Surah 77 · Meccan · 50 Verses
المرسلات
SURAH AL-MURSALAT
Those Sent Forth
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَٱلْمُرْسَلَٰتِ عُرْفًۭا
By those [winds] sent forth in gusts
فَٱلْعَٰصِفَٰتِ عَصْفًۭا
And the winds that blow violently
وَٱلنَّٰشِرَٰتِ نَشْرًۭا
And [by] the winds that spread [clouds]
فَٱلْمُلْقِيَٰتِ ذِكْرًا
And those [angels] who deliver a message
عُذْرًا أَوْ نُذْرًا
As justification or warning,
إِنَّمَا تُوعَدُونَ لَوَٰقِعٌۭ
Indeed, what you are promised is to occur.
فَإِذَا ٱلنُّجُومُ طُمِسَتْ
So when the stars are obliterated
وَإِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ فُرِجَتْ
And when the heaven is opened
وَإِذَا ٱلْجِبَالُ نُسِفَتْ
And when the mountains are blown away
لِيَوْمِ ٱلْفَصْلِ
For the Day of Judgement.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا يَوْمُ ٱلْفَصْلِ
And what can make you know what is the Day of Judgement?
أَلَمْ نُهْلِكِ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
Did We not destroy the former peoples?
ثُمَّ نُتْبِعُهُمُ ٱلْءَاخِرِينَ
Then We will follow them with the later ones.
كَذَٰلِكَ نَفْعَلُ بِٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
Thus do We deal with the criminals.
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe, that Day, to the deniers.
أَلَمْ نَخْلُقكُّم مِّن مَّآءٍۢ مَّهِينٍۢ
Did We not create you from a liquid disdained?
فَجَعَلْنَٰهُ فِى قَرَارٍۢ مَّكِينٍ
And We placed it in a firm lodging [i.e., the womb]
إِلَىٰ قَدَرٍۢ مَّعْلُومٍۢ
For a known extent.
فَقَدَرْنَا فَنِعْمَ ٱلْقَٰدِرُونَ
And We determined [it], and excellent [are We] to determine.
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe, that Day, to the deniers.
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلِ ٱلْأَرْضَ كِفَاتًا
Have We not made the earth a container
أَحْيَآءًۭ وَأَمْوَٰتًۭا
Of the living and the dead?
وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا رَوَٰسِىَ شَٰمِخَٰتٍۢ وَأَسْقَيْنَٰكُم مَّآءًۭ فُرَاتًۭا
And We placed therein lofty, firmly set mountains and have given you to drink sweet water.
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe, that Day, to the deniers.
ٱنطَلِقُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ مَا كُنتُم بِهِۦ تُكَذِّبُونَ
[They will be told], "Proceed to that which you used to deny.
ٱنطَلِقُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ ظِلٍّۢ ذِى ثَلَٰثِ شُعَبٍۢ
Proceed to a shadow [of smoke] having three columns
لَّا ظَلِيلٍۢ وَلَا يُغْنِى مِنَ ٱللَّهَبِ
[But having] no cool shade and availing not against the flame."
إِنَّهَا تَرْمِى بِشَرَرٍۢ كَٱلْقَصْرِ
Indeed, it throws sparks [as huge] as a fortress,
كَأَنَّهُۥ جِمَٰلَتٌۭ صُفْرٌۭ
As if they were yellowish [black] camels.
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe, that Day, to the deniers.
هَٰذَا يَوْمُ لَا يَنطِقُونَ
This is a Day they will not speak,
وَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ
Nor will it be permitted for them to make an excuse.
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe, that Day, to the deniers.
هَٰذَا يَوْمُ ٱلْفَصْلِ ۖ جَمَعْنَٰكُمْ وَٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
This is the Day of Judgement; We will have assembled you and the former peoples.
فَإِن كَانَ لَكُمْ كَيْدٌۭ فَكِيدُونِ
So if you have a plan, then plan against Me.
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe, that Day, to the deniers.
إِنَّ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ فِى ظِلَٰلٍۢ وَعُيُونٍۢ
Indeed, the righteous will be among shades and springs
وَفَوَٰكِهَ مِمَّا يَشْتَهُونَ
And fruits from whatever they desire,
كُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ هَنِيٓـًٔۢا بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
[Being told], "Eat and drink in satisfaction for what you used to do."
إِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good.
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe, that Day, to the deniers.
كُلُوا۟ وَتَمَتَّعُوا۟ قَلِيلًا إِنَّكُم مُّجْرِمُونَ
[O disbelievers], eat and enjoy yourselves a little; indeed, you are criminals.
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe, that Day, to the deniers.
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ ٱرْكَعُوا۟ لَا يَرْكَعُونَ
And when it is said to them, "Bow [in prayer]," they do not bow.
وَيْلٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe, that Day, to the deniers.
فَبِأَىِّ حَدِيثٍۭ بَعْدَهُۥ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Then in what statement after it [i.e., the Qur’ān] will they believe?
About This Surah
Surah Al-Mursalat repeatedly declares woe to deniers while moving through cosmic disruption, earlier peoples, human creation, earthly provision, and final separation. Its refrain creates moral urgency rather than a timetable. The chapter’s punishment scenes must not be mapped automatically onto modern disasters or used to threaten named people, and its creation references should not be presented as a complete scientific model.
Al-Mursalat opens with a series of oaths whose referents have received interpretive discussion. No single identification of these referents is the only possible reading. The oaths lead to the certainty of what has been promised.
Stars dim, heaven opens, mountains scatter, and messengers reach their appointed time. The Day of Decision is introduced through the repeated refrain, “Woe that day to the deniers.” The repetition is rhetorical warning, not permission to announce the final fate of present individuals.
Earlier peoples, later generations, creation from a humble fluid, measured placement, and the earth’s capacity for living and dead establish power and provision. These verses support accountability without serving as a complete embryology or geology textbook.
Scenes of smoke, shadow, sparks, silence, failed excuses, and final separation contrast with shade, springs, fruit, and the instruction to eat and drink for past action. The chapter briefly tells rejecting people to enjoy for a little while, exposing the limits of temporary life.
The closing asks what message people will believe after this. It creates urgency while providing no date for judgment, no disaster code, and no guaranteed protection practice.
Core Themes
- Oaths leading to certain accountability
- The Day of Decision
- A repeated refrain of warning
- Creation and earth as signs
- Temporary enjoyment and final limits
- Reward and consequence without date-setting
Structure
Verses 1-15: Oaths, cosmic disruption, and the Day of Decision — 1-15
Verses 1-15 focus on oaths, cosmic disruption, and the day of decision.
Verses 16-28: Earlier peoples, human creation, and earth — 16-28
Verses 16-28 focus on earlier peoples, human creation, and earth.
Verses 29-40: Judgment scenes and failed excuses — 29-40
Verses 29-40 focus on judgment scenes and failed excuses.
Verses 41-50: Reward, temporary enjoyment, and final challenge — 41-50
Verses 41-50 focus on reward, temporary enjoyment, and final challenge.
Key Passages
Oaths, cosmic disruption, and the Day of Decision — 1-15
Verses 1-15 address oaths, cosmic disruption, and the day of decision.
Earlier peoples, human creation, and earth — 16-28
Verses 16-28 address earlier peoples, human creation, and earth.
Judgment scenes and failed excuses — 29-40
Verses 29-40 address judgment scenes and failed excuses.
Reward, temporary enjoyment, and final challenge — 41-50
Verses 41-50 address reward, temporary enjoyment, and final challenge.
Recitation Note
No exclusive time, fixed repetition count, or guaranteed worldly outcome is asserted here for reciting Surah Al-Mursalat. Reading it is worship and study; any claim about protection, healing, provision, family outcomes, or a prescribed number requires separate exact evidence and narrow wording.
Interpretation Limits
- Debated referents in the opening oaths must not be presented as certain without sourcing.
- The repeated warning does not authorize declaring named people condemned.
- Creation passages are not complete embryology or geology textbooks.
- No end-times date, disaster code, or guaranteed protection practice is stated.