بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Transcription
Bismi Allahi alrrahmani alrraheemi
Edip-Layth
In the name of God, the Gracious, the Compassionate.
The Monotheist Group
In the name of God, the Almighty, the Merciful.
Muhammad Asad
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace:
Rashad Khalifa
In the name of GOD, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. ,
Shabbir Ahmed
All praise is due to God, the Lord/Cherisher/Sustainer of the Universe and everything therein.
Çeviriyazı
Bismillâhir rahmânir rahîm.
Edip Yüksel
Rahman, Rahim Allah'ın ismiyle
Yaşar Nuri Öztürk
Rahman ve Rahim Allah'ın adıyla...
Muhammed Esed
RAHMÂN, RAHÎM ALLAH ADINA
Ali Bulaç
Rahman ve Rahim olan Allah'ın adıyla

91:1 والشمس وضحىها

Transcription (English)
91:1 Waalshshamsi waduhaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:1 By the Sun and its brightness.1

Note 1

For the function of oaths in the Quran, see 89:5.

The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:1 By the Sun and its brightness.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:1 CONSIDER the sun and its radiant brightness,
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:1 By the sun and its brightness.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:1 Witness is the Sun and its radiant splendor.1

Note 1


This is the 91st Surah of the Qur’an. It has 15 short verses. Human beings are endowed with a NAFS = ‘Self’ termed differently as Soul, Personality, Ego, I-am-ness, I, Me, etc. This NAFS is in a 'raw' form when we are born and it is up to us to refine it, and develop it. The body is only a vehicle to bring to use our will or ‘self’. The person who has primed his own ‘self’ by living according to Permanent Values, becomes a candidate for true Immortality and Paradise in the Hereafter.



Whereas he who fails to prime his own ‘self’ this way, can only be a candidate for mere survival which the Qur’an terms as SAQAR. A life of fire that neither lets live, nor lets die. The fire of regret, anguish and despair. No further evolution is possible for such a ‘self’ - a mere existence of stagnation. That is what Hell is with unrelenting grief and regret on having wasted the great opportunity in the short worldly life.



With the Glorious Name of God, the Instant and Sustaining Source of all Mercy and Kindness



91:2 والقمر اذا تلىها

Transcription (English)
91:2 Waalqamari itha talaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:2 The Moon that comes after it.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:2 And the Moon that comes after it.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:2 and the moon as it reflects the sun!1

Note 1
Lit., ''as it follows it (talaha)", i.e., the sun. According to the great philologist Al-Farra, who lived in the second century after the hijrah, "the meaning is that the moon derives its light from the sun" (quoted by Razi). This is also Raghib's interpretation of the above phrase.
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:2 The moon that follows it.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:2 And the Moon that goes after to borrow its light.

91:3 والنهار اذا جلىها

Transcription (English)
91:3 Waalnnahari itha jallaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:3 The day which reveals.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:3 And the day when it reveals.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:3 Consider the day as it reveals the world,2

Note 2
Lit., "it" - a pronoun apparently indicating "the world" or "the earth" (Zamakhshari). It is to be noted that verses 1-10 stress the polarity - both physical and spiritual - inherent in all creation and contrasting with the oneness and uniqueness of the Creator.
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:3 The day that reveals.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:3 Witness is the day as it brightens the world.

91:4 واليل اذا يغشىها

Transcription (English)
91:4 Waallayli itha yaghshaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:4 The night which covers.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:4 And the night when it covers.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:4 and the night as it veils it darkly!
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:4 The night that covers.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:4 And the night that cloaks it.

91:5 والسماء وما بنىها

Transcription (English)
91:5 Waalssama-i wama banaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:5 The sky and what He built.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:5 And the heaven and what He built.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:5 Consider the sky and its wondrous make,3

Note 3
Lit., "and that which has built it" - i.e., the wondrous qualities which are responsible for the harmony and coherence of the visible cosmos (which is evidently the meaning of the term sama' in this context). Similarly, the subsequent reference to the earth, which reads literally, "that which has spread it out", is apparently an allusion to the qualities responsible for the beauty and variety of its expanse.
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:5 The sky and Him who built it.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:5 And the sky and its wondrous design.

91:6 والارض وما طحىها

Transcription (English)
91:6 Waal-ardi wama tahaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:6 The earth and what He sustains.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:6 And the earth and what He sustains.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:6 and the earth and all its expanse!
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:6 The earth and Him who sustains it.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:6 And the earth and its vast expanse.

91:7 ونفس وما سوىها

91:7 wnfs wma swyaha
Transcription (English)
91:7 Wanafsin wama sawwaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:7 A person and what He made.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:7 And a soul and what He made.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:7 Consider the human self,4 and how it is formed in accordance with what it is meant to be,5

Note 4
As in so many other instances, the term nafs, which has a very wide range of meanings (see first sentence of note 1 on 4:1), denotes here the human self or personality as a whole: that is, a being composed of a physical body and that inexplicable life-essence loosely described as "soul".

Note 5
Lit., "and that which has made [or "formed"] it (sawwaha) in accordance with. . .", etc. For this particular connotation of the verb sawwa, see note 1 on 87:2, which represents the oldest Qur'anic instance of its use in the above sense. The reference to man and that which constitutes the "human personality", as well as the implied allusion to the extremely complex phenomenon of a life-entity in which bodily needs and urges, emotions and intellectual activities are so closely intertwined as to be indissoluble, follows organically upon a call to consider the inexplicable grandeur of the universe - so far as it is perceptible and comprehensible to man - as a compelling evidence of God's creative power.
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:7 The soul and Him who created it.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:7 Consider the human ‘self’ and Him Who endowed it with the capacity to balance itself.

91:8 فالهمها فجورها وتقوىها

Transcription (English)
91:8 Faalhamaha fujooraha wataqwaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:8 So He gave it its evil and good.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:8 So He gave it its evil and good.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:8 and how it is imbued with moral failings as well as with consciousness of God!6

Note 6
Lit., "and [consider] that which has inspired it with its immoral doings (fujuraha) and its God-consciousness (taqwaha)" - i.e., the fact that man is equally liable to rise to great spiritual heights as to fall into utter immorality is an essential characteristic of human nature as such. In its deepest sense, man's ability to act wrongly is a concomitant to his ability to act rightly: in other words, it is this inherent polarity of tendencies which gives to every "right" choice a value and, thus, endows man with moral free will (cf. in this connection note 16 on 7:24).
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:8 Then showed it what is evil and what is good.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:8 And how it is inspired with the capacity to disintegrate or become protected against detriment.

91:9 قد افلح من زكىها

91:9 qd aflH mn zkyaha
Transcription (English)
91:9 Qad aflaha man zakkaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:9 Successful is the one who betters it.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:9 Successful is the one who betters it.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:9 To a happy state shall indeed attain he who causes this [self] to grow in purity,
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:9 Successful is one who redeems it.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:9 Successful is he who grows the ‘self’.

91:10 وقد خاب من دسىها

91:10 wqd Kab mn dsyaha
Transcription (English)
91:10 Waqad khaba man dassaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:10 Failing is the one who hides it.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:10 And failing is the one who hides it.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:10 and truly lost is he who buries it [in darkness].
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:10 Failing is one who neglects it.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:10 And failure is he who suppresses it.

91:11 كذبت ثمود بطغوىها

Transcription (English)
91:11 Kaththabat thamoodu bitaghwaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:11 Thamud denied their transgression.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:11 Thamud denied their transgression.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:11 TO [THIS] TRUTH gave the lie, in their overweening arrogance, [the tribe of] Thamud,7

Note 7
For the story of the tribe of Thamud, given here as an illustration of man's potential wickedness, see 7:73 and the corresponding notes.
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:11 Thamoud's disbelief caused them to transgress.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:11 (Disregarding the principle of human equity) Thamud rejected (Saleh) as they played god.2

Note 2
Tagha = Being Taaghoot = Playing God = Transgressing = Rebelling = Crossing limits = Being arrogant

91:12 اذ انبعث اشقىها

Transcription (English)
91:12 Ithi inbaAAatha ashqaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:12 They followed the worst amongst them.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:12 They followed the worst among them.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:12 when that most hapless wretch from among them rushed forward [to commit his evil deed],
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:12 They followed the worst among them.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:12 Indeed, the most forward among them was picked up for defiance.

91:13 فقال لهم رسول الله ناقة الله وسقيها

Transcription (English)
91:13 Faqala lahum rasoolu Allahi naqataAllahi wasuqyaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:13 God's messenger said to them: "This is God's camel, let her drink."
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:13 So the messenger of God said to them: "This is the camel of God and her place of drinking."
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:13 although God's apostle had told them, "It is a she-camel belonging to God, so let her drink [and do her no harm]!"8

Note 8
Regarding this "she-camel belonging to God", see surah 7, note 57. For the particular reference to the injunction, "Let her drink", see 26:155 and the corresponding note 67. The formulation of this passage shows that the legend of the she-camel was well known in pre-Islamic Arabia.
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:13 GOD's messenger said to them, "This is GOD's camel; let her drink.",
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:13 Although God’s Messenger had told them, “It is a she-camel belonging to God, so let her drink!”3

Note 3
The land belongs to God, and the she-camel represented the weak among them. 7:73, 26:155

91:14 فكذبوه فعقروها فدمدم عليهم ربهم بذنبهم فسوىها

Transcription (English)
91:14 Fakaththaboohu faAAaqaroohafadamdama AAalayhim rabbuhum bithanbihim fasawwaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:14 They rejected him, and they killed her. So their Lord repaid them for their sin and leveled it.2

Note 2

See 26:155; 54:27.

The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:14 But they disbelieved him, and they killed her. So their Lord repaid them for their sin and leveled it.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:14 But they gave him the lie, and cruelly slaughtered her9 - whereupon their Sustainer visited them with utter destruction for this their sin, destroying them all alike:

Note 9
For this rendering of aqaruha, see note 61 on 7:91.
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:14 They disbelieved him and slaughtered her. Their Lord then requited them for their sin and annihilated them.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:14 But they denied him and they killed her. So, their Lord destroyed them all alike for their lagging behind in humanity.

91:15 ولا يخاف عقبها

91:15 wla yKaf Aqbaha
Transcription (English)
91:15 Wala yakhafu AAuqbaha
Edip-Layth (Quran: A Reformist Translation)
91:15 Yet, those who came after remain heedless.
The Monotheist Group (The Quran: A Monotheist Translation)
91:15 Yet, those who came after remain heedless.
Muhammad Asad (The Message Of Quran)
91:15 for none [of them] had any fear of what might befall them.10

Note 10
Implying that their total lack of compassion for God's creatures showed that they did not fear His retribution and, hence, did not really believe in Him.
Rashad Khalifa (The Final Testament)
91:15 Yet, those who came after them remain heedless.,
Shabbir Ahmed (Quran As It Explains Itself)
91:15 None of them had any fear of what might befall them.