النجم
The Star
Explanations are simplified from tafsirs by Ibn Kathir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.
alakumu l-dhakaru walahu l-unthā
Is the male for you and for Him the female?
til'ka idhan qis'matun ḍīzā
That, then, is an unjust division.
in hiya illā asmāon sammaytumūhā antum waābāukum mā anzala l-lahu bihā min sul'ṭānin in yattabiʿūna illā l-ẓana wamā tahwā l-anfusu walaqad jāahum min rabbihimu l-hudā
They are not but [mere] names you have named them - you and your forefathers - for which Allāh has sent down no authority. They follow not except assumption and what [their] souls desire, and there has already come to them from their Lord guidance.
am lil'insāni mā tamannā
Or is there for man whatever he wishes?
falillahi l-ākhiratu wal-ūlā
Rather, to Allāh belongs the Hereafter and the first [life].
wakam min malakin fī l-samāwāti lā tugh'nī shafāʿatuhum shayan illā min baʿdi an yadhana l-lahu liman yashāu wayarḍā
And how many angels there are in the heavens whose intercession will not avail at all except [only] after Allāh has permitted [it] to whom He wills and approves.
inna alladhīna lā yu'minūna bil-ākhirati layusammūna l-malāikata tasmiyata l-unthā
Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter name the angels female names,
wamā lahum bihi min ʿil'min in yattabiʿūna illā l-ẓana wa-inna l-ẓana lā yugh'nī mina l-ḥaqi shayan
And they have thereof no knowledge. They follow not except assumption, and indeed, assumption avails not against the truth at all.
fa-aʿriḍ ʿan man tawallā ʿan dhik'rinā walam yurid illā l-ḥayata l-dun'yā
So turn away from whoever turns his back on Our message and desires not except the worldly life.
dhālika mablaghuhum mina l-ʿil'mi inna rabbaka huwa aʿlamu biman ḍalla ʿan sabīlihi wahuwa aʿlamu bimani ih'tadā
That is their sum of knowledge. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who strays from His way, and He is most knowing of who is guided.
walillahi mā fī l-samāwāti wamā fī l-arḍi liyajziya alladhīna asāū bimā ʿamilū wayajziya alladhīna aḥsanū bil-ḥus'nā
And to Allāh belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth - that He may recompense those who do evil with [the penalty of] what they have done and recompense those who do good with the best [reward] -
alladhīna yajtanibūna kabāira l-ith'mi wal-fawāḥisha illā l-lamama inna rabbaka wāsiʿu l-maghfirati huwa aʿlamu bikum idh ansha-akum mina l-arḍi wa-idh antum ajinnatun fī buṭūni ummahātikum falā tuzakkū anfusakum huwa aʿlamu bimani ittaqā
Those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, only [committing] slight ones. Indeed, your Lord is vast in forgiveness. He was most knowing of you when He produced you from the earth and when you were fetuses in the wombs of your mothers. So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He is most knowing of who fears Him.
afara-ayta alladhī tawallā
Have you seen the one who turned away
wa-aʿṭā qalīlan wa-akdā
And gave a little and [then] refrained?
aʿindahu ʿil'mu l-ghaybi fahuwa yarā
Does he have knowledge of the unseen, so he sees?
am lam yunabba bimā fī ṣuḥufi mūsā
Or has he not been informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses
wa-ib'rāhīma alladhī waffā
And [of] Abraham, who fulfilled [his obligations] -
allā taziru wāziratun wiz'ra ukh'rā
That no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another
wa-an laysa lil'insāni illā mā saʿā
And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives
wa-anna saʿyahu sawfa yurā
And that his effort is going to be seen -