Revealed in Makkah, Surah Al-Ghashiyah (The Overwhelming) describes the Day of Judgment as an overwhelming event that will humiliate the disbelievers and fill the believers with joy. It invites humanity to ponder the creation of camels, the sky, the mountains, and the earth as signs of divine power, concluding that the Prophet's duty is simply to remind, not to control, as all return to God.
Transliteration
Hal ataka hadeethu alghashiyati
Translation
Has there come to you the news of the overwhelming
Introduces the Day of Judgment as 'Al-Ghashiyah'—the overwhelming event whose cosmic scale and psychological terror will completely envelop all creatures.
Transliteration
Wujoohun yawmaithin khashiAAatun
Translation
Faces on that Day will be shamed
Transliteration
AAamilatun nasibatun
Translation
Laboring and exhausted
Describes a sobering spiritual tragedy: 'Laboring and exhausted' ('Amilatun Nasibah')—refers to individuals who exhausted themselves on earth through strenuous physical efforts, religious asceticism, or ambitious secular empire-building, but because their efforts were built on arrogance, falsehood, or ostentation, their life's work yielded nothing but eternal exhaustion.
Transliteration
Tasla naran hamiyatan
Translation
Roasting in a scorching Fire
Transliteration
Tusqa min AAaynin aniyatin
Translation
Given to drink from a flaming spring
Transliteration
Laysa lahum taAAamun illa min dareeAAin
Translation
They will have no food except thorns
Identifies the thorny sustenance of Hellfire: 'Dari''—a dry, bitter, toxic desert thorn-bush that no grazing animal on earth will touch, which provides neither caloric nourishment nor relief from starving agony.
Transliteration
La yusminu wala yughnee min jooAAin
Translation
That neither nourishes, nor satisfies hunger
Transliteration
Wujoohun yawmaithin naAAimatun
Translation
Faces on that Day will be joyful
Transliteration
LisaAAyiha radiyatun
Translation
Satisfied with their endeavor
Transliteration
Fee jannatin AAaliyatin
Translation
In a lofty Garden
Transliteration
La tasmaAAu feeha laghiyatan
Translation
In it you will hear no nonsense
Transliteration
Feeha AAaynun jariyatun
Translation
In it is a flowing spring
Transliteration
Feeha sururun marfooAAatun
Translation
In it are raised beds
Transliteration
Waakwabun mawdooAAatun
Translation
And cups set in place
Transliteration
Wanamariqu masfoofatun
Translation
And cushions set in rows
Transliteration
Wazarabiyyu mabthoothatun
Translation
And carpets spread around
Transliteration
Afala yanthuroona ila alibili kayfa khuliqat
Translation
Do they not look at the camels—how they are created
Directs desert dwellers and all humanity to examine the biological marvel of the Camel ('Al-Ibil'): a masterpiece of extreme desert engineering possessing water-conserving physiology (able to drink 100 liters in minutes without water intoxication), fat-storing humps, triple transparent eyelids and closable nostrils that shield against violent sandstorms, and broad padded hooves that glide across scorching sand dunes.
Transliteration
Waila alssamai kayfa rufiAAat
Translation
And at the sky—how it is raised
Directs human eyes to gaze upward and ponder the vast cosmic canopy of the sky, elevated without visible pillars and governed by precise gravitational laws.
Transliteration
Waila aljibali kayfa nusibat
Translation
And at the mountains—how they are installed
Directs humans to observe the colossal mountain ranges, driven deep into the Earth's crust as geological pegs to stabilize the continental crust and serve as freshwater watersheds.
Transliteration
Waila alardi kayfa sutihat
Translation
And at the earth—how it is spread out
Urges contemplation of the Earth's hospitality: flattened and spread out into a welcoming habitational crust ('Sutihat') to facilitate human settlement, agriculture, and urban development.
Transliteration
Fathakkir innama anta muthakkirun
Translation
So remind. You are only a reminder
Transliteration
Lasta AAalayhim bimusaytirin
Translation
You have no control over them
A cornerstone of Islamic tolerance and intellectual freedom: God reminds the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ of the precise boundaries of his prophetic office: 'You are only a reminder; you are not over them a dictator or controller ('Musaytir')'—categorically outlawing forced religious belief.
Transliteration
Illa man tawalla wakafara
Translation
But whoever turns away and disbelieves
Transliteration
FayuAAaththibuhu Allahu alAAathaba alakbara
Translation
God will punish him with the greatest punishment
Transliteration
Inna ilayna iyabahum
Translation
To Us is their return
Transliteration
Thumma inna AAalayna hisabahum
Translation
Then upon Us rests their reckoning