Surah As-Saffat English Translation & Transliteration

¹By those who stand in ranks, ready at Allah's command...

²by those who keep the devils from interfering with the revelation...

³by those who convey the verses of warning:

⁴your God is surely One God!

⁵He is the Lord of the heavens, the earth, and all that is between them, and the Lord of all the easts.

⁶We have surely adorned the nearest heaven with stars.

⁷And We have guarded it against every insolent and rebellious devil.

⁸They cannot listen in on the exalted assembly of the angels, and whenever they try to approach, they are driven away from every side,

⁹repelled from there, and for them there is a lasting punishment.

¹⁰But if one of them snatches a scrap of information from there, a burning fireball overtakes him and destroys him at once.

¹¹Now ask them: Are they harder to create, or the human beings We have created? We created human beings from a simple, sticky clay.

¹²While you marvel at their state, they mock you.

¹³And when they are given admonition, they take no interest in that knowledge.

¹⁴When they see a verse that tells the truth, they make light of it,

¹⁵and they say: "This is nothing but plain sorcery!

¹⁶When we have died and become dust and a heap of bones, are we really to be raised again?

¹⁷And our forefathers too, long dead and gone?" they say.

¹⁸Say to them: —Yes, and utterly disgraced at that!

¹⁹For that, a single mighty blast is enough! And behold! There they are, face to face with the truths!

²⁰—Woe to us, this is the very Day of Reckoning! they will say.

²¹They will be told: "This is the Day of Sorting, which you used to deny and did not take into account!"

²²(22-23) And the angels will be told: —Gather those who associated partners with Allah, their companions, and those they placed between themselves and Allah and served, and show them all the way to Hell!

²³(22-23) And the angels will be told: —Gather those who associated partners with Allah, their companions, and those they placed between themselves and Allah and served, and show them all the way to Hell!

²⁴But hold them back for now, for first they are to be questioned.

²⁵—What is the matter with you? Why can you not help one another?

²⁶But no—today they have surrendered completely.

²⁷Meanwhile they will turn on one another with blame and say to their leaders:

²⁸—You always used to approach us in the guise of the truth.

²⁹The others will say: —No, it was you who knowingly refused to believe...

³⁰—Besides, we had no power over you. On the contrary, you were from the outset an insolent and rebellious people.

³¹—Now our Lord's word of punishment concerning us has come true. There is no way out; we will all suffer this punishment together.

³²—Yes, we incited you to insolence, because we ourselves were insolent.

³³So on that day they will all share in that punishment.

³⁴This is how We will punish the guilty.

³⁵For when they were told: —There is no god but Allah, they would act arrogantly.

³⁶And on the word of a mad poet they would say: "Are we to abandon our gods?"

³⁷Yet he had brought only the truth/the Quran and confirmed the earlier messengers.

³⁸Now you will suffer this painful punishment.

³⁹Know that this punishment is only the recompense for what you did.

⁴⁰Except Allah's servants who are devoted to Him alone in faith.

⁴¹For them there is a known provision:

⁴²fruits of every kind will be offered to them,

⁴³in gardens full of blessings.

⁴⁴They will sit on thrones facing one another.

⁴⁵Cups filled from a clear spring will be passed around among them,

⁴⁶cups full of a drink, white and delightful to those who drink it.

⁴⁷That drink neither causes headaches nor intoxicates.

⁴⁸Beside them will be companions whose eyes are for no one else,

⁴⁹as white as ostrich eggs that have never seen the light of day.

⁵⁰Meanwhile, as they sit facing one another in Paradise, conversing,

⁵¹one of them will say: —I once had a close friend.

⁵²He used to say to me: —Do you really affirm the resurrection?

⁵³Are we to be raised again and called to account after we have died, mingled with the soil, and become a heap of bones?

⁵⁴The other will say: —Would you like to know what state he is in now?

⁵⁵He looks into Hell and sees him right in the middle of the Fire.

⁵⁶—Allah preserve me! You very nearly ruined me too! he says.

⁵⁷—Had it not been for the blessing of my Lord's guidance, the Quran, I too would almost have been among those cast into Hell.

⁵⁸So we will never die again, will we,

⁵⁹—apart from our first death? And we will not be punished either, will we?

⁶⁰This is the magnificent triumph!

⁶¹For a triumph such as this, let those who toil toil and strive!

⁶²Tell me, is it better to be hosted with such a blessing, or the tree of Zaqqum?

⁶³We have made the Zaqqum a means of testing for the wrongdoers who persist in error.

⁶⁴It is a tree that springs from the bottom of Hell.

⁶⁵Its shoots are as ugly as the heads of devils.

⁶⁶They will eat from this Zaqqum and fill their bellies with it.

⁶⁷Then they will drink boiling water that scalds their bowels.

⁶⁸Such a Hell is the place to which they will return in the end.

⁶⁹For they followed the tradition their misguided forefathers had saddled them with,

⁷⁰and they hurried mindlessly in their footsteps.

⁷¹Indeed, most of those before them had also strayed from the right path.

⁷²And We had sent warners to them.

⁷³See, then, what the end of those who were warned yet paid no heed to the warnings was!

⁷⁴The only ones saved were Allah's servants who were devoted to Him alone in faith.

⁷⁵Indeed, Noah once called to Us for help, and how excellently We answered him!

⁷⁶We saved him, his family, and those who followed him from that great calamity.

⁷⁷And so We made his line continue.

⁷⁸(78-79) We caused him to be remembered among all peoples to come with the words: "Peace be upon Noah!"

⁷⁹(78-79) We caused him to be remembered among all peoples to come with the words: "Peace be upon Noah!"

⁸⁰This is how We reward those who do good and act beautifully.

⁸¹For he was one of Our believing servants who believed and trusted wholeheartedly.

⁸²And the others We drowned.

⁸³Abraham, too, was surely one who followed Noah's way.

⁸⁴For he had turned to his Lord with a pure heart.

⁸⁵One day he said to his father and his people: —What is this that you serve?

⁸⁶Do you wish to serve invented gods, placing them between yourselves and Allah?

⁸⁷What, then, do you think of the Lord of the worlds?

⁸⁸At last Abraham worked out a plan in his mind,

⁸⁹and he said: "I am ill."

⁹⁰So they left him there and went away.

⁹¹And Abraham was left alone with the gods they had turned into idols, and he said to them: —Go on, why do you not eat?

⁹²—What is the matter with you, that you do not speak?

⁹³Then, in fury, he struck them a blow with his right hand.

⁹⁴Hearing of this, the people came running to him in alarm and anger.

⁹⁵Abraham said to them: —Why do you serve these things you carve with your own hands,

⁹⁶when it is Allah who created both you and what you carve?

⁹⁷Thereupon they said: —Build a structure to burn Abraham, and throw him into the fire!

⁹⁸They sought to lay a trap for Abraham, but We foiled their trap and brought them to ruin.

⁹⁹In the end Abraham said: —I am going to a place where I can serve my Lord. He will surely show me a way.

¹⁰⁰And he prayed: "My Lord, grant me a child who will be among the good."

¹⁰¹So We gave him the good news of a gentle and forbearing son.

¹⁰²When the boy reached the age at which he could share his father's efforts and concerns, Abraham said to him: —My dear son, in my dream I see that I am sacrificing you; consider, what do you say to this? The boy said: —Dear father, do what you are commanded! If Allah wills, you will find me one of the patient!

¹⁰³Then, when both had shown submission and Abraham had laid his son down on his forehead,

¹⁰⁴We called out to him: "O Abraham!

¹⁰⁵—You have fulfilled what the dream required." This is how We reward those who show submission.

¹⁰⁶This was truly a clear and difficult test.

¹⁰⁷We commanded him to sacrifice a great offering as a ransom in place of the boy.

¹⁰⁸(108-109) We caused him to be remembered among later generations with the words: "Peace be upon Abraham!"

¹⁰⁹(108-109) We caused him to be remembered among later generations with the words: "Peace be upon Abraham!"

¹¹⁰This is how We reward those who carry out their duty sincerely.

¹¹¹For he was one of Our believing servants who believed and trusted.

¹¹²Then We gave him the good news of Isaac, who would be a prophet, one of the righteous.

¹¹³We blessed him and Isaac, and their descendants. But just as good people came from the line of both, so too came those who betrayed their legacy.

¹¹⁴We also honored Moses and Aaron by granting them prophethood.

¹¹⁵We saved them and their people from a great calamity.

¹¹⁶We helped them so much that in the end it was they who prevailed.

¹¹⁷We gave them the Book that set forth the truth clearly.

¹¹⁸And so We guided them to the straight path.

¹¹⁹(119-120) We caused both of them to be remembered among later generations with the words: "Peace be upon Moses and Aaron!"

¹²⁰(119-120) We caused both of them to be remembered among later generations with the words: "Peace be upon Moses and Aaron!"

¹²¹This is how We reward those who carry out their duty sincerely.

¹²²For both of them were among Our believing servants who believed and trusted.

¹²³Elijah (Ilyas), too, was undoubtedly one of the messengers.

¹²⁴He said to his people: —Do you have no fear of Allah at all?

¹²⁵(125-126) Do you implore the idols of Baal, forsaking Allah, the most perfect of creators, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers of old?

¹²⁶(125-126) Do you implore the idols of Baal, forsaking Allah, the most perfect of creators, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers of old?

¹²⁷In the end they rejected him as a liar, so they will certainly be brought before Us for judgment and punishment.

¹²⁸Only those who are devoted to Allah alone in faith will be excepted.

¹²⁹(129-130) And We caused him to be remembered among later generations with the words: "Peace be upon Elijah (Ilyas)!"

¹³⁰(129-130) And We caused him to be remembered among later generations with the words: "Peace be upon Elijah (Ilyas)!"

¹³¹This is how We reward those who carry out their duty well.

¹³²For he was one of Our believing servants who believed and trusted.

¹³³Lot, too, was undoubtedly one of the messengers sent.

¹³⁴Long ago We saved him and his family,

¹³⁵except his aged wife, who was among those who stayed behind and perished.

¹³⁶Then We razed the rest to the ground.

¹³⁷(137-138) And you pass by the places where they lived, morning and evening. Do you never reflect and take a lesson?

¹³⁸(137-138) And you pass by the places where they lived, morning and evening. Do you never reflect and take a lesson?

¹³⁹Jonah, too, was undoubtedly one of the messengers sent.

¹⁴⁰Long ago he had boarded the laden ship like a runaway slave.

¹⁴¹Then lots were drawn among the passengers, and Jonah was among the losers.

¹⁴²As he kept blaming himself, a fish swallowed him.

¹⁴³Had he not been one of those who glorify Allah and repent,

¹⁴⁴he would have remained in the belly of the fish until the day of rising again.

¹⁴⁵Then We cast him, faint and exhausted, onto a desolate shore.

¹⁴⁶And over him We caused a broad-leaved tree of the gourd kind to grow, to give him shade.

¹⁴⁷At last We sent him again as a messenger to a people numbering more than a hundred thousand.

¹⁴⁸This time they believed in Jonah, and We let them enjoy the blessings of this world for a set time.

¹⁴⁹Now ask them: Are daughters your Lord's and sons theirs, is that it?

¹⁵⁰Or did We create the angels female, and were they witnesses to it?

¹⁵¹(151-152) Know well that their saying "Allah has had a child" is one of the slanders they invent. They are plainly lying.

¹⁵²(151-152) Know well that their saying "Allah has had a child" is one of the slanders they invent. They are plainly lying.

¹⁵³Has Allah preferred daughters to sons, is that it?

¹⁵⁴What is the matter with you? How can you make such judgments?

¹⁵⁵Do you never consider what a great slander this is?

¹⁵⁶Or do you have clear evidence to prove this?

¹⁵⁷If you are telling the truth, then bring your book and let us see.

¹⁵⁸And they have even gone so far as to claim a kinship between Allah and the unseen beings. Yet those unseen beings know very well that whoever makes such a claim will be punished.

¹⁵⁹Allah is far removed from and exalted above all the slanders they utter.

¹⁶⁰Only Allah's servants who are devoted to Him alone in faith will not be punished.

¹⁶¹You, and those you serve,

¹⁶²(162-163) can lead no one astray except those who run to Hell on their own feet.

¹⁶³(162-163) can lead no one astray except those who run to Hell on their own feet.

¹⁶⁴(Yet those angels say:) —Each of us has a known station and place with Allah.

¹⁶⁵Yes, we are those who stand in ranks awaiting His command.

¹⁶⁶And we are those who never step outside Allah's command.

¹⁶⁷Yet they used to say:

¹⁶⁸—If we had had in our hands the revelations given to those of old,

¹⁶⁹we would surely have been servants of Allah devoted to Him alone in faith.

¹⁷⁰But now they have not believed in this revelation, the Quran, that has come to them. They will soon learn the truth.

¹⁷¹Indeed, this word has been written for Our servants whom We sent as messengers:

¹⁷²they will surely be helped,

¹⁷³and Our army will surely prevail.

¹⁷⁴So turn away from them for a while!

¹⁷⁵Wait and see how they fare; they too will see how they fare.

¹⁷⁶Do they now want Our punishment to come quickly?

¹⁷⁷Let them know well that when one morning the punishment descends upon their homes, dreadful indeed will be the morning of those who were warned yet would not mend their ways.

¹⁷⁸Yes, keep away from them for a while.

¹⁷⁹Wait and see how they fare; they too will see how they fare.

¹⁸⁰Have no doubt that your Lord, the Possessor of might and power, is free of all their slanders and is the most exalted of all.

¹⁸¹Peace be upon all the messengers who were sent!

¹⁸²And praise (hamd) be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.