Al-Aadiyaat
سُورَةُ العَادِيَاتِ
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
About Surah Al-Aadiyaat
Meccan · 11 verses
Main Themes
Human ingratitude, divine knowledge of the soul's contents, the Day when secrets are revealed, the war-horse oath
Significance
Al-Adiyat (The Coursers) opens with a vivid oath by war horses — their hooves striking sparks, their breath panting, their charges at dawn, raising dust — creating a scene of urgent, courageous movement that contrasts sharply with human ingratitude and attachment to wealth. The surah's central charge against man — that "he is immensely devoted to the love of wealth" (100:8) — connects the war-horse's selfless exertion to the human tendency toward selfish accumulation.
Key Verse Explained
Ayah 9–11 ("Does he not know that when the contents of the graves are scattered, and that within the breasts is obtained — indeed, their Lord with them that Day is All-Aware") present the Day of Judgement as the moment when both external records (graves emptied) and internal states (what was in the heart) are simultaneously exposed. Scholars emphasise that divine knowledge on that day is not new — Allah always knew — but its public disclosure makes accountability complete and final.
Related Practices
Al-Adiyat is widely taught in Islamic youth education as a warning against excessive materialism. The image of the war-horse's selfless charging at dawn is used in Islamic ethics and military history as a metaphor for purposeful, courageous action in the path of Allah. The surah's reminder that the contents of the heart will be made known (100:10) motivates the Islamic practice of muhasaba (daily self-accounting) before Allah.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَالْعَادِيَاتِ ضَبْحًا 1
By the racers, panting,
فَالْمُورِيَاتِ قَدْحًا 2
And the producers of sparks [when] striking
فَالْمُغِيرَاتِ صُبْحًا 3
And the chargers at dawn,
فَأَثَرْنَ بِهِ نَقْعًا 4
Stirring up thereby [clouds of] dust,
فَوَسَطْنَ بِهِ جَمْعًا 5
Arriving thereby in the center collectively,
إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لِرَبِّهِ لَكَنُودٌ 6
Indeed mankind, to his Lord, is ungrateful.
وَإِنَّهُ عَلَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ لَشَهِيدٌ 7
And indeed, he is to that a witness.
وَإِنَّهُ لِحُبِّ الْخَيْرِ لَشَدِيدٌ 8
And indeed he is, in love of wealth, intense.
۞ أَفَلَا يَعْلَمُ إِذَا بُعْثِرَ مَا فِي الْقُبُورِ 9
But does he not know that when the contents of the graves are scattered
وَحُصِّلَ مَا فِي الصُّدُورِ 10
And that within the breasts is obtained,
إِنَّ رَبَّهُمْ بِهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَخَبِيرٌ 11
Indeed, their Lord with them, that Day, is [fully] Acquainted.