Al-Inshiqaaq

When the sky is ripped apart,

إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انْشَقَّتْ

idhā l-samāu inshaqqat

obeying its Lord as it rightly must,

وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ

wa-adhinat lirabbihā waḥuqqat

when the earth is levelled out,

وَإِذَا الْأَرْضُ مُدَّتْ

wa-idhā l-arḍu muddat

casts out its contents, and becomes empty,

وَأَلْقَتْ مَا فِيهَا وَتَخَلَّتْ

wa-alqat mā fīhā watakhallat

obeying its Lord as it rightly must,

وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ

wa-adhinat lirabbihā waḥuqqat

you humans, toiling laboriously towards your Lord, will meet Him:

يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ

yāayyuhā l-insānu innaka kādiḥun ilā rabbika kadḥan famulāqīhi

whoever is given his record in his right hand

فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ

fa-ammā man ūtiya kitābahu biyamīnihi

will have an easy reckoning

فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا

fasawfa yuḥāsabu ḥisāban yasīran

and return to his people well pleased,

وَيَنْقَلِبُ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا

wayanqalibu ilā ahlihi masrūran

but whoever is given his record from behind his back

وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ وَرَاءَ ظَهْرِهِ

wa-ammā man ūtiya kitābahu warāa ẓahrihi

will cry out for destruction––

فَسَوْفَ يَدْعُو ثُبُورًا

fasawfa yadʿū thubūran

he will burn in the blazing Fire.

وَيَصْلَىٰ سَعِيرًا

wayaṣlā saʿīran

He used to live among his people well pleased.

إِنَّهُ كَانَ فِي أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا

innahu kāna fī ahlihi masrūran

He thought he would never return [to his Lord]––

إِنَّهُ ظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ يَحُورَ

innahu ẓanna an lan yaḥūra

indeed he will! His Lord was watching him.

بَلَىٰ إِنَّ رَبَّهُ كَانَ بِهِ بَصِيرًا

balā inna rabbahu kāna bihi baṣīran

I swear by the glow of sunset,

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالشَّفَقِ

falā uq'simu bil-shafaqi

by the night and what it covers,

وَاللَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ

wa-al-layli wamā wasaqa

by the full moon,

وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا اتَّسَقَ

wal-qamari idhā ittasaqa

you will progress from stage to stage.

لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَنْ طَبَقٍ

latarkabunna ṭabaqan ʿan ṭabaqin

So why do they not believe?

فَمَا لَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

famā lahum lā yu'minūna

Why, when the Quran is read to them, do they not prostrate themselves [to God]?

وَإِذَا قُرِئَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقُرْآنُ لَا يَسْجُدُونَ

wa-idhā quri-a ʿalayhimu l-qur'ānu lā yasjudūna

No! The disbelievers reject the Quran––

بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُكَذِّبُونَ

bali alladhīna kafarū yukadhibūna

God knows best what they keep hidden inside––

وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يُوعُونَ

wal-lahu aʿlamu bimā yūʿūna

so give them news of a painful torment.

فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ

fabashir'hum biʿadhābin alīmin

But those who believe and do good deeds will have a never-ending reward.

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ

illā alladhīna āmanū waʿamilū l-ṣāliḥāti lahum ajrun ghayru mamnūnin