Al-Burooj
سُورَةُ البُرُوجِ
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
About Surah Al-Burooj
Meccan · 22 verses
Main Themes
The People of the Trench, divine sovereignty, punishment of persecutors, the Quran as preserved scripture
Significance
Al-Buruj (The Constellations) draws its name from the oath by the sky with its constellations. The surah recounts the "People of the Trench" — a people who were thrown into fire for their faith — as one of the earliest examples of religious persecution in history. Allah's response is not to prevent their martyrdom but to declare that their persecutors will face Hell while the martyrs will receive Paradise, establishing the Islamic understanding that divine justice may operate on an eschatological rather than worldly timescale.
Key Verse Explained
Ayah 21–22 conclude the surah: "But this is an honoured Quran inscribed in a Preserved Slate." The "Preserved Slate" (al-lawh al-mahfuz) is the cosmic record in which all divine decrees, including the Quran, are inscribed before their earthly manifestation. This verse is foundational to the Islamic doctrine of the Quran's pre-eternal nature and its divine origin above the level of human manipulation or corruption.
Related Practices
The People of the Trench narrative (85:4–10) is taught in Islamic history classes as one of the earliest recorded cases of religious persecution and is used to discuss the Islamic concept of martyrdom (shahada). The surah's assurance that divine justice will prevail eschatologically is used in pastoral contexts for Muslims facing religious discrimination or oppression in minority contexts.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ 1
By the sky containing great stars
وَالْيَوْمِ الْمَوْعُودِ 2
And [by] the promised Day
وَشَاهِدٍ وَمَشْهُودٍ 3
And [by] the witness and what is witnessed,
قُتِلَ أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُودِ 4
Cursed were the companions of the trench
النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُودِ 5
[Containing] the fire full of fuel,
إِذْ هُمْ عَلَيْهَا قُعُودٌ 6
When they were sitting near it
وَهُمْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَفْعَلُونَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ شُهُودٌ 7
And they, to what they were doing against the believers, were witnesses.
وَمَا نَقَمُوا مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ 8
And they resented them not except because they believed in Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy,
الَّذِي لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ 9
To whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. And Allah, over all things, is Witness.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ 10
Indeed, those who have tortured the believing men and believing women and then have not repented will have the punishment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the Burning Fire.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْكَبِيرُ 11
Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds will have gardens beneath which rivers flow. That is the great attainment.
إِنَّ بَطْشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ 12
Indeed, the vengeance of your Lord is severe.
إِنَّهُ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ 13
Indeed, it is He who originates [creation] and repeats.
وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الْوَدُودُ 14
And He is the Forgiving, the Affectionate,
ذُو الْعَرْشِ الْمَجِيدُ 15
Honorable Owner of the Throne,
فَعَّالٌ لِمَا يُرِيدُ 16
Effecter of what He intends.
هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْجُنُودِ 17
Has there reached you the story of the soldiers -
فِرْعَوْنَ وَثَمُودَ 18
[Those of] Pharaoh and Thamud?
بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي تَكْذِيبٍ 19
But they who disbelieve are in [persistent] denial,
وَاللَّهُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ مُحِيطٌ 20
While Allah encompasses them from behind.
بَلْ هُوَ قُرْآنٌ مَجِيدٌ 21
But this is an honored Qur'an
فِي لَوْحٍ مَحْفُوظٍ 22
[Inscribed] in a Preserved Slate.