Al-A'la الأعلى
The Most High
Al-A'la opens with a command to glorify "the name of your Lord, the Most High" and grounds that praise in a chain of creative acts: He who created and proportioned, who determined and guided, who brings forth pasture and then turns it into dark stubble. The surah then promises the Prophet ﷺ that he will be taught to recite and will not forget, except what God wills, and instructs him to remind, because reminding benefits whoever is willing to be reminded — while the wretched, who will enter the great fire, turns away. It closes by contrasting worldly life, chosen by most despite being fleeting, with the hereafter, which is better and lasting, and states this same truth was written in the earliest scriptures, those of Ibrahim and Musa — framing the surah's message as a continuation, not an innovation.
سَبِّحِ ٱسْمَ رَبِّكَ ٱلْأَعْلَى
[Prophet], glorify the name of your Lord the Most High,
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ فَسَوَّىٰ
who created [all things] in due proportion;
وَٱلَّذِى قَدَّرَ فَهَدَىٰ
who determined their destinies and guided them;
وَٱلَّذِىٓ أَخْرَجَ ٱلْمَرْعَىٰ
who brought out the green pasture
فَجَعَلَهُۥ غُثَآءً أَحْوَىٰ
then made it dark debris.
سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنسَىٰٓ
[Prophet], We shall teach you [the Quran] and you will not forget––
إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ يَعْلَمُ ٱلْجَهْرَ وَمَا يَخْفَىٰ
unless God wishes; He knows both what is open and what is hidden––
وَنُيَسِّرُكَ لِلْيُسْرَىٰ
We shall show you the easy way.
فَذَكِّرْ إِن نَّفَعَتِ ٱلذِّكْرَىٰ
So remind, if reminding will help.
سَيَذَّكَّرُ مَن يَخْشَىٰ
Those who stand in awe of God will heed the reminder,
وَيَتَجَنَّبُهَا ٱلْأَشْقَى
but it will be ignored by the most wicked,
ٱلَّذِى يَصْلَى ٱلنَّارَ ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ
who will enter the Great Fire,
ثُمَّ لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيَىٰ
where they will neither die nor live.
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّىٰ
Prosperous are those who purify themselves,
وَذَكَرَ ٱسْمَ رَبِّهِۦ فَصَلَّىٰ
remember the name of their Lord, and pray.
بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا
Yet you [people] prefer the life of this world,
وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰٓ
even though the Hereafter is better and more lasting.
إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَفِى ٱلصُّحُفِ ٱلْأُولَىٰ
All this is in the earlier scriptures,
صُحُفِ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَمُوسَىٰ
the scriptures of Abraham and Moses.
Arabic text and translation (M.A.S. Abdel Haleem) via the Quran.Foundation API.
Frequently asked
Nineteen verses.
Meccan, revealed in Makkah.
"The Most High" — from the surah's opening command to glorify the name of God, the Most High.
That its message of choosing the lasting hereafter over fleeting worldly life was already written in the earliest scriptures, those of Ibrahim and Musa.