إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انْفَطَرَتْ
WHEN THE SKY is cleft asunder, (1)
وَإِذَا الْكَوَاكِبُ انْتَثَرَتْ
and when the stars are scattered, (2)
وَإِذَا الْبِحَارُ فُجِّرَتْ
and when the seas burst beyond their bounds, (3)
وَإِذَا الْقُبُورُ بُعْثِرَتْ
and when the graves are overturned – (4)
عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَا قَدَّمَتْ وَأَخَّرَتْ
every human being will [at last] comprehend what he has sent ahead and what he has held back [in this world]. (5)
يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ مَا غَرَّكَ بِرَبِّكَ الْكَرِيمِ
O MAN! What is it that lures thee away from thy bountiful Sustainer, (6)
الَّذِي خَلَقَكَ فَسَوَّاكَ فَعَدَلَكَ
who has created thee, and formed thee in accordance with what thou art meant to be, and shaped thy nature in just proportions, (7)
فِي أَيِّ صُورَةٍ مَا شَاءَ رَكَّبَكَ
having put thee together in whatever form He willed [thee to have]? (8)
كَلَّا بَلْ تُكَذِّبُونَ بِالدِّينِ
Nay, [O men,] but you [are lured away from God whenever you are tempted to] give the lie to [God's] Judgment! (9)
وَإِنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ لَحَافِظِينَ
And yet, verily, there are ever-watchful forces over you, (10)
كِرَامًا كَاتِبِينَ
noble, recording, (11)
يَعْلَمُونَ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ
aware of whatever you do! (12)
إِنَّ الْأَبْرَارَ لَفِي نَعِيمٍ
Behold, [in the life to come] the truly virtuous will indeed be in bliss, (13)
وَإِنَّ الْفُجَّارَ لَفِي جَحِيمٍ
whereas, behold, the wicked will indeed be in a blazing fire – (14)
يَصْلَوْنَهَا يَوْمَ الدِّينِ
[a fire] which they shall enter on Judgment Day, (15)
وَمَا هُمْ عَنْهَا بِغَائِبِينَ
and which they shall not [be able to] evade. (16)
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا يَوْمُ الدِّينِ
And what could make thee conceive what that Judgment Day will be? (17)
ثُمَّ مَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا يَوْمُ الدِّينِ
And once again: What could make thee conceive what that Judgment Day will be? (18)
يَوْمَ لَا تَمْلِكُ نَفْسٌ لِنَفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَالْأَمْرُ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلَّهِ
[It will be] a Day when no human being shall be of the least avail to another human being: for on that Day [it will become manifest that] all sovereignty is God's alone. (19)
- When the Stars are scattered;5999
- 5999 Cf. 81:2, where the word for "stars" (Nujum) is different, and the verb is different. Najm has reference to brightness, and the verb "losing their lustre" was appropriate there, to show the opposite. Kawkab (used here) has more the meaning of a star as fixed in a constellation; and the opposite of a fixed and definite order is "scattered", the verb used here. In fact, throughout this passage, the dominating idea is the disturbance of order and symmetry. The metaphor behind the scattering of the constellations is that in the present order of things we see many things associated together, e.g., rank with honour, wealth with comfort, etc. In the New World this will be seen to have been merely fortuitous. (R).
-
When the Stars are scattered;
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
When the planets are dispersed,
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
And when the stars become dispersed,
— M. Habib Shakir -
And when the stars have fallen and scattered;
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
And when the stars shall be scattered,
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
when the planets are scattered,
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
when the stars are scattered,
— Ayub Khan -
And when the stars are scattered,
— Sher Ali -
and when the stars are scattered,
— Muhammad Asad -
when the stars are scattered,
— Arthur Arberry -
when the stars are scattered,
— Abu'l Ala Maududi