By the dawn,

And ten nights,

And the even and the odd,

And the night when he departs!

Is there not in that an oath for one of intelligence?

Hast thou not considered how thy Lord did with ʿĀd,

Iram of the pillars,

The like of which had never been created in the land,

And Thamūd, who hollowed the rocks in the valley,

And Pharaoh, the Lord of Stakes

Who transgressed all bounds in the lands,

And increased corruption therein?

So thy Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment.

Thy Lord is ever watchful.

And as for man, when his Lord tries him, and honours him, and favours him, he says: “My Lord has honoured me.”

But when He tries him, and straitens his provision, he says: “My Lord has humiliated me.”

No, indeed! The truth is, you honour not the fatherless,

Nor encourage one another to feed the needy,

But consume the inheritance with greed,

And love wealth with much love.

No, indeed! When the earth is ground to powder,

And thy Lord comes — and the angels, rank upon rank —

And Gehenna, that day, is brought: that day will man take heed; but how will the reminder be for him?

He will say: “Would that I had sent ahead for my life!”

And — that day — none will punish as His punishment,

And none will bind as His binding.

“O thou soul at peace:

“Return thou to thy Lord — well-pleased and well-pleasing,

“And enter thou among My servants.

“And enter thou My Garden.”