Surah Al-Isra

Ta'awwudh · Seeking Refuge

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytani ar-rajim. I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.

The Name · Bismillah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillahi ar-Rahmani ar-Rahim. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

✦

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

The Surah · Verses 1 to 52

﴾١﴿ سُبْحَٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِى بَٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَٰتِنَآ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ

Subhaanal lazie asraa bi'abdihee lailam minal Masjidil Haraami ilal Masjidil Aqsal-lazee baaraknaa haw lahoo linuriyahoo min aayaatinaa innahoo Huwas Samee'ul-Baseer

Glory to the One who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose surroundings We blessed, to show him some of Our signs. He is the Hearing, the Seeing.

﴾٢﴿ وَءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَى ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَجَعَلْنَٰهُ هُدًۭى لِّبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَلَّا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ مِن دُونِى وَكِيلًۭا

Wa aatainaa Moosal-Kitaaba wa ja'alnaahu hudal-liBanie Israaa'eela allaa tattakhizoo min doonee wakeelaa

And We gave Musa the Book and made it guidance for the Children of Israel: do not take any protector besides Me,

﴾٣﴿ ذُرِّيَّةَ مَنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ عَبْدًۭا شَكُورًۭا

Zurriyyata man hamalnaa ma'a Nooh innahoo kaana 'abdan shakooraa

descendants of those We carried with Nuh. He was a grateful servant.

﴾٤﴿ وَقَضَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ فِى ٱلْكِتَٰبِ لَتُفْسِدُنَّ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَتَعْلُنَّ عُلُوًّۭا كَبِيرًۭا

Wa qadainaaa ilaa Banie Israaa'eela fil Kitaabi latufsidunna fil ardi marratain wa lata'lunna'uluwwan kabeeraa

And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book: you will cause corruption in the land twice, and you will rise to great arrogance.

﴾٥﴿ فَإِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ أُولَىٰهُمَا بَعَثْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادًۭا لَّنَآ أُو۟لِى بَأْسٍۢ شَدِيدٍۢ فَجَاسُوا۟ خِلَٰلَ ٱلدِّيَارِ ۚ وَكَانَ وَعْدًۭا مَّفْعُولًۭا

Fa-izaa jaaa'a wa'duoolaahumaa ba'asnaaa 'alykurr 'ibaadai-lanaaa ulee baasin shadeedin fajaasoo khilaalad diyaar wa kaana wa'dam maf'oolaa

So when the first of the two promises came, We sent against you servants of Ours of great might, and they searched through the homes, and it was a promise fulfilled.

﴾٦﴿ ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَكُمُ ٱلْكَرَّةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَمْدَدْنَٰكُم بِأَمْوَٰلٍۢ وَبَنِينَ وَجَعَلْنَٰكُمْ أَكْثَرَ نَفِيرًا

Summa radadnaa lakumul karrata 'alaihim wa amdad-naakum-bi amwaalinuw wa baneen wa ja'alnaakum aksara nafeeraa

Then We returned to you the turn against them, and We supplied you with wealth and sons, and made you greater in number.

﴾٧﴿ إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ فَإِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ لِيَسُۥٓـُٔوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍۢ وَلِيُتَبِّرُوا۟ مَا عَلَوْا۟ تَتْبِيرًا

In ahsantum ahsantum li anfusikum wa in asaatum falahaa fa izaa jaaa'a wa'dul aakhirati liyasooo'oo wujoo hakum wa liyadkhulul masjida kamaa dakhaloohu awwala marratinw wa liyutabbiroo mass'alaw tatbeera

If you do good, you do good for yourselves. And if you do evil, it is against yourselves. So when the second promise came, so that they would disfigure your faces, and enter the place of worship as they entered it the first time, and destroy utterly what they had taken over.

﴾٨﴿ عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يَرْحَمَكُمْ ۚ وَإِنْ عُدتُّمْ عُدْنَا ۘ وَجَعَلْنَا جَهَنَّمَ لِلْكَٰفِرِينَ حَصِيرًا

'Asaa rabbukum anyyarhamakum wa in 'uttum 'udnaa wa ja'alnaa jahannama lilkaafireena haseera

Perhaps your Lord will have mercy on you. And if you return, We will return. And We have made Hell a confinement for the disbelievers.

﴾٩﴿ إِنَّ هَٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانَ يَهْدِى لِلَّتِى هِىَ أَقْوَمُ وَيُبَشِّرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًۭا كَبِيرًۭا

Inna haazal Quraana yahdee lillatee hiya aqwamu wa yubashshirul mu'mineenal lazeena ya'maloonas saalihaati anna lahum ajran kabeeraa

This Quran guides to what is most upright, and gives good news to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a great reward,

﴾١٠﴿ وَأَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْءَاخِرَةِ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًۭا

Wa annal lazeena laa yu'minoona bil aakhirati a'tadnaa lahum 'azaaban aleemaa

and that those who do not believe in the hereafter, We have prepared for them a painful punishment.

﴾١١﴿ وَيَدْعُ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ بِٱلشَّرِّ دُعَآءَهُۥ بِٱلْخَيْرِ ۖ وَكَانَ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ عَجُولًۭا

Wa yad'ul insaanu bishsharri du'aaa 'ahoo bilkhayr wa kaanal insaanu 'ajoola

And the human being prays for evil the way he prays for good. The human being has always been hasty.

﴾١٢﴿ وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ ءَايَتَيْنِ ۖ فَمَحَوْنَآ ءَايَةَ ٱلَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَآ ءَايَةَ ٱلنَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةًۭ لِّتَبْتَغُوا۟ فَضْلًۭا مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَلِتَعْلَمُوا۟ عَدَدَ ٱلسِّنِينَ وَٱلْحِسَابَ ۚ وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍۢ فَصَّلْنَٰهُ تَفْصِيلًۭا

Wa ja'alnal laila wannahaara Aayatayni famahawnaaa Aayatal laili wa ja'alnaaa Aayatan nahaari mubsiratal litabtaghoo fadlam mir Rabbikum wa lita'lamoo 'adadas sineena walhisaab wa kulla shai'in fassalnaahu tafseelaa

And We made the night and the day two signs. We erased the sign of the night and made the sign of the day giving sight, so that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and so that you may know the number of years and the reckoning. And We have set out everything in detail.

﴾١٣﴿ وَكُلَّ إِنسَٰنٍ أَلْزَمْنَٰهُ طَٰٓئِرَهُۥ فِى عُنُقِهِۦ ۖ وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُۥ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ كِتَٰبًۭا يَلْقَىٰهُ مَنشُورًا

Wa kulla insaanin alzamnaahu taaa'irahoo fe 'unuqihee wa nukhriji lahoo Yawmal Qiyaamati kitaabany yalqaahu manshooraa

And every person, We have fastened his record to his own neck, and on the Day of Resurrection We will bring out for him a book he will find spread open.

﴾١٤﴿ ٱقْرَأْ كِتَٰبَكَ كَفَىٰ بِنَفْسِكَ ٱلْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًۭا

Iqra kitaabak kafaa binafsikal Yawma 'alaika haseebaa

Read your book. You are sufficient today as a reckoner against yourself.

﴾١٥﴿ مَّنِ ٱهْتَدَىٰ فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِى لِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا ۚ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌۭ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ ۗ وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًۭا

Manihtadaa fa innamaa yahtadee linafsihee wa man dalla fa innamaa yadillu 'alaihaa wa laa taziru waaziratunw wizra ukhraa wa maa kunnaa mu'azzibeena hatta nab'asa Rasoola

Whoever is guided is guided for his own soul, and whoever goes astray goes astray against it. No bearer of a burden bears the burden of another. And We do not punish until We have sent a messenger.

﴾١٦﴿ وَإِذَآ أَرَدْنَآ أَن نُّهْلِكَ قَرْيَةً أَمَرْنَا مُتْرَفِيهَا فَفَسَقُوا۟ فِيهَا فَحَقَّ عَلَيْهَا ٱلْقَوْلُ فَدَمَّرْنَٰهَا تَدْمِيرًۭا

Wa izaaa aradnaaa an nuhlika qaryatan amarnaa mutrafeehaa fafasaqoo feehaa fahaqqa 'alaihal qawlu fadammarnaahaa tadmeeraa

And when We intend to destroy a town, We command its affluent, and they defy in it, so the word comes due against it, and We destroy it completely.

﴾١٧﴿ وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ نُوحٍۢ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِرَبِّكَ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِۦ خَبِيرًۢا بَصِيرًۭا

Wa kam ahlaknaa minal qurooni mim ba'di Nooh wa kafaa bi Rabbika bizunoobi 'ibaadihee Khabeeram Baseeraa

And how many generations We destroyed after Nuh. Your Lord is sufficient, Aware and Seeing of the sins of His servants.

﴾١٨﴿ مَّن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ٱلْعَاجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهُۥ فِيهَا مَا نَشَآءُ لِمَن نُّرِيدُ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا لَهُۥ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَىٰهَا مَذْمُومًۭا مَّدْحُورًۭا

Man kaana yureedul 'aajilata 'ajjalnaa lahoo feehaa maa nashaaa'u liman nureedu summa ja'alnaa lahoo Jahannama yaslaahaa mazmoomammad hooraa

Whoever wants the immediate, We hasten for him in it what We will, for whom We intend. Then We assign him Hell, which he will enter, disgraced and rejected.

﴾١٩﴿ وَمَنْ أَرَادَ ٱلْءَاخِرَةَ وَسَعَىٰ لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌۭ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُم مَّشْكُورًۭا

Wa man araadal Aakhirata wa sa'aa lahaa sa'yahaa wa huwa mu'minun fa ulaaa'ika kaana sa'yuhum mashkooraa

And whoever wants the hereafter and strives for it with the striving due to it, while being a believer, those are the ones whose striving is appreciated.

﴾٢٠﴿ كُلًّۭا نُّمِدُّ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ وَهَٰٓؤُلَآءِ مِنْ عَطَآءِ رَبِّكَ ۚ وَمَا كَانَ عَطَآءُ رَبِّكَ مَحْظُورًا

Kullan numiddu haaa 'ulaaa'i wa haaa'ulaaa'i min 'ataaa'i rabbik wa maa kaana 'ataaa'u rabbika mahzooraa

To each We extend, to these and to those, from the gift of your Lord. The gift of your Lord is not restricted.

﴾٢١﴿ ٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ ۚ وَلَلْءَاخِرَةُ أَكْبَرُ دَرَجَٰتٍۢ وَأَكْبَرُ تَفْضِيلًۭا

Unzur kaifa faddalnaa ba'dahum 'alaa ba'd wa lal Aakhiratu akbaru darajaatinw wa akbaru tafdeelaa

Look how We have favored some of them over others. And the hereafter is greater in ranks and greater in favor.

﴾٢٢﴿ لَّا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا ءَاخَرَ فَتَقْعُدَ مَذْمُومًۭا مَّخْذُولًۭا

Laa taj'al ma'al laahi ilaahan aakhara fataq'uda mazoomam makhzoolaa

Do not set up another god with Allah, or you will sit disgraced and abandoned.

﴾٢٣﴿ ۞ وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَٰنًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّۢ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًۭا كَرِيمًۭا

Wa qadaa Rabbuka allaa ta'budooo illaaa iyyaahu wa bilwaalidaini ihsaanaa immaa yablughanna 'indakal kibara ahaduhumaaa aw kilaahumaa falaa taqul lahumaaa uffinw wa laa tanharhumaa wa qullahumaa qawlan kareemaa

Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be good to parents. If one of them or both reach old age with you, do not say to them a word of disgust, and do not repel them, and speak to them a noble word.

﴾٢٤﴿ وَٱخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ ٱلذُّلِّ مِنَ ٱلرَّحْمَةِ وَقُل رَّبِّ ٱرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِى صَغِيرًۭا

Wakhfid lahumaa janaahaz zulli minar rahmati wa qur Rabbir hamhumaa kamaa rabbayaanee sagheera

And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy, and say, “My Lord, have mercy on them as they raised me when I was small.”

﴾٢٥﴿ رَّبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا فِى نُفُوسِكُمْ ۚ إِن تَكُونُوا۟ صَٰلِحِينَ فَإِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لِلْأَوَّٰبِينَ غَفُورًۭا

Rabbukum a'lamu bimaa fee nufoosikum in takoonoo saaliheena fa innahoo kaana lil awwaabeena Ghafoooraa

Your Lord knows best what is in your souls. If you are righteous, He is Forgiving to those who turn back to Him.

﴾٢٦﴿ وَءَاتِ ذَا ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ حَقَّهُۥ وَٱلْمِسْكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَلَا تُبَذِّرْ تَبْذِيرًا

Wa aati zal qurbaa haqqahoo walmiskeena wabnas sabeeli wa laa tubazzir tabzeeraa

And give the relative his right, and the poor, and the traveler, and do not spend wastefully.

﴾٢٧﴿ إِنَّ ٱلْمُبَذِّرِينَ كَانُوٓا۟ إِخْوَٰنَ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينِ ۖ وَكَانَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ لِرَبِّهِۦ كَفُورًۭا

Innal mubazzireena kaanoo ikhwaanash shayaateeni wa kaanash shaytaanu li Rabbihee kafooraa

The wasteful are brothers of the devils, and Satan has always been ungrateful to his Lord.

﴾٢٨﴿ وَإِمَّا تُعْرِضَنَّ عَنْهُمُ ٱبْتِغَآءَ رَحْمَةٍۢ مِّن رَّبِّكَ تَرْجُوهَا فَقُل لَّهُمْ قَوْلًۭا مَّيْسُورًۭا

Wa immaa turidanna 'anhumub tighaaa'a rahmatim mir rabbika tarjoohaa faqul lahum qawlam maisooraa

And if you turn away from them, seeking mercy from your Lord that you hope for, then speak to them a gentle word.

﴾٢٩﴿ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ يَدَكَ مَغْلُولَةً إِلَىٰ عُنُقِكَ وَلَا تَبْسُطْهَا كُلَّ ٱلْبَسْطِ فَتَقْعُدَ مَلُومًۭا مَّحْسُورًا

Wa laa taj'al yadaka maghloolatan il 'unuqika wa laa tabsut haa kullal basti fataq'uda maloomam mahsooraa

And do not keep your hand chained to your neck, and do not extend it entirely, or you will sit blamed and stripped.

﴾٣٠﴿ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَبْسُطُ ٱلرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَقْدِرُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِۦ خَبِيرًۢا بَصِيرًۭا

Inna Rabbaka yabsuturrizqa limai yashaaa'u wa yaqdir innahoo kaana bi'ibaadihee Khabeeram Baseera

Your Lord extends provision for whom He wills and restricts it. He is Aware and Seeing of His servants.

﴾٣١﴿ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَوْلَٰدَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَٰقٍۢ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ قَتْلَهُمْ كَانَ خِطْـًۭٔا كَبِيرًۭا

Wa laa taqtulooo awlaadakum khashyata imlaaq nahnu narzuquhum wa iyyaakum inna qatlahum kaana khitan kabeeraa

And do not kill your children out of fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you. Killing them is a great sin.

﴾٣٢﴿ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ ٱلزِّنَىٰٓ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ فَٰحِشَةًۭ وَسَآءَ سَبِيلًۭا

Wa laa taqrabuz zinaaa innahoo kaana faahishatanw wa saaa'a sabeelaa

And do not come near unlawful intercourse. It is an indecency and an evil way.

﴾٣٣﴿ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا۟ ٱلنَّفْسَ ٱلَّتِى حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ ۗ وَمَن قُتِلَ مَظْلُومًۭا فَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا لِوَلِيِّهِۦ سُلْطَٰنًۭا فَلَا يُسْرِف فِّى ٱلْقَتْلِ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ مَنصُورًۭا

Wa laa taqtulun nafsal latee harramal laahu illaa bilhaqq wa man qutila mazlooman faqad ja'alnaa liwaliyyihee sultaanan falaa yusrif fil qatli innahoo kaana mansooraa

And do not kill the soul Allah has forbidden, except by right. Whoever is killed wrongfully, We have given his heir authority, but let him not go to excess in killing. He is supported.

﴾٣٤﴿ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ مَالَ ٱلْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّىٰ يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُۥ ۚ وَأَوْفُوا۟ بِٱلْعَهْدِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْـُٔولًۭا

Wa laa taqraboo maalal yateemi illaa billatee hiya ahsanu hattaa yablugha ashuddah wa awfoo bil'ahd, innal 'ahda kaana mas'oolaa

And do not come near the property of the orphan except in the best way, until he reaches his maturity. And fulfill the covenant. The covenant will be asked about.

﴾٣٥﴿ وَأَوْفُوا۟ ٱلْكَيْلَ إِذَا كِلْتُمْ وَزِنُوا۟ بِٱلْقِسْطَاسِ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌۭ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًۭا

Wa awful kaila izaa kiltum wa zinoo bilqistaasil mustaqeem zaalika khairunw wa ahsanu taaweelaa

And give full measure when you measure, and weigh with an even balance. That is better and finer in outcome.

﴾٣٦﴿ وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْبَصَرَ وَٱلْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْـُٔولًۭا

Wa laa taqfu maa laisa laka bihee 'ilm innas sam'a walbasara walfu'aada kullu ulaaa'ika kaana 'anhu mas'oolaa

And do not pursue what you have no knowledge of. Hearing, sight and the heart, all of those will be asked about.

﴾٣٧﴿ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا ۖ إِنَّكَ لَن تَخْرِقَ ٱلْأَرْضَ وَلَن تَبْلُغَ ٱلْجِبَالَ طُولًۭا

Wa laa tamshi fil ardi marahan innaka lan takhriqal arda wa lan tablughal jibaala toola

And do not walk on the earth in arrogance. You will never tear the earth, and you will never reach the mountains in height.

﴾٣٨﴿ كُلُّ ذَٰلِكَ كَانَ سَيِّئُهُۥ عِندَ رَبِّكَ مَكْرُوهًۭا

Kullu zaalika kaana sayyi'uhoo inda Rabbika makroohaa

All of that, its evil is hateful in the sight of your Lord.

﴾٣٩﴿ ذَٰلِكَ مِمَّآ أَوْحَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ رَبُّكَ مِنَ ٱلْحِكْمَةِ ۗ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا ءَاخَرَ فَتُلْقَىٰ فِى جَهَنَّمَ مَلُومًۭا مَّدْحُورًا

Zaalika mimmaaa awhaaa ilaika Rabbuka minal hikmah wa laa taj'al ma'allaahi ilaahan aakhara fatulqaa fee Jahannama maloomam mad hooraa

That is from the wisdom your Lord revealed to you. And do not set up another god with Allah, or you will be thrown into Hell, blamed and rejected.

﴾٤٠﴿ أَفَأَصْفَىٰكُمْ رَبُّكُم بِٱلْبَنِينَ وَٱتَّخَذَ مِنَ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ إِنَٰثًا ۚ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَقُولُونَ قَوْلًا عَظِيمًۭا

Afa asfaakum rabbukum bilbaneena wattakhaza minal malaaa'ikati inaasaa innakum lataqooloona qawlan 'azeema

Has your Lord preferred you with sons and taken daughters from among the angels? You are saying a monstrous thing.

﴾٤١﴿ وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِى هَٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ لِيَذَّكَّرُوا۟ وَمَا يَزِيدُهُمْ إِلَّا نُفُورًۭا

Wa laqad sarrafnaa fee haazal Quraani liyazzakkaroo wa maa yazeeduhum illaa nufooraa

And We have turned it about in this Quran so that they may be reminded, but it only increases them in aversion.

﴾٤٢﴿ قُل لَّوْ كَانَ مَعَهُۥٓ ءَالِهَةٌۭ كَمَا يَقُولُونَ إِذًۭا لَّٱبْتَغَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ ذِى ٱلْعَرْشِ سَبِيلًۭا

Qul law kaana ma'ahooo aalihatun kamaa yaqooloona izal labtaghaw ilaa zil 'Arshi Sabeela

Say, “If there were gods with Him, as they say, they would then have sought a way to the Owner of the Throne.”

﴾٤٣﴿ سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ عُلُوًّۭا كَبِيرًۭا

Subhaanahoo wa Ta'aalaa 'ammaa yaqooloona 'uluwwan kabeeraa

Glory to Him, and He is far exalted above what they say.

﴾٤٤﴿ تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ ٱلسَّبْعُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ ۚ وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِۦ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًۭا

Tusabbihu lahus samaawaatus sab'u wal ardu wa man feehinn wa im min shai'in illaa yusabbihu bihamdihee wa laakil laa tafqahoona tasbeehahum innahoo kaana Haleeman Ghafooraa

The seven heavens and the earth and whoever is in them glorify Him. And there is nothing that does not glorify Him with praise, but you do not understand their glorification. He is Forbearing, Forgiving.

﴾٤٥﴿ وَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ جَعَلْنَا بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْءَاخِرَةِ حِجَابًۭا مَّسْتُورًۭا

Wa izaa qaraatal Quraana ja'alnaa bainaka wa bainal lazeena laa yu'minoona bil aakhirati hijaabam mastooraa

And when you recite the Quran, We place between you and those who do not believe in the hereafter a concealed barrier.

﴾٤٦﴿ وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًۭا ۚ وَإِذَا ذَكَرْتَ رَبَّكَ فِى ٱلْقُرْءَانِ وَحْدَهُۥ وَلَّوْا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَدْبَٰرِهِمْ نُفُورًۭا

Wa ja'alnaa 'alaa quloo bihim akinnatan any yafqahoohu wa fie aazaanihim waqraa wa izaa zakarta Rabbaka fil Quraani wahdahoo wallaw 'alaaa adbaarihim nufooraa

And We place coverings over their hearts, so that they do not understand it, and deafness in their ears. And when you mention your Lord alone in the Quran, they turn their backs in aversion.

﴾٤٧﴿ نَّحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَسْتَمِعُونَ بِهِۦٓ إِذْ يَسْتَمِعُونَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِذْ هُمْ نَجْوَىٰٓ إِذْ يَقُولُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ إِن تَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا رَجُلًۭا مَّسْحُورًا

Nahnu a'lamu bimaa yastami'oona bihie iz yastami'oona ilaika wa iz hum najwaaa iz yaqooluz zaalimoona in tattabi'oona illaa rajulam mas hooraa

We know best what they listen for when they listen to you, and when they are in private conversation, when the wrongdoers say, “You are only following a man under a spell.”

﴾٤٨﴿ ٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ ضَرَبُوا۟ لَكَ ٱلْأَمْثَالَ فَضَلُّوا۟ فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ سَبِيلًۭا

Unzur kaifa daraboo lakal amsaala fadalloo falaa yastatee'oona sabeelaa

Look how they present examples for you, and they have gone astray and cannot find a way.

﴾٤٩﴿ وَقَالُوٓا۟ أَءِذَا كُنَّا عِظَٰمًۭا وَرُفَٰتًا أَءِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ خَلْقًۭا جَدِيدًۭا

Wa qaalooo'a izaa kunnaa 'izaamanw wa rufaatan 'a innaa lamab'oosoona khalqan jadeedaa

And they said, “When we are bones and fragments, will we really be raised as a new creation?”

﴾٥٠﴿ ۞ قُلْ كُونُوا۟ حِجَارَةً أَوْ حَدِيدًا

Qul koonoo jijaaratan aw hadeedaa

Say, “Be stones, or iron,

﴾٥١﴿ أَوْ خَلْقًۭا مِّمَّا يَكْبُرُ فِى صُدُورِكُمْ ۚ فَسَيَقُولُونَ مَن يُعِيدُنَا ۖ قُلِ ٱلَّذِى فَطَرَكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍۢ ۚ فَسَيُنْغِضُونَ إِلَيْكَ رُءُوسَهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هُوَ ۖ قُلْ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونَ قَرِيبًۭا

Aw khalqam mimmaa yakburu fee sudoorikum fasa yaqooloona mai yu'eedunaa qulil lazee fatarakum awwala marrah fasa yunghidoona ilaika ru'oosahum wa yaqooloona mataa huwa qul 'asaaa any yakoona qareeba

or some creation that is greater in your chests.” Then they will say, “Who will bring us back?” Say, “The One who created you the first time.” Then they will shake their heads at you and say, “When is that?” Say, “Perhaps it is near.

﴾٥٢﴿ يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْ فَتَسْتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمْدِهِۦ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا

Yawma yad'ookum fatastajeeboona bihamdihee wa tazunnoona il labistum illaa qaleela

On the Day He calls you, and you respond with His praise, and you think you stayed only a little.

The Tafsir · The Breakdown

What This Part Means

Overview

The Highest Night, and Then the Street.

Verse 1 describes the greatest journey ever granted to a human being, and the title it uses for the man who took it is the smallest one available. Bi abdihi. His servant. At the height of the honor, he is named by his position rather than by his rank. Then, twenty-two verses later, the surah does something startling. It turns to a list of instructions about how to speak to elderly parents, how to spend, what not to approach, how to weigh goods, what not to repeat, and how to walk down a road. The night journey and the conduct sit in the same chapter on purpose. Whatever a man is shown, he is measured by what he does on the ground the next morning.

Verses 1 to 22

Fastened to His Own Neck.

Verse 7 gives the law that governs the whole surah, stated before any of the commands arrive. If you do good, you do good for yourselves. And if you do evil, it is against yourselves. Nothing a man does travels outward without first landing on him. Verse 8 then adds the clause that keeps the door open and shuts it at the same time: and if you return, We will return. Verse 11 is uncomfortably accurate about how men pray. The human being prays for evil the way he prays for good. Not deliberately. With the same confidence, the same urgency, the same certainty that he knows what he is asking for. The verse then names why: the human being has always been hasty. Verses 13 and 14 give the image the surah is built around. Every person, We have fastened his record to his own neck. Ta'ir, what a man sends out, tied where he cannot put it down and cannot see it. Then, on that Day, a book he will find spread open, and two sentences that end every possible dispute. Read your book. You are sufficient today as a reckoner against yourself. No prosecution. He is handed his own file and asked to do the accounting. Verse 15 then removes the last three excuses in a row: guidance is for the one guided, no bearer carries another's burden, and no punishment comes before a messenger. Verse 16 names how a town actually falls, and the mechanism should be read carefully. When We intend to destroy a town, We command its affluent, and they defy in it. The instruction goes to the comfortable first, because they are the ones with the capacity to obey, and their defiance is what brings the word due on everyone. Verses 18 and 19 then set the two ambitions side by side. Whoever wants the immediate is given some of it, for whom We intend, and then assigned Hell. Whoever wants the hereafter gets three conditions, not one: he wants it, he strives for it with the striving due to it, and he is a believer. Sa'aa laha sa'yaha, the effort that the thing itself requires, not the effort he feels like giving. And verse 20 says something merciful about both groups. To each We extend, to these and to those. The gift of your Lord is not restricted. Provision in this life is not the scoreboard, and this verse says so plainly.

Verses 23 to 39

The Commands.

This passage is the operating manual of the surah, and it opens by joining two things in one sentence. Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be good to parents. Then verse 23 gets specific in a way that should stop every son reading it. If one of them or both reach old age with you, do not say to them a word of disgust. Uff. Not a blow, not an insult. The smallest sound of impatience a person can make is legislated. Verse 24 then gives the posture and the words. Lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy, and say, My Lord, have mercy on them as they raised me when I was small. He is taught to ask for mercy on them by naming what they did when he was too small to remember it. Verse 26 turns to money, and verse 27 gives the sharpest line about waste in the Book. The wasteful are brothers of the devils. Not careless. Related. Verse 28 covers the case of a man who has nothing to give and is asked anyway: speak to them a gentle word. Even the refusal is legislated. Verse 29 gives the two-sided rule with an image on each end. Do not keep your hand chained to your neck, and do not extend it entirely. Closed fist, or emptied hand, and both end with a man sitting blamed. Verse 31 addresses killing children out of fear of poverty and corrects the arithmetic: We provide for them and for you. Their provision is named before his. Verse 32 is precise in a way people skip. Do not come near unlawful intercourse. The approach is prohibited, not only the act, because nobody arrives there in a single step. Verse 34 covers the orphan's property and then attaches the covenant, which will be asked about. Verse 35 gives full measure and an even balance. Verse 36 is one of the great verses for this century. Do not pursue what you have no knowledge of. Hearing, sight and the heart, all of those will be asked about. Repeating what you did not verify is placed in a list of prohibitions beside killing and theft, and the three instruments are told they will be questioned individually. Verse 37 closes the list on how a man walks. Do not walk on the earth in arrogance. You will never tear the earth, and you will never reach the mountains in height. Two measurements are offered to the proud man, one below him and one above, and he fails both. Verse 39 then names the whole list for what it is: that is from the wisdom your Lord revealed to you.

Verses 40 to 52

A Concealed Barrier.

Verse 42 gives a short argument with a long reach. If there were gods with Him, as they say, they would then have sought a way to the Owner of the Throne. Any lesser power, on discovering a greater one, would try to reach it. The absence of that traffic is the evidence. Verse 44 then states something that changes how a man hears silence. The seven heavens and the earth and whoever is in them glorify Him. And there is nothing that does not glorify Him with praise, but you do not understand their glorification. Nothing is inert. The only thing missing is the listener. Verses 45 and 46 describe what happens when the Quran is recited to a man who has already decided. A concealed barrier is placed, coverings over the heart, deafness in the ears, and then the tell in verse 46: when you mention your Lord alone, they turn their backs in aversion. It is the word alone that does it. Verse 47 records what they said in private, which is the honest part of any opposition, and verses 49 through 51 give the resurrection argument in its most compressed form. They ask how bones and fragments could be raised, and the answer is a dare: be stones, or iron, or any creation you consider harder still. Then who will bring us back? The One who created you the first time. The argument has never needed to be longer than that.

Structural Summary

Verses One to Fifty-Two. Read Your Book.

The surah opens on the highest night in human history and calls the man who took it a servant. It states early that everything a man does lands on himself first, fastens his record to his own neck, and then hands it to him to read with no prosecutor in the room. It names the affluent as the ones commanded first when a town is about to fall, and separates the man who wants the immediate from the man who wants the hereafter and gives it the striving it actually requires. Then the commands: a word of impatience to an aging parent, the fist and the emptied hand, the approach rather than the act, the measure and the balance, the thing repeated without knowledge, and the walk down a street. It closes by pointing out that everything already glorifies Him and only the listener is missing.

The Practice

Take It Into the Week

Verse 23. Go one full week without a single sound of impatience toward your parents, including the sigh. The verse legislates the smallest one.

Verse 36. Before you repeat anything this week, ask whether you know it. The verse says the ear, the eye and the heart will each be questioned separately.

Verse 29. Look at your last month of giving and find which failure you commit, the chained hand or the emptied one. Correct that one.

آمِين

Prepared with discipline · Ameen

Verse-By-Verse · Test Yourself

The Quiz

Two questions per verse. Translation and a key Arabic word. Walk through it slow. The goal is comprehension, not speed.

Verse 11 / 12

The Verse

What title is used for the Prophet in verse 1?