89. Al-Fajr

By the dawn

By the Dawn

Witness is the Daybreak

And [by] ten nights1

by the Ten Nights

And ten Nights

And [by] the even [number] and the odd

by the even and the odd

And the Even and the Odd

And [by] the night when it passes,

and by the passing night

And Witness to the Truth is the departing of the Night of Ignorance

Is there [not] in [all] that an oath [sufficient] for one of perception?1

is there not in this strong evidence for a man of sense

Is not all this a solemn evidence for every thinking person

Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with ʿAad -

Have you not heard of how your Lord dealt with the tribe of 'Ad

Have you noted how your Lord dealt with Aad? (They had refused to see the Light)

[With] Iram1 - who had lofty pillars,2

the people of Iram, the city of many pillars

Those whose capital was Iram, the city of towers and lofty mansions

The likes of whom had never been created in the land?

the like of which has never been created in the land

The like of which (the towers and castles) were never built in other cities

And [with] Thamūd, who carved out the rocks in the valley?

and with the Thamud, who cut out [huge] rocks in the valley

And with Thamud, who slashed out for dwellings rocks in the valley. (Wadi)

And [with] Pharaoh, owner of the stakes?1

and with Pharaoh of the stakes

And with the powerful Pharaoh of the great Pyramids

[All of] whom oppressed within the lands

All of them committed excesses in their lands

They all played God in the land, towns and cities

And increased therein the corruption.

and caused much corruption in them

And increased corruption and crime therein

So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment.

so your Lord unleashed on them the scourge of punishment

And so, your Lord chastised them with a whipping punishment

Indeed, your Lord is in observation.

for, indeed, your Sustainer is ever on the watch

Behold, your Lord is ever on the watch

And as for man, when his Lord tries him and [thus] is generous to him and favors him, he says, "My Lord has honored me."1

As for man, when his Lord tests him, through honour and blessings, he says, "My Lord has honoured me

But as for man, whenever his Lord lets his life take a turn by giving him honor and Bliss, he says, "My Lord has honored me." (Honor or disgrace are subject to Divine Laws, and are not random phenomena)

But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, "My Lord has humiliated me."

but when He tests him by straitening his means of livelihood, he says, "My Lord has disgraced me

But when He lets his life take a turn by restricting his provision, he says, "My Lord has disgraced me

No!1 But you do not honor the orphan

No indeed, but you show no kindness to the orphan

Nay, nay, you honor not the orphan. (You forget to analyze what you do and what you do not do. 'Yatim' = Orphan= Widow = Solitary = Left alone in the society = The helpless. A benevolent society makes room for the 'Yatim)

And you do not encourage one another to feed the poor.

nor do you urge one another to feed the poor

And you do not encourage one another to feed the needy. ('Miskin' = Poor = Needy = Whose life is stranded for any reason = Whose business has stalled = Who has lost his job = Whose life has been hampered by circumstances. 'Ta'm' = Feeding, includes taking care of all aspects of life. A benevolent collective order takes care of everyone)

And you consume inheritance, devouring [it] altogether,1

and you greedily devour the inheritance of the weak

And you devour the inheritances with greed

And you love wealth with immense love.

and you have a love of wealth which can never be satisfied

And you love wealth with boundless love

No! When the earth has been leveled - pounded and crushed

No indeed! When the earth is crushed and ground to dust

Nay, when the earth is pounded, ground with a grinding

And your Lord has come1 and the angels, rank upon rank,

when your Lord comes down with the angels, rank upon rank

And your Lord comes, and His angels, rank upon rank. (A great Revolution will come and the Divine System will be established. The Universal forces will line up to that end)

And brought [within view], that Day, is Hell - that Day, man will remember, but how [i.e., what good] to him will be the remembrance?

and Hell is made to appear on that Day, then man will be mindful, but what will being mindful then avail him

And Hell is brought close that Day. On that Day man will heed the Advisory, but of what avail will then be the remembrance

He will say, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life."1

He will say, "Oh, would that I had provided beforehand for my life

He will say, "Ah, I wish I had sent forth some good for my life

So on that Day, none will punish [as severely] as His punishment,

On that Day no one will punish as He punishes

For, none chastises as He will chastise on that Day

And none will bind [as severely] as His binding [of the evildoers].

and none can bind with bonds like His

And none binds as He binds. (The logical result of disregarding the Creator's Guidance is getting bound by shackles of mental slavery)

[To the righteous it will be said], "O reassured soul,

[But to the righteous, God will say], "O soul at peace

But Oh! You human being that has attained inner peace! (By living upright (1)

Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him],

return to your Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing

Return unto your Lord, pleased and Approved

And enter among My [righteous] servants

Join My servants

Enter, then, together with My servants

And enter My Paradise."

Enter My Paradise

Yes, enter you My Paradise