The Holy Quran, tr. by Yusuf Ali, [1934], at sacred-texts.com
In the name of God, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful
1. By the Break of Day;
2. By the Nights twice five;
3. By the Even
And Odd (contrasted);
4. And by the Night
When it passeth away;—
5. Is there (not) in these
An adjuration (or evidence)
For those who understand?
6. Seest thou not
How thy Lord dealt
With the ‘Ād (people),—
7. Of the (city of) Iram,
With lofty pillars,
8. The like of which
Were not produced
In (all) the land?
9. And with the Thamūd
(People), who cut out
(Huge) rocks in the-valley?—
10. And with Pharaoh,
Lord of Stakes?
11. (All) these transgressed
Beyond bounds in the lands.
12. And heaped therein
Mischief (on mischief).
13. Therefore did thy Lord
Pour on them a scourge
Of diverse chastisements:
14. For thy Lord is
(As a Guardian)
On a watch-tower.
15. Now, as for man,
When his Lord trieth him,
Giving him honour and gifts,
Then saith he, (puffed up),
"My Lord hath honoured me"
16. But when he trieth him,
Restricting his subsistence
For him, then saith he
(In despair), "My Lord
Hath humiliated me I."
17. Nay, nay! But ye
Honour not the orphans!
18. Nor do ye encourage
One another
To feed the poor!—
19. And ye devour Inheritance—
All with greed,
20. And ye love wealth
With inordinate love!
21. Nay! When the earth
Is pounded to powder,
22. And thy Lord cometh,
And His angels,
Rank upon rank,
23. And Hell, that Day,
Is brought (face to face),—
On that Day will man
Remember, but how will
That remembrance profit him?
24. He will say: "Ah!
Would that I had
Sent forth (Good Deeds)
For (this) my (Future) Life!"
25. For, that Day,
His Chastisement will be
Such as none (else)
Can inflict,
26. And His bonds
Will be such as
None (other) can bind.
27. (To the righteous soul
Will be said:)
"O (thou) soul,
In (complete) rest
And satisfaction!
28. "Come back thou
To thy Lord,—
Well pleased (thyself),
And well-pleasing
Unto Him!
29. "Enter thou, then,
Among my Devotees!
30. "Yea, enter thou
My Heaven!