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?
