The surah that crowns the Quran and opens with the chant of a single word proclaiming one of God’s most beautiful names, The All-Beneficent. It takes its name from verse 1 which mentions “the All-beneficent” (al-raḥmān). The surah highlights Gods wonders in this world, describes the end of the world, and paints an evocative picture of the delights of Paradise. Hell is briefly contrasted (verse 43 .) with the joys that await the righteous. The surah is characterized by the refrain “So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?” which runs throughout. The surah divides mankind and jinn into three classes: the disbelievers (verse 41 .), the best of believers (verse 46 .), and the ordinary believers (verse 62 .).The surah is also known as: (God) Most Gracious, The All-Merciful, The Beneficent, The Lord of Mercy, The Merciful, The Mercy-giving, The Most Gracious.
1
الرَّحمٰنُ
ar-raḥmānu
The All-beneficent
2
عَلَّمَ القُرآنَ
ʿallama l-qurʾāna
has taught the Qurʾān.
3
خَلَقَ الإِنسانَ
khalaqa l-ʾinsāna
He created man,
4
عَلَّمَهُ البَيانَ
ʿallamahu l-bayāna
[and] taught him articulate speech.
5
الشَّمسُ وَالقَمَرُ بِحُسبانٍ
ash-shamsu wa-l-qamaru bi-ḥusbānin
The sun and the moon are [disposed] calculatedly,
6
وَالنَّجمُ وَالشَّجَرُ يَسجُدانِ
wa-n-najmu wa-sh-shajaru yasjudāni
and the herb and the tree prostrate [to Allah].
7
وَالسَّماءَ رَفَعَها وَوَضَعَ الميزانَ
wa-s-samāʾa rafaʿahā wa-waḍaʿa l-mīzāna
He raised the sky and set up the balance,
8
أَلّا تَطغَوا فِي الميزانِ
ʾallā taṭghaw fī l-mīzāni
declaring, ‘Do not infringe the balance!
9
وَأَقيمُوا الوَزنَ بِالقِسطِ وَلا تُخسِرُوا الميزانَ
wa-ʾaqīmū l-wazna bi-l-qisṭi wa-lā tukhsirū l-mīzāna
Maintain the weights with justice,and do not shorten the balance!’
10
وَالأَرضَ وَضَعَها لِلأَنامِ
wa-l-ʾarḍa waḍaʿahā li-l-ʾanāmi
And the earth, He laid it out for mankind.
11
فيها فاكِهَةٌ وَالنَّخلُ ذاتُ الأَكمامِ
fīhā fākihatun wa-n-nakhlu dhātu l-ʾakmāmi
In it are fruits and date-palms with sheaths,
12
وَالحَبُّ ذُو العَصفِ وَالرَّيحانُ
wa-l-ḥabbu dhū l-ʿaṣfi wa-r-rayḥānu
grain with husk, and fragrant herbs.
13
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both1 deny?That is, the jinn and humans. The pronoun ‘you’ and the adjective ‘your’ are both dual in the Arabic.
14
خَلَقَ الإِنسانَ مِن صَلصالٍ كَالفَخّارِ
khalaqa l-ʾinsāna min ṣalṣālin ka-l-fakhkhāri
He created manout of dry clay,1 like the potter’s,Cf. 15:26, 28, 33.
15
وَخَلَقَ الجانَّ مِن مارِجٍ مِن نارٍ
wa-khalaqa l-jānna min mārijin min nārin
and created the jinn out of a flame of a fire.
16
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
17
رَبُّ المَشرِقَينِ وَرَبُّ المَغرِبَينِ
rabbu l-mashriqayni wa-rabbu l-maghribayni
Lord of the two easts,and Lord of the two wests!1That is, the points of sunrise and sunset at the winter and summer solstices.
18
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
19
مَرَجَ البَحرَينِ يَلتَقِيانِ
maraja l-baḥrayni yaltaqiyāni
He merged the two seas,1 meeting each other.See the footnote at 35:12.
20
بَينَهُما بَرزَخٌ لا يَبغِيانِ
baynahumā barzakhun lā yabghiyāni
There is a barrier between themwhich they do not overstep.
21
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
22
يَخرُجُ مِنهُمَا اللُّؤلُؤُ وَالمَرجانُ
yakhruju minhumā l-luʾluʾu wa-l-marjānu
From them emerge the pearl and the coral.
23
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
24
وَلَهُ الجَوارِ المُنشَآتُ فِي البَحرِ كَالأَعلامِ
wa-lahu l-jawāri l-munshaʾātu fī l-baḥri ka-l-ʾaʿlāmi
His are the sailing ships1 on the sea[appearing] like landmarks.Or ‘the watercrafts.’
25
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
26
كُلُّ مَن عَلَيها فانٍ
kullu man ʿalayhā fānin
Everyone on it1 is ephemeral,That is, on the earth.
27
وَيَبقىٰ وَجهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الجَلالِ وَالإِكرامِ
wa-yabqā wajhu rabbika dhū l-jalāli wa-l-ʾikrāmi
yet lasting is the Face of your Lord,majestic and munificent.1The adjectives ‘majestic’ and ‘munificent’ pertain to the Face.
28
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
29
يَسأَلُهُ مَن فِي السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ ۚ كُلَّ يَومٍ هُوَ في شَأنٍ
yasʾaluhū man fī s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi kulla yawmin huwa fī shaʾnin
Everyone in the heavens and the earth asks Him.Every day He is engaged in some work.
30
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
31
سَنَفرُغُ لَكُم أَيُّهَ الثَّقَلانِ
sa-nafrughu lakum ʾayyuha th-thaqalāni
We shall soon make Ourselves unoccupied for you,O you notable two!1That is, the jinn and humans, or the Qurʾān and the Prophet’s Household, referred to as ‘thaqalayn’ in a famous tradition cited in Sunnī and Shī‘ī sources.
32
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
33
يا مَعشَرَ الجِنِّ وَالإِنسِ إِنِ استَطَعتُم أَن تَنفُذوا مِن أَقطارِ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ فَانفُذوا ۚ لا تَنفُذونَ إِلّا بِسُلطانٍ
yā-maʿshara l-jinni wa-l-ʾinsi ʾini staṭaʿtum ʾan tanfudhū min ʾaqṭāri s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi fa-nfudhū lā tanfudhūna ʾillā bi-sulṭānin
O company of jinn and humans!If you can pass throughthe confines of the heavens and the earth,then do pass through.But you will not pass throughexcept by an authority [from Allah].
34
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
35
يُرسَلُ عَلَيكُما شُواظٌ مِن نارٍ وَنُحاسٌ فَلا تَنتَصِرانِ
yursalu ʿalaykumā shuwāẓun min nārin wa-nuḥāsun fa-lā tantaṣirāni
There will be unleashed upon youa flash of fire and a smoke;then you will not be able to help one another.
36
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
37
فَإِذَا انشَقَّتِ السَّماءُ فَكانَت وَردَةً كَالدِّهانِ
fa-ʾidhā nshaqqati s-samāʾu fa-kānat wardatan ka-d-dihāni
When the sky is split open,and turns crimson like tanned leather.
38
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
39
فَيَومَئِذٍ لا يُسأَلُ عَن ذَنبِهِ إِنسٌ وَلا جانٌّ
fa-yawmaʾidhin lā yusʾalu ʿan dhanbihī ʾinsun wa-lā jānnun
On that dayneither humans will be questioned about their sinsnor jinn.1Cf. 28:78.
40
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
41
يُعرَفُ المُجرِمونَ بِسيماهُم فَيُؤخَذُ بِالنَّواصي وَالأَقدامِ
yuʿrafu l-mujrimūna bi-sīmāhum fa-yuʾkhadhu bi-n-nawāṣī wa-l-ʾaqdāmi
The guilty will be recognized by their mark;so they will be seized by the forelocks and the feet.
42
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
43
هٰذِهِ جَهَنَّمُ الَّتي يُكَذِّبُ بِهَا المُجرِمونَ
hādhihī jahannamu llatī yukadhdhibu bihā l-mujrimūna
‘This is the hellwhich the guilty would deny!’
44
يَطوفونَ بَينَها وَبَينَ حَميمٍ آنٍ
yaṭūfūna baynahā wa-bayna ḥamīmin ʾānin
They shall circuit between itand boiling hot water.
45
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
46
وَلِمَن خافَ مَقامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتانِ
wa-li-man khāfa maqāma rabbihī jannatāni
For him who stands in awe of his Lordwill be two gardens.
47
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
48
ذَواتا أَفنانٍ
dhawātā ʾafnānin
Both abounding in branches.1Or ‘Both full of variety;’ that is, of fruits.
49
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
50
فيهِما عَينانِ تَجرِيانِ
fīhimā ʿaynāni tajriyāni
In both of them will be two flowing springs.
51
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
52
فيهِما مِن كُلِّ فاكِهَةٍ زَوجانِ
fīhimā min kulli fākihatin zawjāni
In both of them will be two kinds of every fruit.
53
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
54
مُتَّكِئينَ عَلىٰ فُرُشٍ بَطائِنُها مِن إِستَبرَقٍ ۚ وَجَنَى الجَنَّتَينِ دانٍ
muttakiʾīna ʿalā furushin baṭāʾinuhā min ʾistabraqin wa-janā l-jannatayni dānin
[They will be] reclining on bedslined with green silk.And the fruit of the two gardens will benear at hand.
55
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
56
فيهِنَّ قاصِراتُ الطَّرفِ لَم يَطمِثهُنَّ إِنسٌ قَبلَهُم وَلا جانٌّ
fīhinna qāṣirātu ṭ-ṭarfi lam yaṭmithhunna ʾinsun qablahum wa-lā jānnun
In them are maidens of restrained glances,whom no human has touched before,nor jinn.
57
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
58
كَأَنَّهُنَّ الياقوتُ وَالمَرجانُ
ka-ʾannahunna l-yāqūtu wa-l-marjānu
As though they were rubies and corals.
59
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
60
هَل جَزاءُ الإِحسانِ إِلَّا الإِحسانُ
hal jazāʾu l-ʾiḥsāni ʾillā l-ʾiḥsānu
Is the requital of goodness anythingbut goodness?
61
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
62
وَمِن دونِهِما جَنَّتانِ
wa-min dūnihimā jannatāni
Beside these two, there will be two [other] gardens.
63
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
64
مُدهامَّتانِ
mudhāmmatāni
Dark green.
65
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
66
فيهِما عَينانِ نَضّاخَتانِ
fīhimā ʿaynāni naḍḍākhatāni
In both of them will be two gushing springs.
67
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
68
فيهِما فاكِهَةٌ وَنَخلٌ وَرُمّانٌ
fīhimā fākihatun wa-nakhlun wa-rummānun
In both of them will be fruits,date-palms and pomegranates.
69
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
70
فيهِنَّ خَيراتٌ حِسانٌ
fīhinna khayrātun ḥisānun
In them are maidens good and lovely.
71
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
72
حورٌ مَقصوراتٌ فِي الخِيامِ
ḥūrun maqṣūrātun fī l-khiyāmi
Houris secluded in pavilions.
73
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
74
لَم يَطمِثهُنَّ إِنسٌ قَبلَهُم وَلا جانٌّ
lam yaṭmithhunna ʾinsun qablahum wa-lā jānnun
Whom no human has touched before,nor jinn.
75
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
76
مُتَّكِئينَ عَلىٰ رَفرَفٍ خُضرٍ وَعَبقَرِيٍّ حِسانٍ
muttakiʾīna ʿalā rafrafin khuḍrin wa-ʿabqariyyin ḥisānin
Reclining on green cushionsand lovely carpets.
77
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُما تُكَذِّبانِ
fa-bi-ʾayyi ʾālāʾi rabbikumā tukadhdhibāni
So which of your Lord’s bountieswill you both deny?
78
تَبارَكَ اسمُ رَبِّكَ ذِي الجَلالِ وَالإِكرامِ
tabāraka smu rabbika dhī l-jalāli wa-l-ʾikrāmi
Blessed is the Name of your Lord,the Majestic and the Munificent!