Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Wal'aadi yaati dabha

Fal moori yaati qadha

Fal mugheeraati subha

Fa atharna bihee naq'a

Fawa satna bihee jam'a

Innal-insana lirabbihee lakanood

Wa innahu 'alaa zaalika la shaheed

Wa innahu lihubbil khairi la shadeed

Afala ya'lamu iza b'uthira ma filquboor

Wa hussila maa fis sudoor

Inna rabbahum bihim yauma 'izil la khabeer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful.

By the charging horses panting hard,

Striking sparks of fire (by their flashing hooves),

Raiding at full gallop in the early dawn;

Raising a trail of dust behind them,

And plunging into the middle of the enemy!

Man is indeed ungrateful to his Lord,

And indeed he bears witness to that fact;

Truly, he is passionate in his love for wealth.

Does he not know that when the contents of the graves are poured out,

And the secrets of the breasts are made known?

Indeed, their Lord will know everything about them on that day!

This surah was revealed in Makkah. It consists of eleven verses. The surah can be divided into three sections for the purpose of study.

1. The first is a series of oaths by horses in a state of war,engaging in intense activity (verses 1 -5).

These verses describe horses in battle in a vivid style. Horses are noble. They are brave and faithful animals. If trained, they can patiently perform many useful tasks for man. They can travel under dangerous conditions, carry their masters through the raging battles, cross rivers and climb mountains.

2. The second section consists of three verses. These three verses state that man is ungrateful to Allah and loves wealth with passion (verses 6-8).

The truth is that in our time we need the energy to guard ourselves against the condition mentioned in these verses. A man can collect a lot of wealth; the fact is he cannot take any of it with him when he dies. It will not help him in the least when he has to stand before Allah to be judged .

3. The third section is a reminder to such people of the Day of Resurrection when what they hide (even from themselves) will be open to all, and particularly to Allah who is Al-Khabeer, that is, the One Who knows about everything and everyone.

Source: Islamic Studies Darrusalam Publication