Surah As-Sajdah

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.

✦

The Surah · As-Sajdah

﴾١﴿ الٓمٓ

Alif Laam Mim

Alif Lam Mim.

﴾٢﴿ تَنزِيلُ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِن رَّبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

Tanzilul Kitaabi laa raiba fihi mir rabbil 'aalamin

The revelation of the Book, in which there is no doubt, is from the Lord of the worlds.

﴾٣﴿ أَمْ يَقُولُونَ ٱفْتَرَىٰهُ ۚ بَلْ هُوَ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ لِتُنذِرَ قَوْمًۭا مَّآ أَتَىٰهُم مِّن نَّذِيرٍۢ مِّن قَبْلِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ

Am yaqulunaf taraahu bal huwal haqqu mir rabbika litunzira qawma maa ataahum min nazirim min qablika la'allahum yahtadun

Or do they say he invented it? No, it is the truth from your Lord, so that you may warn a people to whom no warner came before you, so that they may be guided.

﴾٤﴿ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍۢ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ ۖ مَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ مِن وَلِىٍّۢ وَلَا شَفِيعٍ ۚ أَفَلَا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ

Allaahul lazi khalaqas samaawaati wal arda wa maa bainahumaa fi sittati ayyaam; thummas tawaa 'alal 'arsh; maa lakum min dunihi minw waliyyin wa laa shafi'; afalaa tatazakkarun

Allah is the One who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days, then established Himself above the Throne. You have no protector or intercessor besides Him. Will you not remember?

﴾٥﴿ يُدَبِّرُ ٱلْأَمْرَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ فِى يَوْمٍۢ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُۥٓ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍۢ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ

Yudabbirul amra minas samaa'i ilal ardi thumma ya'ruju ilaihi fi yawmin kaana miqdaaruhu alfa sanatim mimmaa ta'uddun

He directs the affair from the sky to the earth, then it ascends to Him on a Day whose measure is a thousand years of what you count.

﴾٦﴿ ذَٰلِكَ عَٰلِمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَٰدَةِ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

Zaalika 'aalimul ghaybi wa shahaadatil 'azizur rahim

That is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Mighty, the Merciful,

﴾٧﴿ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقَهُۥ ۖ وَبَدَأَ خَلْقَ ٱلْإِنسَٰنِ مِن طِينٍۢ

Allazi ahsana kulla shai in khalaqa; wa bada a khalqal insaani min tin

who perfected everything He created, and began the creation of man from clay,

﴾٨﴿ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ نَسْلَهُۥ مِن سُلَٰلَةٍۢ مِّن مَّآءٍۢ مَّهِينٍۢ

Thumma ja'ala naslahu min sulaalatim mim maaa'im maheen

then made his offspring from an extract of a humble fluid,

﴾٩﴿ ثُمَّ سَوَّىٰهُ وَنَفَخَ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِهِۦ ۖ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْأَبْصَٰرَ وَٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةَ ۚ قَلِيلًۭا مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ

Thumma sawwaahu wa nafakha fihi mir ruhihih; wa ja'ala lakumus sam'a wal absaara wal af'idah; taqalilam maa tashkurun

then formed him and breathed into him of His spirit, and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. Little do you give thanks.

﴾١٠﴿ وَقَالُوٓا۟ أَءِذَا ضَلَلْنَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ أَءِنَّا لَفِى خَلْقٍۢ جَدِيدٍۭ ۚ بَلْ هُم بِلِقَآءِ رَبِّهِمْ كَٰفِرُونَ

Wa qaalu 'a izaa dalalnaa fil ardi 'a innaa lafi khalqin jadid; bal hum biliqaa'i rabbihim kaafirrun

They say, “When we are lost in the earth, will we be in a new creation?” Rather, they disbelieve in the meeting with their Lord.

﴾١١﴿ ۞ قُلْ يَتَوَفَّىٰكُم مَّلَكُ ٱلْمَوْتِ ٱلَّذِى وُكِّلَ بِكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ تُرْجَعُونَ

Qul yatawaffaakum malakul mawtil lazi wukkila bikum thumma ilaa rabbikum turja'un

Say, “The angel of death, who has been put in charge of you, will take you. Then you will be returned to your Lord.”

﴾١٢﴿ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُوا۟ رُءُوسِهِمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَآ أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَٱرْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَٰلِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ

Wa law taraa izil mujrimuna naakisu ru'usihim 'inda rabbihim rabbanaa absarnaa wa sami'naa farji'naa na'mal saalihan innaa muqinun

If you could see the criminals hanging their heads before their Lord. “Our Lord, we have seen and we have heard, so return us. We will do righteous work. We are now certain.”

﴾١٣﴿ وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَءَاتَيْنَا كُلَّ نَفْسٍ هُدَىٰهَا وَلَٰكِنْ حَقَّ ٱلْقَوْلُ مِنِّى لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ

Wa law shi'naa la aatainaa kulla nafsin hudaahaa wa laakin haqqal qawlu minni la amla'anna jahannama minal jinnati wannaasi ajma'in

Had We willed, We would have given every soul its guidance, but the word from Me came true: I will fill Hell with jinn and people together.

﴾١٤﴿ فَذُوقُوا۟ بِمَا نَسِيتُمْ لِقَآءَ يَوْمِكُمْ هَٰذَآ إِنَّا نَسِينَٰكُمْ ۖ وَذُوقُوا۟ عَذَابَ ٱلْخُلْدِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

Fazuqu bimaa nasitum liqaa'a yawminkum haaza innaa nasinaakum wa zuqu 'azaabal khuldi bimaa kuntum ta'malun

So taste it, for you forgot the meeting of this Day of yours. We have forgotten you. Taste the punishment of eternity for what you used to do.

﴾١٥﴿ إِنَّمَا يُؤْمِنُ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِهَا خَرُّوا۟ سُجَّدًۭا وَسَبَّحُوا۟ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ۩

Innamaa yu'minu bi aayaatinal lazina izaa zukkiru bihaa kharru sujjadanw wa sabbahu bihamdi rabbihim wa hum laa yastakbirun

Only those believe in Our verses who, when they are reminded by them, fall down in prostration and glorify their Lord with praise, and they are not arrogant.

✦

﴾١٦﴿ تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًۭا وَطَمَعًۭا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

Tatajaafaa junubuhum 'anil madaaji'i yad'una rabbahum khawfanw wa tama'anw wa mimmaa razaqnaahum yunfiqun

Their sides part from their beds, calling upon their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend from what We provided them.

﴾١٧﴿ فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌۭ مَّآ أُخْفِىَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍۢ جَزَآءًۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ

Falaa ta'lamu nafsum maa ukhfiya lahum min qurrati a'yunin jazaa'am bimaa kaanu ya'malun

No soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for the eyes, as a reward for what they used to do.

﴾١٨﴿ أَفَمَن كَانَ مُؤْمِنًۭا كَمَن كَانَ فَاسِقًۭا ۚ لَّا يَسْتَوُۥنَ

Afaman kaana mu'minan kaman kaana faasiqaa; laa yasta wun

Is the one who is a believer like the one who is defiantly disobedient? They are not equal.

﴾١٩﴿ أَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ فَلَهُمْ جَنَّٰتُ ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ نُزُلًۢا بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ

Ammal lazina aamanu wa 'amilus saalihaati falahum jannaatul maawa nuzulam bimaa kaanu ya'malun

As for those who believed and did righteous deeds, for them are the gardens of refuge, as a welcome for what they used to do.

﴾٢٠﴿ وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ فَسَقُوا۟ فَمَأْوَىٰهُمُ ٱلنَّارُ ۖ كُلَّمَآ أَرَادُوٓا۟ أَن يَخْرُجُوا۟ مِنْهَآ أُعِيدُوا۟ فِيهَا وَقِيلَ لَهُمْ ذُوقُوا۟ عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ ٱلَّذِى كُنتُم بِهِۦ تُكَذِّبُونَ

Wa ammal lazina fasaqu famaawaahumn Naaru kullamaa araadu any yakhruju minhaa u'idu fihaa wa qila lahum zuqu 'zaaban Naaril lazi kuntum bihi tukazzibun

As for those who defied, their refuge is the Fire. Every time they want to come out of it, they are returned into it, and it is said to them, “Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny.”

﴾٢١﴿ وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُم مِّنَ ٱلْعَذَابِ ٱلْأَدْنَىٰ دُونَ ٱلْعَذَابِ ٱلْأَكْبَرِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

Wa lanuziqan nahum minal 'azaabil ladnaa dunal 'azaabil akbari la'allahum yarji'un

We will make them taste the nearer punishment before the greater punishment, so that they may return.

﴾٢٢﴿ وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكِّرَ بِـَٔايَٰتِ رَبِّهِۦ ثُمَّ أَعْرَضَ عَنْهَآ ۚ إِنَّا مِنَ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ مُنتَقِمُونَ

Wa man azlamu mimman zukkira bi aayaati rabbihi summa a'rada 'anhaa; innaa minal mujrimina muntaqimun

Who does greater wrong than one who is reminded of the verses of his Lord and then turns away from them? We will take retribution from the criminals.

﴾٢٣﴿ وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَى ٱلْكِتَٰبَ فَلَا تَكُن فِى مِرْيَةٍۢ مِّن لِّقَآئِهِۦ ۖ وَجَعَلْنَٰهُ هُدًۭى لِّبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ

Wa laqad aatainaa Musal Kitaaba falaa takun fi miryatim mil liqaa'ihi wa ja'alnaahu hudal li Bani Israa'il

We gave Musa the Book, so do not be in doubt about meeting Him, and We made it guidance for the Children of Israel.

﴾٢٤﴿ وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُمْ أَئِمَّةًۭ يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا لَمَّا صَبَرُوا۟ ۖ وَكَانُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ

Wa ja'alnaa minhum a'immatany yahduna bi amrinaa lammaa sabaru wa kaanu bi aayaatinaa yuqinun

We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command, when they were patient and were certain of Our verses.

﴾٢٥﴿ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ يَفْصِلُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا۟ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ

Inna rabbaka huwa yafsilu bainahum yawmal qiyaamati fimaa kaanu fihi yakhtalifun

Your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that in which they differed.

﴾٢٦﴿ أَوَلَمْ يَهْدِ لَهُمْ كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ يَمْشُونَ فِى مَسَٰكِنِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَءَايَٰتٍ ۖ أَفَلَا يَسْمَعُونَ

Awalam yahdi lahum kam ahlaknaa min qablihim minal quruni yamshuna fi masaakinihim; inna fi zaalika la aayaatin afalaa yasma'un

Is it not a guidance for them, how many generations We destroyed before them, in whose dwellings they now walk? In that are signs. Will they not hear?

﴾٢٧﴿ أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ أَنَّا نَسُوقُ ٱلْمَآءَ إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلْجُرُزِ فَنُخْرِجُ بِهِۦ زَرْعًۭا تَأْكُلُ مِنْهُ أَنْعَٰمُهُمْ وَأَنفُسُهُمْ ۖ أَفَلَا يُبْصِرُونَ

Awalam yaraw annaa nasuqul maa'a ilal ardil juruzi fanukhriju bihi zar'an taakulu minhu an'aamuhum wa anfusuhum afalaa yubsirun

Do they not see that We drive water to the barren land and bring out crops from it, from which their cattle and they themselves eat? Will they not see?

﴾٢٨﴿ وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَٰذَا ٱلْفَتْحُ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ

Wa yaquluna mataa haazal fat hu in kuntum saadiqin

They say, “When is this decision, if you are truthful?”

﴾٢٩﴿ قُلْ يَوْمَ ٱلْفَتْحِ لَا يَنفَعُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِيمَٰنُهُمْ وَلَا هُمْ يُنظَرُونَ

Qul yawmal fat hi laa yanfa'ul lazina kafaru imaanuhum wa laa hum yunzarun

Say, “On the Day of Decision, the belief of those who disbelieved will not benefit them, and they will not be given respite.”

﴾٣٠﴿ فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَٱنتَظِرْ إِنَّهُم مُّنتَظِرُونَ

Fa a'rid 'anhum wantazir innahum muntazirun

So turn away from them and wait. They are waiting too.

The Tafsir · The Breakdown

What The Surah Means

Overview

Thirty Verses, and One Posture

As-Sajdah is short and it moves in one direction. It opens on the Book and the Throne, descends through the making of man out of clay and a humble fluid, and then arrives at the only response the surah accepts: a man on the ground. Verse 15 names it, and the verse itself carries a prostration in recitation. Verse 16 then does something no other surah does in quite the same way. It identifies the people of that prostration not by what they say but by what happens to their beds. Their sides part from their beds. The surah measures a man by the hour when nobody is watching him. Al-Bukhari and Muslim record from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to recite this surah and Surah Al-Insan in the Fajr prayer on Friday, which places these thirty verses at exactly the hour they describe.

Verses 1 to 11

Perfected, Then Made From Clay

Verse 7 is the sentence to hold. He perfected everything He created, ahsana kulla shay'in khalaqah, and then, in the same breath, began the creation of man from clay. The perfection and the clay are not in tension. The design is complete and the material is humble, and a man who forgets either half gets himself wrong. Verse 8 keeps the humility going: an extract of a humble fluid. Verse 9 is the turn. Then formed him and breathed into him of His spirit, and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. Three instruments, listed in that order, hearing before sight, and then the heart that decides what to do with both. The verse ends by measuring the response. Little do you give thanks. Not none. Little. A man is not accused of having no gratitude. He is told his gratitude is out of proportion to what he was handed. Verse 5 sets the scale he is working inside. He directs the affair from the sky to the earth, then it ascends to Him on a Day whose measure is a thousand years of what you count. Verse 11 removes the last piece of control a man imagines he keeps. The angel of death, who has been put in charge of you, will take you. Wukkila, appointed, assigned to the task. The appointment already exists.

Verses 12 to 22

The Ones Whose Sides Leave the Bed

Verse 12 shows the criminals with their heads hanging, saying the exact right words at exactly the wrong time. We have seen and we have heard, so return us, we will do righteous work, we are now certain. Every element of faith is present in that sentence. Sight, hearing, intention and certainty. It is worth nothing, because certainty that arrives when the unseen becomes seen is not certainty, it is observation. Then verse 15 and verse 16 give the opposite man. Verse 15 defines belief by a physical reaction: when he is reminded, he goes down. Verse 16 gives the practice. Their sides part from their beds, calling upon their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend from what We provided them. Three things in one verse, and they are the three hardest to fake. Leaving warmth, praying with both fear and hope held at once, and giving money. Nobody sees any of them. Verse 17 states the payment. No soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for the eyes. Al-Bukhari and Muslim record from Abu Hurayrah the words of Allah in a sacred hadith, that He has prepared for His righteous servants what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived. The hiding is deliberate, and it corresponds exactly to the hiddenness of the deed. A man who worships in the dark is paid in a currency that has not been shown to anyone. Verse 21 explains the difficulty a man is currently in. We will make them taste the nearer punishment before the greater punishment, so that they may return. The smaller pain has a purpose written into the verse. It is a call back, not a verdict.

Verses 23 to 30

Leaders, When They Were Patient

Verse 24 is the leadership verse of the Quran and it names its two conditions with no room to negotiate. We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command, when they were patient and were certain of Our verses. Sabr and yaqin. Patience without certainty produces endurance with no direction. Certainty without patience produces a man who is right and quits early. The verse says imamah was granted lamma sabaru, at the point when they were patient, not before it. Leadership here is not appointed, it is arrived at. Verse 26 turns to the ruins again. How many generations We destroyed before them, in whose dwellings they now walk. Men live inside the evidence and do not hear it. Verse 27 turns to water on barren land, which is the same argument delivered as a kindness rather than a warning. Verse 29 closes the door on the late arrival, in the same way Saba does. On the Day of Decision, the belief of those who disbelieved will not benefit them. Verse 30 gives the Prophet, peace be upon him, an instruction that is also a discipline for anyone who has been arguing too long. So turn away from them and wait. They are waiting too. Both parties are waiting for the same event. Only one of them knows what it is.

The Structure · At A Glance

Thirty Verses. Their Sides Part From Their Beds.

The surah moves from the Book and the Throne down to clay, then to the three instruments a man was given and the small gratitude he returns for them. It shows the criminals producing perfect faith at the moment it stops counting, and beside them the people who get up in the night, hold fear and hope together, and spend. It attaches leadership to patience and certainty, points at the ruins men walk through daily, and ends by telling the one addressed to stop arguing and wait.

The Practice · Daily Integration

Thirty Verses. Their Sides Part From Their Beds.

Verse 16. Set one night this week to leave the bed before Fajr, even for ten minutes. The verse measures the leaving, not the length.

Verse 9. Name the three instruments out loud, hearing, sight, heart, and name one thing each has taken in this week that you would not want recorded.

Verse 24. Pick the one thing you are certain about and have been impatient with. Give it another season without changing the standard.

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 71 / 10

The Verse

What does verse 7 say about everything Allah created?