Al-'Alaq

Translation by

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

landing

Al-'Alaq


اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ ﴿1﴾

Read, ˹O Prophet,˺ in the Name of your Lord Who created—


خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ ﴿2﴾

created humans from a clinging clot.1


اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ ﴿3﴾

Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous,


الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ ﴿4﴾

Who taught by the pen—


عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ ﴿5﴾

taught humanity what they knew not.1


كَلَّا إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَيَطْغَىٰ ﴿6﴾

Most certainly, one exceeds all bounds


أَنْ رَآهُ اسْتَغْنَىٰ ﴿7﴾

once they think they are self-sufficient.


إِنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ الرُّجْعَىٰ ﴿8﴾

˹But˺ surely to your Lord is the return ˹of all˺.


أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يَنْهَىٰ ﴿9﴾

Have you seen the man who prevents


عَبْدًا إِذَا صَلَّىٰ ﴿10﴾

a servant ˹of Ours˺ from praying?1


أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَانَ عَلَى الْهُدَىٰ ﴿11﴾

What if this ˹servant˺ is ˹rightly˺ guided,


أَوْ أَمَرَ بِالتَّقْوَىٰ ﴿12﴾

or encourages righteousness?


أَرَأَيْتَ إِنْ كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ ﴿13﴾

What if that ˹man˺ persists in denial and turns away?


أَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَرَىٰ ﴿14﴾

Does he not know that Allah sees ˹all˺?


كَلَّا لَئِنْ لَمْ يَنْتَهِ لَنَسْفَعًا بِالنَّاصِيَةِ ﴿15﴾

But no! If he does not desist, We will certainly drag him by the forelock—


نَاصِيَةٍ كَاذِبَةٍ خَاطِئَةٍ ﴿16﴾

a lying, sinful forelock.1


فَلْيَدْعُ نَادِيَهُ ﴿17﴾

So let him call his associates.


سَنَدْعُ الزَّبَانِيَةَ ﴿18﴾

We will call the wardens of Hell.


كَلَّا لَا تُطِعْهُ وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِبْ ۩ ﴿19﴾

Again, no! Never obey him ˹O Prophet˺! Rather, ˹continue to˺ prostrate and draw near ˹to Allah˺.