Surah 102

Duz Ta'lik Kit'a calligraphy. From the Sabanci collection.

Bismillaah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem
Alhaa-kum at-takthur
H’attaa zurtum al-maqaabir
Kallaa sawfa ta’lamon
Thumma kallaa sawfa ta’lamon
Kallaa law ta’lamon ‘ilm al-yaqeen
La-tarawunna al-jah-em
Thumma la-tarawunna-haa ‘ayn al-yaqeen
Thumma la-tus’alunna yawma’idhin ‘an an-na’em

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Competition distracts you
all the way to the grave,
but soon you will know.
If you knew with the knowledge of certainty,
you would see Hell;
you would see with the eyes of certainty;
and you would be asked to explain your desires.

Translated by Kabir Helminski