This Meccan sura deals with man’s ingratitude and his failure to concede that the Day of Judgement will come. Again, the sura opens with a powerful description of events on the Day of Judgement and the title is taken from this description.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1 When the sky is torn apart, 2 when the stars are scattered, 3 when the seas burst forth, 4 when graves turn inside out: 5 each soul will know what it has done and what it has left undone. 6 Mankind, what has lured you away from God, 7 your generous Lord, who created you, shaped you, proportioned you, 8 in whatever form He chose? 9 Yet you still take the Judgement to be a lie! 10 Over you stand 11 watchers, noble recorders 12 who know what you do: 13 the good will live in bliss, 14 and the wicked will burn in the Fire. 15 They will enter it on the Day of Judgement 16 and they will find no escape. 17 What will explain to you what the Day of Judgement is? 18 Yes! What will explain to you what the Day of Judgement is? 19 The Day when no soul will be able to do anything for another; on that Day, command will belong to God. [a]
Footnotes
a. Or ‘everything is up to God’.
The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)
The Qur'an / a new translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, copyright © 2004 Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press). Used by permission. All rights reserved.