Surah 85
Surah Al-Buruj (The Mansions of the Stars)
البروج
Also written: Buruj, Burooj
Surah Al-Buruj (البروج) is surah 85 of the 114 surahs of the Quran. It has 22 ayahs, was revealed in Mecca (Meccan), and its name means “The Mansions of the Stars”.
- Number
- 85
- Ayahs
- 22
- Revelation
- Meccan
- Meaning
- The Mansions of the Stars
Names, meaning and Meccan/Medinan classification as listed in the quran-json dataset.
About Surah Al-Buruj
Al-Buruj, “The Mansions of the Stars”, opens with an oath by the sky and its great constellations. Its centre is the account of the People of the Ditch (ashab al-ukhdud), who threw believers into a blazing trench simply because they believed in God. The surah comforted the early Muslims of Mecca, who were facing persecution of their own, and ends by affirming the honour of the Quran.
Structure
- Oaths (85:1–3): by the sky with its constellations, the promised Day, and the witness and what is witnessed.
- The Ditch (85:4–9): the persecutors sat by the fire and watched what they did to the believers, resenting them only for their faith in the Almighty, the Praiseworthy.
- Two outcomes (85:10–11): punishment for those who tormented believers and did not repent; gardens for those who believed — “the great success”.
- Who God is (85:12–16): He begins creation and repeats it; He is the Forgiving, the Loving (al-Wadud), Lord of the Throne, who does whatever He wills.
- Past armies and the Quran (85:17–22): Pharaoh and Thamud as examples of denial, and the Quran kept in a Preserved Tablet.
Who were the People of the Ditch?
The surah does not name them, and commentators offer different identifications. Many connect it to the long hadith in Sahih Muslim of the young boy, the king, the sorcerer and the monk, in which a whole town that came to believe was thrown into trenches of fire. Others link it to the persecution of Christians in Najran in southern Arabia. Either way, the lesson is the same: the believers lost their lives but are described as the true winners.
Reports in the Sunan collections mention the Prophet reciting Al-Buruj and At-Tariq in the midday and afternoon prayers.
Frequently asked questions
- How many verses are in Surah Al-Buruj?
- 22.
- Who are the People of the Ditch in Surah Al-Buruj?
- Persecutors who burned believers in a trench of fire. The surah does not name them; many link the story to a hadith in Sahih Muslim, others to events in Najran.
- What does Al-Buruj mean?
- The great stars or constellations of the sky, by which the surah opens with an oath.
- How many ayahs are in Surah Al-Buruj?
- Surah Al-Buruj has 22 ayahs. It is surah number 85 in the Quran and is Meccan.
- Can I read Surah Al-Buruj in English or save it as a PDF?
- Yes. This page shows the Arabic text of every ayah with the Saheeh International English meaning under it. Use “Print / Save as PDF” for a clean printable copy that you can save as a PDF file from your browser.
- Is Surah Al-Buruj the same as Surah Buruj?
- Yes. Buruj, Burooj and Al-Buruj are different English spellings of the same surah name, البروج.
Summaries describe the surah’s content and commonly cited reports for general readers; they are not a tafsir or a religious ruling.
Making a video of Surah Al-Buruj
Surah Al-Buruj has 22 ayahs, so most videos use a passage from it rather than the whole surah. Choose the ayahs you want on the new-project page; one to five ayahs suit a Reel or Short, while longer passages work better in 16:9 for YouTube.
In the editor, the Online Recitations tab lists the reciters Quran Foundation provides for this surah. See how to create a Quran video for the full steps.
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Surah Al-Buruj in Arabic with English meaning
Arabic: Uthmani script from The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia (quranenc.com), Uthmani script, via quran-json (CC-BY-SA 4.0), shown as in the verified dataset; open-tanween marks use the equivalent codepoints this font draws, as in the editor. English meaning: Saheeh International (tanzil.net). A translation conveys the meaning; it is not the Quran itself.
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلۡبُرُوجِ ١
85:1By the sky containing great stars
وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡمَوۡعُودِ ٢
85:2And [by] the promised Day
وَشَاهِدࣲ وَمَشۡهُودࣲ ٣
85:3And [by] the witness and what is witnessed
قُتِلَ أَصۡحَٰبُ ٱلۡأُخۡدُودِ ٤
85:4Cursed were the companions of the trench
ٱلنَّارِ ذَاتِ ٱلۡوَقُودِ ٥
85:5[Containing] the fire full of fuel
إِذۡ هُمۡ عَلَيۡهَا قُعُودࣱ ٦
85:6When they were sitting near it
وَهُمۡ عَلَىٰ مَا يَفۡعَلُونَ بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ شُهُودࣱ ٧
85:7And they, to what they were doing against the believers, were witnesses
وَمَا نَقَمُواْ مِنۡهُمۡ إِلَّآ أَن يُؤۡمِنُواْ بِٱللَّهِ ٱلۡعَزِيزِ ٱلۡحَمِيدِ ٨
85:8And they resented them not except because they believed in Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy
ٱلَّذِي لَهُۥ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيۡءࣲ شَهِيدٌ ٩
85:9To whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. And Allah, over all things, is Witness
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ فَتَنُواْ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنَٰتِ ثُمَّ لَمۡ يَتُوبُواْ فَلَهُمۡ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابُ ٱلۡحَرِيقِ ١٠
85:10Indeed, 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 ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَٰتِ لَهُمۡ جَنَّـٰتࣱ تَجۡرِي مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلۡفَوۡزُ ٱلۡكَبِيرُ ١١
85:11Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds will have gardens beneath which rivers flow. That is the great attainment
إِنَّ بَطۡشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ ١٢
85:12Indeed, the vengeance of your Lord is severe
إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ يُبۡدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ ١٣
85:13Indeed, it is He who originates [creation] and repeats
وَهُوَ ٱلۡغَفُورُ ٱلۡوَدُودُ ١٤
85:14And He is the Forgiving, the Affectionate
ذُو ٱلۡعَرۡشِ ٱلۡمَجِيدُ ١٥
85:15Honorable Owner of the Throne
فَعَّالࣱ لِّمَا يُرِيدُ ١٦
85:16Effecter of what He intends
هَلۡ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ ٱلۡجُنُودِ ١٧
85:17Has there reached you the story of the soldiers
فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَثَمُودَ ١٨
85:18[Those of] Pharaoh and Thamud
بَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فِي تَكۡذِيبࣲ ١٩
85:19But they who disbelieve are in [persistent] denial
وَٱللَّهُ مِن وَرَآئِهِم مُّحِيطُۢ ٢٠
85:20While Allah encompasses them from behind
بَلۡ هُوَ قُرۡءَانࣱ مَّجِيدࣱ ٢١
85:21But this is an honored Qur'an
فِي لَوۡحࣲ مَّحۡفُوظِۭ ٢٢
85:22[Inscribed] in a Preserved Slate