وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَىٰ
CONSIDER the night as it veils [the earth] in darkness, (1)
وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّىٰ
and the day as it rises bright! (2)
وَمَا خَلَقَ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنْثَىٰ
Consider the creation of the male and the female! (3)
إِنَّ سَعْيَكُمْ لَشَتَّىٰ
Verily, [O men,] you aim at most divergent ends! (4)
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَىٰ وَاتَّقَىٰ
Thus, as for him who gives [to others] and is conscious of God, (5)
وَصَدَّقَ بِالْحُسْنَىٰ
and believes in the truth of the ultimate good – (6)
فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْيُسْرَىٰ
for him shall We make easy the path towards [ultimate] ease. (7)
وَأَمَّا مَنْ بَخِلَ وَاسْتَغْنَىٰ
But as for him who is niggardly, and thinks that he is self-sufficient, (8)
وَكَذَّبَ بِالْحُسْنَىٰ
and calls the ultimate good a lie – (9)
فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْعُسْرَىٰ
for him shall We make easy the path towards hardship: (10)
وَمَا يُغْنِي عَنْهُ مَالُهُ إِذَا تَرَدَّىٰ
and what will his wealth avail him when he goes down [to his grave]? (11)
إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا لَلْهُدَىٰ
BEHOLD, it is indeed for Us to grace [you] with guidance; (12)
وَإِنَّ لَنَا لَلْآخِرَةَ وَالْأُولَىٰ
and, behold, Ours is [the dominion over] the life to come as well as [over] this earlier part [of your life]: (13)
فَأَنْذَرْتُكُمْ نَارًا تَلَظَّىٰ
and so I warn you of the raging fire – (14)
لَا يَصْلَاهَا إِلَّا الْأَشْقَى
[the fire] which none shall have to endure but that most hapless wretch (15)
الَّذِي كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ
who gives the lie to the truth and turns away [from it]. (16)
وَسَيُجَنَّبُهَا الْأَتْقَى
For distant from it shall remain he who is truly conscious of God: (17)
الَّذِي يُؤْتِي مَالَهُ يَتَزَكَّىٰ
he that spends his possessions [on others] so that he might grow in purity – (18)
وَمَا لِأَحَدٍ عِنْدَهُ مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ تُجْزَىٰ
not as payment for favours received, (19)
إِلَّا ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِ الْأَعْلَىٰ
but only out of a longing for the countenance of his Sustainer, the All-Highest: (20)
وَلَسَوْفَ يَرْضَىٰ
and such, indeed, shall in time be well-pleased. (21)
- By the Night as it conceals (the light);6159
- 6159 The evidence of three things is invoked, viz. Night, Day, and the mystery of Sex, and the conclusion is stated in verse 4, that men's aims are diverse. But similarly there are contrasts in nature. What contrast can be greater than between Night and Day? When the Night spreads her veil, the sun's light is hidden, but not lost. The sun is in its place all the time, and will come forth in all its glory again in its own good time. Cf. 91:3, 4, and n. 6149. Man pursuing diverse aims may find, owing to his own position, Allah's light obscured from him for a time, but he must strive hard to put himself in a position to reach it in all its glory.
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By the Night as it conceals (the light);
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
By the night enshrouding
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
I swear by the night when it draws a veil,
— M. Habib Shakir -
By the night as it envelops;
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
By the night when it envelopeth,
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
By the night, when it envelops,
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
By the night when it envelops,
— Ayub Khan -
By the night when it covers up;
— Sher Ali -
CONSIDER the night as it veils [the earth] in darkness,
— Muhammad Asad -
By the night enshrouding
— Arthur Arberry -
By the night when it enshrouds,
— Abu'l Ala Maududi