سُورَةُ العَادِيَاتِ
Surah 100 - Al-Aadiyaat
The Chargers
- 11 verses
- Juz 30
- Pages 599 to 600 of the Mushaf
Al-Aadiyaat opens on five oaths that describe one and the same scene: those that run panting, strike sparks, come out at dawn, raise the dust and press into the middle of a group. The sixth verse breaks that movement and turns to man: ungrateful to his Lord, witness to what he is, keen for goods. The last three put a question and answer it with two matching images, what the graves hold and what the breasts hold, before closing on what is known of them that day.
The main parts
The text of the surah
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ وَٱلْعَٰدِيَٰتِ ضَبْحًۭا
By the racers, panting,
فَٱلْمُورِيَٰتِ قَدْحًۭا
And the producers of sparks [when] striking
فَٱلْمُغِيرَٰتِ صُبْحًۭا
And the chargers at dawn,
فَأَثَرْنَ بِهِۦ نَقْعًۭا
Stirring up thereby [clouds of] dust,
فَوَسَطْنَ بِهِۦ جَمْعًا
Arriving thereby in the center collectively,
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ لِرَبِّهِۦ لَكَنُودٌۭ
Indeed mankind, to his Lord, is ungrateful.
وَإِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ لَشَهِيدٌۭ
And indeed, he is to that a witness.
وَإِنَّهُۥ لِحُبِّ ٱلْخَيْرِ لَشَدِيدٌ
And indeed he is, in love of wealth, intense.
۞ أَفَلَا يَعْلَمُ إِذَا بُعْثِرَ مَا فِى ٱلْقُبُورِ
But does he not know that when the contents of the graves are scattered
وَحُصِّلَ مَا فِى ٱلصُّدُورِ
And that within the breasts is obtained,
إِنَّ رَبَّهُم بِهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ لَّخَبِيرٌۢ
Indeed, their Lord with them, that Day, is [fully] Acquainted.
Key verses of the surah
The hinge: after five verses of scene, the text changes subject and speaks of man.
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ لِرَبِّهِۦ لَكَنُودٌۭ
Indeed mankind, to his Lord, is ungrateful.
The second of the two matching images: after the graves, what the breasts were keeping.
وَحُصِّلَ مَا فِى ٱلصُّدُورِ
And that within the breasts is obtained,
What is surah Al-Aadiyaat about?
Of a contrast. A scene of running and rush fills the first five verses, then the text turns to man and to what he does not know of himself. The link between the two is not spelled out: it rests on the sequence alone.
How is surah Al-Aadiyaat built?
In three blocks of decreasing size: five verses of oaths, three of statements, three of question and answer. The two before last echo each other in form, one on the graves, the other on the breasts.
What does surah Al-Aadiyaat say about man?
Three things, in three verses: that he is ungrateful to his Lord, that he himself bears witness to it, and that he loves goods intensely. The text develops none of the three: it states them and moves on.
Why is surah Al-Aadiyaat called that?
"Al-Aadiyaat" means those that run. The name comes from the first word of the text, at verse 1, which opens the series of five oaths. The word appears only there in the surah.
How many verses does surah Al-Aadiyaat have?
Surah Al-Aadiyaat has 11 verses. It stands at number 100 in the order of the Mushaf, which holds 114.
The Arabic text is that of the Mushaf. The summary, the outline and the answers on this page describe the text and how it is built: they are not religious commentary.