna fīhā waladaynā mazīdun

They will have all that they wish for there, and We have more for them.

wakam ahlaknā qablahum min qarnin hum ashaddu min'hum baṭshan fanaqqabū fī l-bilādi hal min maḥīṣin

We have destroyed even mightier generations before these disbelievers, who travelled through [many] lands- was there any escape?

inna fī dhālika ladhik'rā liman kāna lahu qalbun aw alqā l-samʿa wahuwa shahīdun

There truly is a reminder in this for whoever has a heart, whoever listens attentively.

walaqad khalaqnā l-samāwāti wal-arḍa wamā baynahumā fī sittati ayyāmin wamā massanā min lughūbin

We created the heavens, the earth, and everything between, in six Days without tiring.

fa-iṣ'bir ʿalā mā yaqūlūna wasabbiḥ biḥamdi rabbika qabla ṭulūʿi l-shamsi waqabla l-ghurūbi

So [Prophet], bear everything they say with patience; celebrate the praise of your Lord before the rising and setting of the sun;

wamina al-layli fasabbiḥ'hu wa-adbāra l-sujūdi

proclaim His praise in the night and at the end of every prayer;

wa-is'tamiʿ yawma yunādi l-munādi min makānin qarībin

listen out for the Day when the caller will call from a nearby place.

yawma yasmaʿūna l-ṣayḥata bil-ḥaqi dhālika yawmu l-khurūji

They will come out [from their graves] on that Day, the Day when they hear the mighty blast in reality.

innā naḥnu nuḥ'yī wanumītu wa-ilaynā l-maṣīru

It is We who give life and death; the final return will be to Us

yawma tashaqqaqu l-arḍu ʿanhum sirāʿan dhālika ḥashrun ʿalaynā yasīrun

on the Day when the earth will be torn apart, letting them rush out- that gathering will be easy for Us.

naḥnu aʿlamu bimā yaqūlūna wamā anta ʿalayhim bijabbārin fadhakkir bil-qur'āni man yakhāfu waʿīdi

We know best what the disbelievers say. You [Prophet] are not there to force them, so remind, with this Quran, those who fear My warning.