Al-Burūj

Verse 1

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

 وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ

Allāh the All-High swore by the heavens, which have constellations that the Sun and Moon pass through;

Verse 2

 وَالْيَوْمِ الْمَوْعُودِ

by the Day of Resurrection, which Allāh has promised His creation that He will gather them together on;

Verse 3

 وَشَاهِدٍ وَمَشْهُودٍ

by what witnesses, bearing testimony, and what is witnessed, with testimony born to it.

Allāh, All-Perfect is He, swears by whatever He wills of His creation; as for creation, it is not allowed for [any] to swear by other than Allāh, for indeed swearing by other than Allāh is shirk [attributing or directing anything that is only for Allāh to other than Him].

Verse 4

 قُتِلَ أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُودِ

Those who dug a huge trench in order to torture the believers were cursed;

Verse 5

 النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُودِ

they set alight a severe fire [full] of fuel;

Verse 6

 إِذْ هُمْ عَلَيْهَا قُعُودٌ

[they were cursed] when they sat above the trenches, not moving from there…

Verse 7

 وَهُمْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَفْعَلُونَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ شُهُودٌ

…and were present over what they were doing to the believers of punishment and torture.

Verse 8

 وَمَا نَقَمُوا مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا أَن يُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ

And they did not punish them with the like of this severe torture [for any reason] other than their having been believers in Allāh Al-ʿAzīz [the Almighty and Insuperable], the One who can never be overcome [by anyone]; Al-Ḥamīd [the Only One worthy of all love, gratitude, and praise] for [all] His speech, actions, and attributes;

Verse 9

 الَّذِي لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ

the One to Whom belongs all possession and control over the Heavens and the Earth; and He, All-Perfect is He, is over all things a Shahīd [Witness]: nothing at all is hidden from Him.

Verse 10

 إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ

Indeed, those who set the believing men and women on fire in order to turn them away from Allāh’s religion—and then afterwards never repented—are going to have, in the Hereafter, torment in the blazing fire of Jahannam, and for them is a severe, burning punishment.

Verse 11

 إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْكَبِيرُ

Indeed, those who believe in Allāh and His Messenger and do righteous deeds will have Gardens under whose palaces and trees flow rivers; that is the triumph of tremendous proportions.

Verse 12

 إِنَّ بَطْشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ

Indeed, your Lord’s retribution against His enemies and His punishment for them is certainly tremendous and severe.

Verse 13

 إِنَّهُ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ

Indeed, it is He [who] first brought creation into existence and will afterwards bring them back.

Verse 14

 وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الْوَدُودُ

And He is Al-Ghafūr [the One Who covers up sins and forgives them] for those who repent; of much love and affection for those closest to Him, [those who act with due fear of Him];

Verse 15

 ذُو الْعَرْشِ الْمَجِيدُ

the One to whom the Throne belongs; Al-Majīd [the Exalted and Great], the One whose Grace and Magnanimity are of the highest degree;

Verse 16

 فَعَّالٌ لِّمَا يُرِيدُ

One Who does whatever He wills—nothing He wills is impossible for Him.

Verse 17

 هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْجُنُودِ

Has the narration reached you, O Messenger, of the [armed] multitudes who disbelieved and rejected their prophets—

Verse 18

 فِرْعَوْنَ وَثَمُودَ

Pharaoh and the [People of] Thamūd—and what came upon them of punishment and retribution?

Verse 19

 بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي تَكْذِيبٍ

People have not drawn a lesson from that; rather, those who have denied [the truth] are still upon disbelief [and rejection], as was the case with those before them.

Verse 20

 وَاللَّهُ مِن وَرَائِهِم مُّحِيطٌ

And Allāh has them completely within His knowledge and power; nothing of them or their actions is hidden from Him.

Verse 21

 بَلْ هُوَ قُرْآنٌ مَّجِيدٌ

The Qurʾān is not, as the disbelieving mushrikūn [those who worship or treat others like Allāh] claim—that it is poetry or sorcery—so they deny its truth; rather, it is a Qurʾān that is exalted and magnificent…

Verse 22

 فِي لَوْحٍ مَّحْفُوظٍ

…[inscribed] upon a Secured Tablet that no change can [ever] come to, or distortion.

Source:

Al-Tafsīr Al-Muyassar. King Fahd Qurʾān Printing Complex. Madīnah: 1434 H.