The only surah beginning with the discrete Arabic letters Alif Lām Mīm that also contains a ayah which requires one who recites it to perform a Prostration of bowing down to the ground before God in worship at the mention of God’s revealed signs. It takes its name from verse 15 which mentions “prostration” (sajdah). The surah emphasized the truth of the Quran at the beginning, and the Prophet is urged at the end of the surah to pay no attention to the disbelievers who cannot see the significance of God’s signs.The surah is also known as: Bowing Down, Bowing down in Worship, The Adoration, Worship.
1
الم
a-l-m (ʾalif lām mīm)
Alif, Lām, Mīm.
2
تَنزيلُ الكِتابِ لا رَيبَ فيهِ مِن رَبِّ العالَمينَ
tanzīlu l-kitābi lā rayba fīhi min rabbi l-ʿālamīna
The [gradual] sending down of the Book, there is no doubt in it, is from the Lord of all the worlds.
3
أَم يَقولونَ افتَراهُ ۚ بَل هُوَ الحَقُّ مِن رَبِّكَ لِتُنذِرَ قَومًا ما أَتاهُم مِن نَذيرٍ مِن قَبلِكَ لَعَلَّهُم يَهتَدونَ
ʾam yaqūlūna ftarāhu bal huwa l-ḥaqqu min rabbika li-tundhira qawman mā ʾatāhum min nadhīrin min qablika laʿallahum yahtadūna
Do they say, ‘He has fabricated it’? Rather it is the truth from your Lord, that you may warn a people to whom there did not come any warner before you, so that they may be guided [to the right path].
4
اللَّهُ الَّذي خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضَ وَما بَينَهُما في سِتَّةِ أَيّامٍ ثُمَّ استَوىٰ عَلَى العَرشِ ۖ ما لَكُم مِن دونِهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلا شَفيعٍ ۚ أَفَلا تَتَذَكَّرونَ
allāhu lladhī khalaqa s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍa wa-mā baynahumā fī sittati ʾayyāmin thumma stawā ʿalā l-ʿarshi mā lakum min dūnihī min waliyyin wa-lā shafīʿin ʾa-fa-lā tatadhakkarūna
It is Allah who created the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them in six days,1 then He settled on the Throne. You do not have besides Him any guardian or intercessor. Will you not then take admonition?That is, in six periods of time. Cf. 57:4.
5
يُدَبِّرُ الأَمرَ مِنَ السَّماءِ إِلَى الأَرضِ ثُمَّ يَعرُجُ إِلَيهِ في يَومٍ كانَ مِقدارُهُ أَلفَ سَنَةٍ مِمّا تَعُدّونَ
yudabbiru l-ʾamra mina s-samāʾi ʾilā l-ʾarḍi thumma yaʿruju ʾilayhi fī yawmin kāna miqdāruhū ʾalfa sanatin mimmā taʿuddūna
He directs the command1 from the heaven to the earth; then it ascends toward Him in a day2 whose span is a thousand years by your reckoning.Cf. 10:3, 31; 13:2.That is, in a period of time.
6
ذٰلِكَ عالِمُ الغَيبِ وَالشَّهادَةِ العَزيزُ الرَّحيمُ
dhālika ʿālimu l-ghaybi wa-sh-shahādati l-ʿazīzu r-raḥīmu
That is the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, the All-mighty, the All-merciful,
7
الَّذي أَحسَنَ كُلَّ شَيءٍ خَلَقَهُ ۖ وَبَدَأَ خَلقَ الإِنسانِ مِن طينٍ
alladhī ʾaḥsana kulla shayʾin khalaqahū wa-badaʾa khalqa l-ʾinsāni min ṭīnin
who perfected everything that He created, and commenced man’s creation from clay.
8
ثُمَّ جَعَلَ نَسلَهُ مِن سُلالَةٍ مِن ماءٍ مَهينٍ
thumma jaʿala naslahū min sulālatin min māʾin mahīnin
Then He made his progeny from an extract of a base fluid.
9
ثُمَّ سَوّاهُ وَنَفَخَ فيهِ مِن روحِهِ ۖ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمعَ وَالأَبصارَ وَالأَفئِدَةَ ۚ قَليلًا ما تَشكُرونَ
thumma sawwāhu wa-nafakha fīhi min rūḥihī wa-jaʿala lakumu s-samʿa wa-l-ʾabṣāra wa-l-ʾafʾidata qalīlan mā tashkurūna
Then He proportioned him and breathed into him of His Spirit, and made for you the hearing, the sight, and the hearts. Little do you thank.
10
وَقالوا أَإِذا ضَلَلنا فِي الأَرضِ أَإِنّا لَفي خَلقٍ جَديدٍ ۚ بَل هُم بِلِقاءِ رَبِّهِم كافِرونَ
wa-qālū ʾa-ʾidhā ḍalalnā fī l-ʾarḍi ʾa-ʾinnā la-fī khalqin jadīdin bal hum bi-liqāʾi rabbihim kāfirūna
They say, ‘When we have been lost in the dust,1 shall we be indeed created anew?’ Rather they disbelieve in the encounter with their Lord.That is, ‘Shall we be brought forth again after our bodies have decomposed and all traces of our physical remains have disappeared in the ground?’
11
۞ قُل يَتَوَفّاكُم مَلَكُ المَوتِ الَّذي وُكِّلَ بِكُم ثُمَّ إِلىٰ رَبِّكُم تُرجَعونَ
qul yatawaffākum malaku l-mawti lladhī wukkila bikum thumma ʾilā rabbikum turjaʿūna
Say, ‘You will be taken away by the angel of death, who has been charged with you. Then you will be brought back to your Lord.’
12
وَلَو تَرىٰ إِذِ المُجرِمونَ ناكِسو رُءوسِهِم عِندَ رَبِّهِم رَبَّنا أَبصَرنا وَسَمِعنا فَارجِعنا نَعمَل صالِحًا إِنّا موقِنونَ
wa-law tarā ʾidhi l-mujrimūna nākisū ruʾūsihim ʿinda rabbihim rabbanā ʾabṣarnā wa-samiʿnā fa-rjiʿnā naʿmal ṣāliḥan ʾinnā mūqinūna
Were you to see when the guilty hang their heads before their Lord [confessing], ‘Our Lord! We have seen and heard. Send us back so that we may act righteously. Indeed we are [now] convinced.’
13
وَلَو شِئنا لَآتَينا كُلَّ نَفسٍ هُداها وَلٰكِن حَقَّ القَولُ مِنّي لَأَملَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الجِنَّةِ وَالنّاسِ أَجمَعينَ
wa-law shiʾnā la-ʾātaynā kulla nafsin hudāhā wa-lākin ḥaqqa l-qawlu minnī la-ʾamlaʾanna jahannama mina l-jinnati wa-n-nāsi ʾajmaʿīna
Had We wished We would have given every soul its guidance, but My word became due [against the defiant]: ‘Surely I will fill hell with all the [guilty] jinn and humans.’1Cf. 7:18; 11:119; 38:85.
14
فَذوقوا بِما نَسيتُم لِقاءَ يَومِكُم هٰذا إِنّا نَسيناكُم ۖ وَذوقوا عَذابَ الخُلدِ بِما كُنتُم تَعمَلونَ
fa-dhūqū bi-mā nasītum liqāʾa yawmikum hādhā ʾinnā nasīnākum wa-dhūqū ʿadhāba l-khuldi bi-mā kuntum taʿmalūna
So taste [the punishment] for your having forgotten the encounter of this day of yours. We [too] have forgotten you. Taste the everlasting punishment because of what you used to do.
15
إِنَّما يُؤمِنُ بِآياتِنَا الَّذينَ إِذا ذُكِّروا بِها خَرّوا سُجَّدًا وَسَبَّحوا بِحَمدِ رَبِّهِم وَهُم لا يَستَكبِرونَ ۩
ʾinnamā yuʾminu bi-ʾāyātinā lladhīna ʾidhā dhukkirū bihā kharrū sujjadan wa-sabbaḥū bi-ḥamdi rabbihim wa-hum lā yastakbirūna
Only those believe in Our signs who, when they are reminded of them, fall down in prostration and celebrate the praise of their Lord, and they are not arrogant.
16
تَتَجافىٰ جُنوبُهُم عَنِ المَضاجِعِ يَدعونَ رَبَّهُم خَوفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمّا رَزَقناهُم يُنفِقونَ
tatajāfā junūbuhum ʿani l-maḍājiʿi yadʿūna rabbahum khawfan wa-ṭamaʿan wa-mimmā razaqnāhum yunfiqūna
Their sides vacate their beds1 to supplicate their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend out of what We have provided them.That is, they abandon their beds at night and forgo the pleasure of sleep to worship their Lord in a state of fear and hope.
17
فَلا تَعلَمُ نَفسٌ ما أُخفِيَ لَهُم مِن قُرَّةِ أَعيُنٍ جَزاءً بِما كانوا يَعمَلونَ
fa-lā taʿlamu nafsun mā ʾukhfiya lahum min qurrati ʾaʿyunin jazāʾan bi-mā kānū yaʿmalūna
No one knows what has been kept hidden for them of comfort as a reward for what they used to do.
18
أَفَمَن كانَ مُؤمِنًا كَمَن كانَ فاسِقًا ۚ لا يَستَوونَ
ʾa-fa-man kāna muʾminan ka-man kāna fāsiqan lā yastawūna
Is someone who is faithful like someone who is a transgressor? They are not equal.
19
أَمَّا الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَعَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ فَلَهُم جَنّاتُ المَأوىٰ نُزُلًا بِما كانوا يَعمَلونَ
ʾammā lladhīna ʾāmanū wa-ʿamilū ṣ-ṣāliḥāti fa-lahum jannātu l-maʾwā nuzulan bi-mā kānū yaʿmalūna
As for those who have faith and do righteous deeds, for them are gardens of the Abode —a hospitality for what they used to do.
20
وَأَمَّا الَّذينَ فَسَقوا فَمَأواهُمُ النّارُ ۖ كُلَّما أَرادوا أَن يَخرُجوا مِنها أُعيدوا فيها وَقيلَ لَهُم ذوقوا عَذابَ النّارِ الَّذي كُنتُم بِهِ تُكَذِّبونَ
wa-ʾammā lladhīna fasaqū fa-maʾwāhumu n-nāru kullamā ʾarādū ʾan yakhrujū minhā ʾuʿīdū fīhā wa-qīla lahum dhūqū ʿadhāba n-nāri lladhī kuntum bihī tukadhdhibūna
As for those who have transgressed, their refuge is the Fire. Whenever they seek to leave it, they will be turned back into it, and they will be told: ‘Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny.’
21
وَلَنُذيقَنَّهُم مِنَ العَذابِ الأَدنىٰ دونَ العَذابِ الأَكبَرِ لَعَلَّهُم يَرجِعونَ
wa-la-nudhīqannahum mina l-ʿadhābi l-ʾadnā dūna l-ʿadhābi l-ʾakbari laʿallahum yarjiʿūna
We shall surely make them taste the nearer punishment before the greater punishment,1 so that they may come back.2Or ‘this side of the greater punishment,’ or ‘aside from the greater punishment.’By ‘the nearer punishment’ is meant the afflictions and hardships the faithless may be made to suffer in the world with the purpose of bringing them back to Allah and in order to save them from the greater punishment of the Hereafter.
22
وَمَن أَظلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكِّرَ بِآياتِ رَبِّهِ ثُمَّ أَعرَضَ عَنها ۚ إِنّا مِنَ المُجرِمينَ مُنتَقِمونَ
wa-man ʾaẓlamu mimman dhukkira bi-ʾāyāti rabbihī thumma ʾaʿraḍa ʿanhā ʾinnā mina l-mujrimīna muntaqimūna
Who is a greater wrongdoer than him who is reminded of his Lord’s signs, whereat he disregards them? Indeed We shall take vengeance upon the guilty.
23
وَلَقَد آتَينا موسَى الكِتابَ فَلا تَكُن في مِريَةٍ مِن لِقائِهِ ۖ وَجَعَلناهُ هُدًى لِبَني إِسرائيلَ
wa-la-qad ʾātaynā mūsā l-kitāba fa-lā takun fī miryatin min liqāʾihī wa-jaʿalnāhu hudan li-banī ʾisrāʾīla
Certainly We gave Moses the Book, [declaring], ‘Do not be in doubt about the encounter with Him,’ and We made it a [source of] guidance for the Children of Israel.
24
وَجَعَلنا مِنهُم أَئِمَّةً يَهدونَ بِأَمرِنا لَمّا صَبَروا ۖ وَكانوا بِآياتِنا يوقِنونَ
wa-jaʿalnā minhum ʾaʾimmatan yahdūna bi-ʾamrinā lammā ṣabarū wa-kānū bi-ʾāyātinā yūqinūna
And amongst them We appointed imams to guide [the people] by Our command, when they had been patient and had conviction in Our signs.
25
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ يَفصِلُ بَينَهُم يَومَ القِيامَةِ فيما كانوا فيهِ يَختَلِفونَ
ʾinna rabbaka huwa yafṣilu baynahum yawma l-qiyāmati fī-mā kānū fīhi yakhtalifūna
Indeed your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that about which they used to differ.
26
أَوَلَم يَهدِ لَهُم كَم أَهلَكنا مِن قَبلِهِم مِنَ القُرونِ يَمشونَ في مَساكِنِهِم ۚ إِنَّ في ذٰلِكَ لَآياتٍ ۖ أَفَلا يَسمَعونَ
ʾa-wa-lam yahdi lahum kam ʾahlaknā min qablihim mina l-qurūni yamshūna fī masākinihim ʾinna fī dhālika la-ʾāyātin ʾa-fa-lā yasmaʿūna
Does it not dawn upon them how many generations We have destroyed before them, amid [the ruins of] whose dwellings they walk? There are indeed signs in that. Will they not then listen?
27
أَوَلَم يَرَوا أَنّا نَسوقُ الماءَ إِلَى الأَرضِ الجُرُزِ فَنُخرِجُ بِهِ زَرعًا تَأكُلُ مِنهُ أَنعامُهُم وَأَنفُسُهُم ۖ أَفَلا يُبصِرونَ
ʾa-wa-lam yaraw ʾannā nasūqu l-māʾa ʾilā l-ʾarḍi l-juruzi fa-nukhriju bihī zarʿan taʾkulu minhu ʾanʿāmuhum wa-ʾanfusuhum ʾa-fa-lā yubṣirūna
Do they not see that We carry water to the parched earth and with it We bring forth crops of which they eat, themselves and their cattle? Will they not then see?
28
وَيَقولونَ مَتىٰ هٰذَا الفَتحُ إِن كُنتُم صادِقينَ
wa-yaqūlūna matā hādhā l-fatḥu ʾin kuntum ṣādiqīna
And they say, ‘When will this judgement be, should you be truthful?’
29
قُل يَومَ الفَتحِ لا يَنفَعُ الَّذينَ كَفَروا إيمانُهُم وَلا هُم يُنظَرونَ
qul yawma l-fatḥi lā yanfaʿu lladhīna kafarū ʾīmānuhum wa-lā hum yunẓarūna
Say, ‘On the day of judgement their [newly found] faith shall not avail the faithless, nor will they be granted any respite.’
30
فَأَعرِض عَنهُم وَانتَظِر إِنَّهُم مُنتَظِرونَ
fa-ʾaʿriḍ ʿanhum wa-ntaẓir ʾinnahum muntaẓirūna
So turn away from them, and wait. They too are waiting.