Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Wal-Fajr

Wa layaalin 'ashr

Wash shaf'i wal watr

Wallaili izaa yasr

Hal fee zaalika qasamul lizee hijr

Alam tara kaifa fa'ala rabbuka bi'aad

Iramaa zaatil 'imaad

Allatee lam yukhlaq misluhaa fil bilaad

Wa samoodal lazeena jaabus sakhra bil waad

Wa fir'awna zil awtaad

Allazeena taghaw fil bilaad

Fa aksaroo feehal fasaad

Fasabba 'alaihim Rabbuka sawta 'azaab

Inna Rabbaka labil mirsaad

Fa ammal insaanu izaa mab talaahu Rabbuhoo fa akramahoo wa na' 'amahoo fa yaqoolu Rabbeee akraman

Wa ammaaa izaa mabtalaahu faqadara 'alaihi rizqahoo fa yaqoolu Rabbeee ahaanan

Kalla bal laa tukrimooo nal yateem

Wa laa tahaaaddoona 'alaata'aamil miskeen

Wa taakuloonat turaasa aklal lammaa

Wa tuhibboonal maala hubban jammaa

Kallaaa izaaa dukkatil ardu dakkan dakka

Wa jaaa'a Rabbuka wal malaku saffan saffaa

Wa jeee'a yawma'izim bi jahannnam; Yawma 'iziny yatazakkarul insaanu wa annaa lahuz zikraa

Yaqoolu yaa laitanee qaddamtu lihayaatee

Fa Yawma izil laa yu'azzibu 'azaabahooo ahad

Wa laa yoosiqu wasaaqa hooo ahad

Yaaa ayyatuhan nafsul mutma 'innah

Irji'eee ilaa Rabbiki raadiyatam mardiyyah

Fadkhulee fee 'ibaadee

Wadkhulee jannatee

In the name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Most Beneficial

By the break of Day

By the Nights twice five;

By the even and odd (contrasted);

And by the Night when it passeth away;

Is there (not) in these an adjuration (or evidence) for those who understand?

Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the 'Ad (people),

Of the (city of) Iram, with lofty pillars,

The like of which were not produced in (all) the land?

And with the Thamud (people), who cut out (huge) rocks in the valley?

And with Pharaoh, lord of stakes?

(All) these transgressed beyond bounds in the lands,

And heaped therein mischief (on mischief).

Therefore did thy Lord pour on them a scourge of diverse chastisements:

For thy Lord is (as a Guardian) on a watch-tower.

Now, as for man, when his Lord trieth him, giving him honour and gifts, then saith he, (puffed up), "My Lord hath honoured me."

But when He trieth him, restricting his subsistence for him, then saith he (in despair), "My Lord hath humiliated me!"

Nay, nay! but ye honour not the orphans!

Nor do ye encourage one another to feed the poor!

And ye devour inheritance - all with greed,

And ye love wealth with inordinate love!

Nay! When the earth is pounded to powder,

And thy Lord cometh, and His angels, rank upon rank,

And Hell, that Day, is brought (face to face),- on that Day will man remember, but how will that remembrance profit him?

He will say: "Ah! Would that I had sent forth (good deeds) for (this) my (Future) Life!"

For, that Day, His Chastisement will be such as none (else) can inflict,

And His bonds will be such as none (other) can bind.

(To the righteous soul will be said:) "O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction!

"Come back thou to thy Lord,- well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him!

"Enter thou, then, among My devotees!

"Yea, enter thou My Heaven!"

This Surah consists of thirty Ayaat and was revealed in Makkah, and we divided it into five sections for better understanding.

In the first section, Verse 1 to 5, Allah SWT swears by four things: the dawn, the ten nights, the even and the odd and the nights when it departs. The dawn or the daybreak is known. The ten nights refers to the first ten nights of Dhul-Hijjah- the season of Hajj. The odd refers to 9th Dhul-Hijjah: The Day of Arafah, and the even the 10th Dhul-Hijjah: The Day of Sacrifice. There are other interpretation of these words and Allah Knows Best.

The second section, Verse 6 to 10, speaks to the disbelievers, reminding them of the fate of some of the arrogant peoples who rejected Allah's guidance, such as the Aad , the Thamud, and the arrogant Pharaoh of Egypt.

The Aads were those to whom Allah SWT sent Prophet Hud AS to guide them. They used to live in trellised houses that were raised with firm pillars. They were the strongest people of their time.

The Thamud were powerful people who used to hew in the mountains houses with great skill. Allah sent Prophet Saleh AS to guide them.

The arrogant Pharoah used to torture people by binding them to stakes. 

Upon all these Allah sent down a severe punishment, for HE watches and sees what people do and therefore HE rewards them in this life and the life Hereafter based on what each of them strives for.

The third section, Verse 15-20, is a reminder that the life of this world is a test. Allah tests man by HIS Generosity and letting him live a life of ease. Likewise, HE tries him by straitening him means of livelihood. Richness and poverty are both forms of trials. The Qur'an then mentions some of the bad things man does such as not caring for the orphans, not feeding the poor, devouring inheritance through lawful and unlawful means and loving wealth a great deal. Man does not, as a rule, think of Hereafter. He remains concerned with this world and what promises to be of immediate benefit to him.

The fourth section, Verse 21 to 25, describes the Day Of Judgement, when the earth will be flattened and people will be raised from their graves to stand before their Lord for judgement. On that Day, Jahannam will be brought close, and people will remember their past deeds on earth, but how will remembrance benefit them? The disobedient people will be sorry for the acts of disobedience they had committed and the obedient will wish they had done more acts of obedience. On that Day, none will punish the wicked and the disbelievers as Allah will punish and none will blind them as HE SWT will.

The Surah ends, Verse 26 to 30, with a moving consolation for the soul of the pious who abide by the truth. It will be said to it to return to its Lord who will admit it into Paradise: Jannah in the Company of His faithful servants, well pleased with itself, pleased with Allah, and HE will be pleased with it.