Surah Al-Buruj
Constellations • Surah 85 • 22 verses
Introduction
The beginning of this Meccan chapter condemns the persecution of the Christians of Najrân (a city on the border of Yemen and Saudi Arabia) at the hands of the pagans around 524 C.E. The tyrants are warned of the torment of burning, whereas the believers are promised a great reward in Paradise. Both this chapter and the next swear by the towering sky, emphasize Allah’s infinite power, pose a warning to the evildoers, and stress the divinity of the Quran.
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلْبُرُوجِ
By the sky full of constellations,
وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْمَوْعُودِ
and the promised Day ˹of Judgment˺,
وَشَاهِدٍ وَمَشْهُودٍ
and the witness and what is witnessed!
قُتِلَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْأُخْدُودِ
Condemned are the makers of the ditch—
ٱلنَّارِ ذَاتِ ٱلْوَقُودِ
the fire ˹pit˺, filled with fuel—
إِذْ هُمْ عَلَيْهَا قُعُودٌ
when they sat around it,
وَهُمْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَفْعَلُونَ بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ شُهُودٌ
watching what they had ˹ordered to be˺ done to the believers,
وَمَا نَقَمُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ إِلَّآ أَن يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ
who they resented for no reason other than belief in Allah—the Almighty, the Praiseworthy—
ٱلَّذِى لَهُۥ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ شَهِيدٌ
˹the One˺ to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and earth. And Allah is a Witness over all things.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا۟ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا۟ فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ ٱلْحَرِيقِ
Those who persecute the believing men and women and then do not repent will certainly suffer the punishment of Hell and the torment of burning.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٌ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْكَبِيرُ
Surely those who believe and do good will have Gardens under which rivers flow. That is the greatest triumph.
إِنَّ بَطْشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ
Indeed, the ˹crushing˺ grip of your Lord is severe.
إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ
˹For˺ He is certainly the One Who originates and resurrects ˹all˺.
وَهُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلْوَدُودُ
And He is the All-Forgiving, All-Loving—
ذُو ٱلْعَرْشِ ٱلْمَجِيدُ
Lord of the Throne, the All-Glorious,
فَعَّالٌ لِّمَا يُرِيدُ
Doer of whatever He wills.
هَلْ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ ٱلْجُنُودِ
Has the story of the ˹destroyed˺ forces reached you ˹O Prophet˺—
فِرْعَوْنَ وَثَمُودَ
˹the forces of˺ Pharaoh and Thamûd?
بَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فِى تَكْذِيبٍ
Yet the disbelievers ˹still˺ persist in denial.
وَٱللَّهُ مِن وَرَآئِهِم مُّحِيطٌۢ
But Allah encompasses them from all sides.
بَلْ هُوَ قُرْءَانٌ مَّجِيدٌ
In fact, this is a glorious Quran,
فِى لَوْحٍ مَّحْفُوظٍۭ
˹recorded˺ in a Preserved Tablet.
