Surah Al-Fajr: Meaning, Translation and Transliteration
Surah Al-FajrRead all 30 verses in Arabic, with transliteration and English translationRead →Surah Al-Fajr, "The Dawn", opens with oaths by the dawn and by ten nights, and closes with one of the most loved passages in the Quran: "O reassured soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing to Him." In between, it reminds us of nations that were destroyed for their arrogance, corrects a mistake people make about wealth and poverty, and shows the Day when everyone will wish they had prepared.
This article gives the full surah in Arabic, a transliteration and the English translation, then goes through its meaning section by section.
The full surah
وَٱلۡفَجۡرِ وَلَيَالٍ عَشۡرٖ وَٱلشَّفۡعِ وَٱلۡوَتۡرِ وَٱلَّيۡلِ إِذَا يَسۡرِ هَلۡ فِي ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٞ لِّذِي حِجۡرٍ أَلَمۡ تَرَ كَيۡفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ إِرَمَ ذَاتِ ٱلۡعِمَادِ ٱلَّتِي لَمۡ يُخۡلَقۡ مِثۡلُهَا فِي ٱلۡبِلَٰدِ وَثَمُودَ ٱلَّذِينَ جَابُواْ ٱلصَّخۡرَ بِٱلۡوَادِ وَفِرۡعَوۡنَ ذِي ٱلۡأَوۡتَادِ ٱلَّذِينَ طَغَوۡاْ فِي ٱلۡبِلَٰدِ فَأَكۡثَرُواْ فِيهَا ٱلۡفَسَادَ فَصَبَّ عَلَيۡهِمۡ رَبُّكَ سَوۡطَ عَذَابٍ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِٱلۡمِرۡصَادِ فَأَمَّا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ إِذَا مَا ٱبۡتَلَىٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ فَأَكۡرَمَهُۥ وَنَعَّمَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّيٓ أَكۡرَمَنِ وَأَمَّآ إِذَا مَا ٱبۡتَلَىٰهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيۡهِ رِزۡقَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّيٓ أَهَٰنَنِ كـَلَّاۖ بَل لَّا تُكۡرِمُونَ ٱلۡيَتِيمَ وَلَا تَحَٰٓضُّونَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلۡمِسۡكِينِ وَتَأۡكُلُونَ ٱلتُّرَاثَ أَكۡلٗا لَّمّٗا وَتُحِبُّونَ ٱلۡمَالَ حُبّٗا جَمّٗا كـَلَّآۖ إِذَا دُكَّتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ دَكّٗا دَكّٗا وَجَآءَ رَبُّكَ وَٱلۡمَلَكُ صَفّٗا صَفّٗا وَجِاْيٓءَ يَوۡمَئِذِۭ بِجَهَنَّمَۚ يَوۡمَئِذٖ يَتَذَكَّرُ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُ ٱلذِّكۡرَىٰ يَقُولُ يَٰلَيۡتَنِي قَدَّمۡتُ لِحَيَاتِي فَيَوۡمَئِذٖ لَّا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُۥٓ أَحَدٞ وَلَا يُوثِقُ وَثَاقَهُۥٓ أَحَدٞ يَٰٓأَيَّتُهَا ٱلنَّفۡسُ ٱلۡمُطۡمَئِنَّةُ ٱرۡجِعِيٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةٗ مَّرۡضِيَّةٗ فَٱدۡخُلِي فِي عِبَٰدِي وَٱدۡخُلِي جَنَّتِي
Transliteration
- Wal-fajr
- Wa layālin ʿashr
- Wash-shafʿi wal-watr
- Wal-layli idhā yasr
- Hal fī dhālika qasamul-lidhī ḥijr
- Alam tara kayfa faʿala rabbuka bi-ʿĀd
- Irama dhātil-ʿimād
- Allatī lam yukhlaq mithluhā fil-bilād
- Wa Thamūdal-ladhīna jābuṣ-ṣakhra bil-wād
- Wa Firʿawna dhil-awtād
- Alladhīna ṭaghaw fil-bilād
- Fa-aktharū fīhal-fasād
- Fa-ṣabba ʿalayhim rabbuka sawṭa ʿadhāb
- Inna rabbaka labil-mirṣād
- Fa-ammal-insānu idhā mabtalāhu rabbuhū fa-akramahū wa naʿʿamahū fa-yaqūlu rabbī akraman
- Wa ammā idhā mabtalāhu fa-qadara ʿalayhi rizqahū fa-yaqūlu rabbī ahānan
- Kallā bal lā tukrimūnal-yatīm
- Wa lā taḥāḍḍūna ʿalā ṭaʿāmil-miskīn
- Wa taʾkulūnat-turātha aklal-lammā
- Wa tuḥibbūnal-māla ḥubban jammā
- Kallā idhā dukkatil-arḍu dakkan dakkā
- Wa jāʾa rabbuka wal-malaku ṣaffan ṣaffā
- Wa jīʾa yawmaʾidhim bi-jahannam, yawmaʾidhiy-yatadhakkarul-insānu wa annā lahudh-dhikrā
- Yaqūlu yā laytanī qaddamtu li-ḥayātī
- Fa-yawmaʾidhil-lā yuʿadhdhibu ʿadhābahū aḥad
- Wa lā yūthiqu wathāqahū aḥad
- Yā ayyatuhan-nafsul-muṭmaʾinnah
- Irjiʿī ilā rabbiki rāḍiyatam-marḍiyyah
- Fadkhulī fī ʿibādī
- Wadkhulī jannatī
English translation (Saheeh International)
By the dawn, and [by] ten nights, and [by] the even [number] and the odd, and [by] the night when it passes. Is there [not] in [all] that an oath [sufficient] for one of perception?
Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with ʿAad - [with] Iram - who had lofty pillars, the likes of whom had never been created in the land? And [with] Thamūd, who carved out the rocks in the valley? And [with] Pharaoh, owner of the stakes? [All of] whom oppressed within the lands and increased therein the corruption. So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment. Indeed, your Lord is in observation.
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." But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, "My Lord has humiliated me." No! But you do not honor the orphan and you do not encourage one another to feed the poor. And you consume inheritance, devouring [it] altogether, and you love wealth with immense love.
No! When the earth has been leveled - pounded and crushed - and your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank, 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? He will say, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life." So on that Day, none will punish [as severely] as His punishment, and none will bind [as severely] as His binding [of the evildoers].
[To the righteous it will be said], "O reassured soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], and enter among My [righteous] servants and enter My Paradise." (89:1-30)
If you learned to read the Quran in the IndoPak script, here is the same surah as it appears in a South Asian mushaf:
وَالۡفَجۡرِۙ وَلَيَالٍ عَشۡرٍۙ وَّالشَّفۡعِ وَالۡوَتۡرِۙ وَالَّيۡلِ اِذَا يَسۡرِۚ هَلۡ فِىۡ ذٰلِكَ قَسَمٌ لِّذِىۡ حِجۡرٍؕ اَلَمۡ تَرَ كَيۡفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍۙ اِرَمَ ذَاتِ الۡعِمَادِۙ الَّتِىۡ لَمۡ يُخۡلَقۡ مِثۡلُهَا فِى الۡبِلَادِۙ وَثَمُوۡدَ الَّذِيۡنَ جَابُوا الصَّخۡرَ بِالۡوَادِۙ وَفِرۡعَوۡنَ ذِى الۡاَوۡتَادِۙ الَّذِيۡنَ طَغَوۡا فِى الۡبِلَادِۙ فَاَكۡثَرُوۡا فِيۡهَا الۡفَسَادَۙ فَصَبَّ عَلَيۡهِمۡ رَبُّكَ سَوۡطَ عَذَابٍ ۙۚ اِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالۡمِرۡصَادِؕ فَاَمَّا الۡاِنۡسَانُ اِذَا مَا ابۡتَلٰٮهُ رَبُّهٗ فَاَكۡرَمَهٗ وَنَعَّمَهٗ ۙ فَيَقُوۡلُ رَبِّىۡۤ اَكۡرَمَنِؕ وَاَمَّاۤ اِذَا مَا ابۡتَلٰٮهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيۡهِ رِزۡقَهٗ ۙ فَيَقُوۡلُ رَبِّىۡۤ اَهَانَنِۚ كَلَّا بَلۡ لَّا تُكۡرِمُوۡنَ الۡيَتِيۡمَۙ وَلَا تَحٰٓضُّوۡنَ عَلٰى طَعَامِ الۡمِسۡكِيۡنِۙ وَتَاۡكُلُوۡنَ التُّرَاثَ اَكۡلًا لَّـمًّا ۙ وَّتُحِبُّوۡنَ الۡمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا ؕ كَلَّاۤ اِذَا دُكَّتِ الۡاَرۡضُ دَكًّا دَكًّا ۙ وَّجَآءَ رَبُّكَ وَالۡمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا ۚ وَجِاىْٓءَ يَوۡمَٮِٕذٍۢ بِجَهَنَّمَ ۙ يَوۡمَٮِٕذٍ يَّتَذَكَّرُ الۡاِنۡسَانُ وَاَنّٰى لَـهُ الذِّكۡرٰىؕ يَقُوۡلُ يٰلَيۡتَنِىۡ قَدَّمۡتُ لِحَـيَاتِىۚ فَيَوۡمَٮِٕذٍ لَّا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهٗۤ اَحَدٌ ۙ وَّلَا يُوۡثِقُ وَثَاقَهٗۤ اَحَدٌ ؕ يٰۤاَيَّتُهَا النَّفۡسُ الۡمُطۡمَٮِٕنَّةُ ۖ ارۡجِعِىۡۤ اِلٰى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرۡضِيَّةً ۚ فَادۡخُلِىۡ فِىۡ عِبٰدِىۙ وَادۡخُلِىۡ جَنَّتِى
You can read and listen to Surah Al-Fajr with its translation, or read it with the Urdu translation.
About the surah
Al-Fajr is the 89th surah of the Quran, with 30 verses, in the 30th juz. It is Meccan, from the years when the Muslims were few and the leaders of Makkah were wealthy, powerful and dismissive. Its themes speak directly to that situation: power doesn't last, wealth is a test rather than a sign of Allah's favour, and the believer who holds firm will be called home in peace. It takes its name from its first word, al-fajr, the dawn.
Verses 1–5: The oaths
وَٱلۡفَجۡرِ وَلَيَالٍ عَشۡرٖ وَٱلشَّفۡعِ وَٱلۡوَتۡرِ وَٱلَّيۡلِ إِذَا يَسۡرِ هَلۡ فِي ذَٰلِكَ قَسَمٞ لِّذِي حِجۡرٍ
By the dawn, and [by] ten nights, and [by] the even [number] and the odd, and [by] the night when it passes. Is there [not] in [all] that an oath [sufficient] for one of perception? (89:1-5)
The surah opens with four oaths, and the commentators give more than one meaning for each.
- The dawn. Most take it as every dawn, the daily return of light after the dark. Some commentators say it refers to a particular dawn, such as the dawn of the Day of Sacrifice (yawm al-naḥr) on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah.
- Ten nights. Most commentators, among them Ibn ʿAbbās as reported by Ibn Kathīr, say these are the first ten nights of Dhul Hijjah. Others say the last ten nights of Ramadan, which include Laylat al-Qadr. The Prophet ﷺ said of the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these days" (Sahih al-Bukhari 969; Abu Dawud 2438).
- The even and the odd. This has many explanations. Some link it to the same days: the Day of ʿArafah is the 9th (odd) and the Day of Sacrifice the 10th (even). Others say the even is all of creation, made in pairs, and the odd is Allah, who is One. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah is witr (odd, one) and loves what is witr" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6410; Sahih Muslim 2677). Others say it refers to the prayers, some of which have an even number of rak'ahs and some odd.
- The night when it passes. The night moving on, until the dawn the surah began with returns.
Verse 5 asks whether these oaths are enough "for one of perception", li-dhī ḥijr. The word ḥijr comes from a root meaning to hold back. The mind is called ḥijr because it holds a person back from what harms them. The oaths are addressed to anyone who thinks.
Verses 6–14: Nations that were destroyed
أَلَمۡ تَرَ كَيۡفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِعَادٍ إِرَمَ ذَاتِ ٱلۡعِمَادِ ٱلَّتِي لَمۡ يُخۡلَقۡ مِثۡلُهَا فِي ٱلۡبِلَٰدِ وَثَمُودَ ٱلَّذِينَ جَابُواْ ٱلصَّخۡرَ بِٱلۡوَادِ وَفِرۡعَوۡنَ ذِي ٱلۡأَوۡتَادِ ٱلَّذِينَ طَغَوۡاْ فِي ٱلۡبِلَٰدِ فَأَكۡثَرُواْ فِيهَا ٱلۡفَسَادَ فَصَبَّ عَلَيۡهِمۡ رَبُّكَ سَوۡطَ عَذَابٍ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِٱلۡمِرۡصَادِ
Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with ʿAad - [with] Iram - who had lofty pillars, the likes of whom had never been created in the land? And [with] Thamūd, who carved out the rocks in the valley? And [with] Pharaoh, owner of the stakes? [All of] whom oppressed within the lands and increased therein the corruption. So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment. Indeed, your Lord is in observation. (89:6-14)
The surah names three of the most powerful peoples the Arabs had heard of:
- ʿĀd, the people of Iram, "who had lofty pillars". The commentators understand this as their tall buildings, or as the people themselves being tall and strong. The Prophet Hūd was sent to them. They were destroyed by a furious wind (69:6-8).
- Thamūd, "who carved out the rocks in the valley". They cut homes into the mountains (7:74; 26:149), and the Prophet Ṣāliḥ was sent to them. Their carved dwellings in the north-west of Arabia are known as al-Ḥijr.
- Pharaoh, "owner of the stakes" (dhul-awtād). The commentators give several meanings: his armies and their tent pegs, his great buildings standing firm like stakes, or the stakes he used to torture people.
They had strength, buildings and armies, and they used them to oppress and spread corruption. Then, in a single verse, they are gone: "your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment". The word sawṭ means a whip, a blow that falls suddenly.
The section ends with a verse worth remembering on its own: inna rabbaka labil-mirṣād, "Indeed, your Lord is in observation". A mirṣād is a lookout post on a road, where everyone who passes is seen. Nothing anyone does, whether a tyrant or anyone else, goes unseen.
For the Muslims in Makkah, this was comfort. The Quraysh were powerful, but not as powerful as ʿĀd or Pharaoh.
Verses 15–20: How we misread wealth and poverty
فَأَمَّا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ إِذَا مَا ٱبۡتَلَىٰهُ رَبُّهُۥ فَأَكۡرَمَهُۥ وَنَعَّمَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّيٓ أَكۡرَمَنِ وَأَمَّآ إِذَا مَا ٱبۡتَلَىٰهُ فَقَدَرَ عَلَيۡهِ رِزۡقَهُۥ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّيٓ أَهَٰنَنِ كـَلَّاۖ بَل لَّا تُكۡرِمُونَ ٱلۡيَتِيمَ وَلَا تَحَٰٓضُّونَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلۡمِسۡكِينِ وَتَأۡكُلُونَ ٱلتُّرَاثَ أَكۡلٗا لَّمّٗا وَتُحِبُّونَ ٱلۡمَالَ حُبّٗا جَمّٗا
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." But when He tries him and restricts his provision, he says, "My Lord has humiliated me." No! But you do not honor the orphan and you do not encourage one another to feed the poor. And you consume inheritance, devouring [it] altogether, and you love wealth with immense love. (89:15-20)
This passage turns from history to the human heart. When life is good, people say, "My Lord has honoured me." When money is tight, they say, "My Lord has humiliated me." Both verses use the same word for what Allah is doing: ibtalāhu, "He tries him". Wealth is a test, and so is poverty. Neither is a verdict on how much Allah values a person.
Then comes kallā, "No!", a strong rejection of that way of thinking, and the surah names the real problem. The issue isn't how much a person has, but what they do with it:
- "You do not honour the orphan." The word is tukrimūn, "honour", not just "feed". The Prophet ﷺ said: "I and the one who cares for an orphan will be in Paradise like this", and held up his index and middle fingers together (Sahih al-Bukhari 5304).
- "You do not encourage one another to feed the poor." It isn't only giving, but urging others to give.
- "You consume inheritance, devouring it altogether." In pre-Islamic Arabia, the strong often took the whole inheritance and left women and children without their share. Aklan lammā means eating everything, the lawful and unlawful together.
- "You love wealth with immense love." Ḥubban jammā: a love that fills the heart.
Verses 21–26: The Day everyone will remember
كـَلَّآۖ إِذَا دُكَّتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ دَكّٗا دَكّٗا وَجَآءَ رَبُّكَ وَٱلۡمَلَكُ صَفّٗا صَفّٗا وَجِاْيٓءَ يَوۡمَئِذِۭ بِجَهَنَّمَۚ يَوۡمَئِذٖ يَتَذَكَّرُ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُ ٱلذِّكۡرَىٰ يَقُولُ يَٰلَيۡتَنِي قَدَّمۡتُ لِحَيَاتِي فَيَوۡمَئِذٖ لَّا يُعَذِّبُ عَذَابَهُۥٓ أَحَدٞ وَلَا يُوثِقُ وَثَاقَهُۥٓ أَحَدٞ
No! When the earth has been leveled - pounded and crushed - and your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank, 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? He will say, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life." So on that Day, none will punish [as severely] as His punishment, and none will bind [as severely] as His binding [of the evildoers]. (89:21-26)
A second kallā introduces the Day of Judgement. The earth is pounded flat, dakkan dakkā, the repetition giving the sense of blow after blow. Allah comes, in a way that befits His majesty, and the angels stand in rank after rank.
Hell is brought into view. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Hell will be brought on that Day with seventy thousand reins, and with each rein seventy thousand angels pulling it" (Sahih Muslim 2842).
Then a person finally remembers everything they ignored, but remembering is no longer any use. Their regret is a single sentence: "I wish I had sent ahead for my life." Not "for my afterlife", but li-ḥayātī, "for my life", because at that point it is clear which life was the real one. The Quran says the same elsewhere: "the home of the Hereafter - that is the [eternal] life" (29:64).
Verses 27–30: "O reassured soul"
يَٰٓأَيَّتُهَا ٱلنَّفۡسُ ٱلۡمُطۡمَئِنَّةُ ٱرۡجِعِيٓ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةٗ مَّرۡضِيَّةٗ فَٱدۡخُلِي فِي عِبَٰدِي وَٱدۡخُلِي جَنَّتِي
[To the righteous it will be said], "O reassured soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], and enter among My [righteous] servants and enter My Paradise." (89:27-30)
After the terror of the Day, the surah ends with gentleness. The soul is addressed as al-nafs al-muṭmaʾinnah, the soul at rest: settled in faith, at peace with Allah's decree, not shaken by wealth or poverty, the tests the surah described.
It is told to return to its Lord rāḍiyatan marḍiyyah, "well-pleased and pleasing": pleased with Allah and what He gives, and Allah pleased with it. Then two invitations: "enter among My servants" and "enter My Paradise". In both, Allah calls them His own.
The commentators say this call comes at death, as the believer's soul is taken, or on the Day of Resurrection, or both. In a long hadith reported by Aḥmad and Abū Dāwūd, the angels say to the dying believer's soul: "O good soul, come out to forgiveness from Allah and His pleasure" (Abu Dawud 4753).
Three kinds of soul
Scholars often connect this verse with two others, describing three states of the human soul in the Quran:
- The soul that commands evil, al-nafs al-ammārah bis-sūʾ, which pushes a person towards wrong (12:53).
- The self-reproaching soul, al-nafs al-lawwāmah, which blames itself when it falls short (75:2).
- The reassured soul, al-nafs al-muṭmaʾinnah, at rest with its Lord (89:27).
Most people move between the first two. The reassured soul is what the struggle is aiming for.
Word by word
| Arabic | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| وَٱلۡفَجۡرِ | wal-fajr | by the dawn |
| وَلَيَالٍ عَشۡرٖ | wa layālin ʿashr | and ten nights |
| وَٱلشَّفۡعِ وَٱلۡوَتۡرِ | wash-shafʿi wal-watr | and the even and the odd |
| لِّذِي حِجۡرٍ | li-dhī ḥijr | for one of understanding |
| ذَاتِ ٱلۡعِمَادِ | dhātil-ʿimād | of the lofty pillars |
| جَابُواْ ٱلصَّخۡرَ | jābuṣ-ṣakhr | carved out the rocks |
| ذِي ٱلۡأَوۡتَادِ | dhil-awtād | owner of the stakes |
| سَوۡطَ عَذَابٍ | sawṭa ʿadhāb | a scourge of punishment |
| لَبِٱلۡمِرۡصَادِ | labil-mirṣād | is surely watching |
| ٱبۡتَلَىٰهُ | ibtalāhu | He tested him |
| ٱلۡيَتِيمَ | al-yatīm | the orphan |
| ٱلۡمِسۡكِينِ | al-miskīn | the poor |
| ٱلتُّرَاثَ | at-turāth | inheritance |
| حُبّٗا جَمّٗا | ḥubban jammā | with immense love |
| دَكّٗا دَكّٗا | dakkan dakkā | pounded and crushed |
| صَفّٗا صَفّٗا | ṣaffan ṣaffā | rank upon rank |
| قَدَّمۡتُ لِحَيَاتِي | qaddamtu li-ḥayātī | I sent ahead for my life |
| ٱلنَّفۡسُ ٱلۡمُطۡمَئِنَّةُ | an-nafsul-muṭmaʾinnah | the reassured soul |
| رَاضِيَةٗ مَّرۡضِيَّةٗ | rāḍiyatan marḍiyyah | well-pleased and pleasing |
Living by Surah Al-Fajr
- Make the most of the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. If the ten nights are those days, Allah swore by them. Fasting (especially the Day of ʿArafah), dhikr, charity and extra prayer in those days are all encouraged.
- Don't measure Allah's love by your bank balance. When things are good, thank Him without assuming you're favoured. When they're hard, be patient without assuming you're abandoned. Both are tests.
- Honour orphans and urge others to feed the poor. The surah names these specifically. Sponsoring an orphan, or encouraging your family and friends to give, is acting on it directly.
- Give everyone their rightful share, especially in inheritance, where families still deprive women and children.
- Send something ahead today. The regret on that Day is "I wish I had sent ahead for my life". Any good deed done now is something sent ahead.
- Ask Allah for a soul at rest. Many Muslims make dua to be among those who will hear, "O reassured soul, return to your Lord."
Open Surah Al-Fajr to read and listen to it with its translation.