Surah Al-Buruj (The Great Stars) Full Text — People of the Ditch (Hafs)

وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلْبُرُوجِ﴿١﴾وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْمَوْعُودِ﴿٢﴾وَشَاهِدٍۢ وَمَشْهُودٍۢ﴿٣﴾قُتِلَ أَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْأُخْدُودِ﴿٤﴾ٱلنَّارِ ذَاتِ ٱلْوَقُودِ﴿٥﴾إِذْ هُمْ عَلَيْهَا قُعُودٌۭ﴿٦﴾وَهُمْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَفْعَلُونَ بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ شُهُودٌۭ﴿٧﴾وَمَا نَقَمُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ إِلَّآ أَن يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ﴿٨﴾ٱلَّذِى لَهُۥ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ شَهِيدٌ﴿٩﴾إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا۟ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا۟ فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ ٱلْحَرِيقِ﴿١٠﴾إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ لَهُمْ جَنَّٰتٌۭ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْكَبِيرُ﴿١١﴾إِنَّ بَطْشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ﴿١٢﴾إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ﴿١٣﴾وَهُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلْوَدُودُ﴿١٤﴾ذُو ٱلْعَرْشِ ٱلْمَجِيدُ﴿١٥﴾فَعَّالٌۭ لِّمَا يُرِيدُ﴿١٦﴾هَلْ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ ٱلْجُنُودِ﴿١٧﴾فِرْعَوْنَ وَثَمُودَ﴿١٨﴾بَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فِى تَكْذِيبٍۢ﴿١٩﴾وَٱللَّهُ مِن وَرَآئِهِم مُّحِيطٌۢ﴿٢٠﴾بَلْ هُوَ قُرْءَانٌۭ مَّجِيدٌۭ﴿٢١﴾فِى لَوْحٍۢ مَّحْفُوظٍۭ﴿٢٢﴾

About Surah Al-Buruj

Surah Al-Buruj is the 85th surah in the order of the mushaf, and one of the Meccan surahs — revealed to the Prophet ﷺ before the migration to Madinah. It contains 22 ayahs, and it is the eighth surah of Juz ‘Amma, the final part of the Quran that most Muslims begin their memorisation with.

The surah takes its name from its opening oath — «was-sama’i dhat al-buruj» — “by the sky containing the great stars”; some commentators understood al-buruj as the great stars, others as the constellations, the positions of the stars. Allah swears by that sky, by the Promised Day, and by the witness and the witnessed, then relates the account of the People of the Ditch (ashab al-ukhdud) — the fire abundantly fuelled — who sat over it witnessing what they did to the believers, resenting them only because they believed in Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy. The surah then lays out the two outcomes, warns that the grip of your Lord is severe, recalls the hosts of Pharaoh and Thamud, and closes by declaring that this is a glorious Quran, in a Preserved Tablet.

The text shown on this page is the narration of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim, the reading used in most of the Muslim world, in the Uthmani script that follows the Madinah mushaf. The audio recitation is by Sheikh Saad Al-Ghamdi.

Virtues and place of Surah Al-Buruj

1. Recited by the Prophet ﷺ in Zuhr and ‘Asr

Jabir ibn Samurah related that the Prophet ﷺ used to recite «was-sama’i dhat il-buruj» (Al-Buruj) and «was-sama’i wat-tariq» (At-Tariq) in the Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers — recorded by Abu Dawud and an-Nasa’i with a sound chain. His ﷺ regular recitation of this surah in the daily prayers is a mark of its place.

2. The Quran’s great account of steadfastness

The story of the People of the Ditch is the Quran’s great account of steadfastness under persecution: believers who were burned for saying “our Lord is Allah”, and whose steadfastness the surah praises. It is a comfort for every believer tested for their faith — a reminder that the dominion of the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah, and that the two outcomes are never in doubt.

3. The Quran preserved in the Lawh Mahfuz

The surah closes with a majestic affirmation: this is a glorious Quran, in a Preserved Tablet — al-lawh al-mahfuz, the record with Allah in which the Quran is inscribed. However the deniers persist, the Book itself is kept safe with its Lord.

Themes of the Surah

1. The oath and the People of the Ditch (ayahs 1–9)

The surah opens with an oath by the sky of great stars, the Promised Day, and the witness and the witnessed. Then: cursed were the companions of the ditch — the fire abundantly fuelled — as they sat over it witnessing what they did to the believers. They resented them only because they believed in Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy, to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth.

Read from ayah 1 →

2. The two outcomes (ayahs 10–11)

Those who persecuted believing men and women and did not repent: for them is the punishment of Hell and the punishment of the burning. And those who believed and did righteous deeds: gardens beneath which rivers flow — the great attainment.

Read from ayah 10 →

3. The grip of your Lord (ayahs 12–16)

Indeed the grip of your Lord is severe; He originates and He repeats; and He is the Forgiving, the Loving (al-Wadud), Owner of the Glorious Throne, Doer of whatever He intends.

Read from ayah 12 →

4. The hosts before them (ayahs 17–20)

Has the story of the hosts reached you — Pharaoh and Thamud? Yet those who disbelieve persist in denial, and Allah encompasses them from behind.

Read from ayah 17 →

5. A glorious Quran (ayahs 21–22)

Rather, it is a glorious Quran, in a Preserved Tablet — al-lawh al-mahfuz. The surah ends where certainty rests: the Book the deniers reject is inscribed and preserved with Allah.

Read from ayah 21 →

Tips for reading and memorising

It is a short surah of 22 short ayahs — ideal for the early stages of your Quran memorisation.
A simple plan is four or five ayahs a day over five days.
Listen to the recitation above by Sheikh Saad Al-Ghamdi and repeat after him.
Memorise it section by section using the five sections above — the oath and the ditch, the two outcomes, the grip of your Lord, the hosts, and the closing.
Use the “font size” buttons at the top of the page for a comfortable read.
You can print the surah from your browser (Ctrl+P) for a clean paper copy.

Frequently asked questions

How many ayahs are in Surah Al-Buruj?

Surah Al-Buruj has 22 ayahs. It is the 85th surah in the order of the mushaf, and it is a Meccan surah.

Why is it called Surah Al-Buruj?

It is named after its opening oath — «was-sama’i dhat al-buruj» — “by the sky containing the great stars”. Some commentators explained al-buruj as the great stars, while others said it refers to the constellations, the positions of the stars in the sky.

Where does Surah Al-Buruj fall in the Quran?

It is the eighth surah of Juz ‘Amma — the 30th and final juz of the Quran, the part most Muslims begin their memorisation with.

Who were the People of the Ditch (ashab al-ukhdud)?

The commentators connect ayahs 4–8 with the story of the boy and the king narrated in Sahih Muslim: a believing boy whose miracles brought his people to faith, and the king who had the believers cast into a trench of fire when they refused to abandon their faith. The believers were burned for saying “our Lord is Allah”, and their steadfastness is praised in the surah.

What does al-Wadud mean?

Al-Wadud is one of the names of Allah mentioned in ayah 14 of this surah, and it means the Loving. In that ayah it is paired with al-Ghafur, the Forgiving.

What is the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfuz)?

The surah closes by declaring that this is a glorious Quran «fi lawhin mahfuz» — in a Preserved Tablet. According to the commentators, the Preserved Tablet is the record with Allah in which the Quran is inscribed.

Did the Prophet ﷺ recite Surah Al-Buruj in prayer?

Yes. Jabir ibn Samurah related that the Prophet ﷺ used to recite «was-sama’i dhat il-buruj» (Al-Buruj) and «was-sama’i wat-tariq» (At-Tariq) in the Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers — recorded by Abu Dawud and an-Nasa’i with a sound chain.

How long does it take to read the full surah?

A complete recitation of Surah Al-Buruj takes about 3 minutes at a moderate pace. Its 22 ayahs are short, which makes it well suited to daily reading and memorisation.

Which recitation is the text on this page based on?

The text shown on this page is the narration of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim — the most widely used reading in the Muslim world — written in the Uthmani script that follows the Madinah mushaf. The audio recitation on this page is by Sheikh Saad Al-Ghamdi.

Surah Al-Buruj (The Great Stars) — Full Text in Clear Arabic Script

Listen to the recitation