Surah Al-'Adiyat Word by Word + The Seven-Link Method

Surah Al-'Adiyat opens with five oaths in a row, sworn by warhorses at dawn — panting, striking sparks from the stones, raising dust, driving into the middle of the enemy. Then, without warning, it turns and says something about you. Eleven verses, forty words, and one of the sharpest turns in the Qur'an. This guide gives the complete word-by-word meaning of Surah Al-'Adiyat for readers in the UK and the United States, and applies the Seven-Link Method.

📌 At a glance

• Surah: Al-'Adiyat (العاديات, "The Racers") — number 100

• Length: 11 verses — 40 words in total

• Revealed: Makkah (Makki)

• Structure: five oaths (1–5), three statements about man (6–8), the reckoning (9–11)

• Theme: the horse gives everything and does not complain; the human being is described differently

💎 Did you know?

The first five verses of Surah Al-'Adiyat all end in the same -an sound: ḍabḥan, qadḥan, ṣubḥan, naqʿan, jamʿan. Then the rhyme changes completely, three times in a row, to -īd: kanūd, shahīd, shadīd. The sound tells you exactly where the oaths stop and the verdict begins.

📖 What is Surah Al-'Adiyat?

Surah Al-'Adiyat (سُورَةُ العاديات) is the 100th surah of the Qur'an. Its opening five verses are a single extended oath sworn by al-ʿādiyāt — the runners, understood by most commentators as horses charging into a raid at first light.

The description is precise and physical: the panting of the animals, sparks struck from stone by their hooves, the dawn charge, the dust thrown up, and the moment they drive into the centre of the opposing force. Nothing in it is decorative.

Then verse 6 arrives: innal-insāna li-rabbihi la-kanūd — indeed, the human being is ungrateful to his Lord. The contrast is the surah's argument, and it is left entirely unspoken: the animal gives everything it has without being asked; the human being, given everything, does not.

🕋 The full text and translation

"By the racers, panting; striking sparks; charging at dawn; raising thereby a cloud of dust; and driving thereby into the middle of a gathering — indeed, the human being is ungrateful to his Lord, and indeed he is a witness to that, and indeed he is intense in his love of wealth. Does he not know that when what is in the graves is scattered, and what is in the breasts is brought out — indeed their Lord, that Day, is fully aware of them."
(Surah Al-'Adiyat 100:1–11)

🔑 Surah Al-'Adiyat: word by word

Here is every word of Surah Al-'Adiyat in order, with its transliteration and English meaning. Take it a few lines at a time rather than trying to absorb the whole table at once.

👉 Want to hear each word and see its syllables and grammar? Study Surah Al-'Adiyat interactively — with audio for every word — using Eaalim's free Quranic Words tool for Surah Al-'Adiyat.

🎓 Learn this surah with a teacher, not just a table

Reading the meanings is the first half. Hearing your own recitation corrected is the other. Eaalim gives new students two free trial lessons — one-to-one on Zoom with an Al-Azhar certified teacher, never a group class — booked around your own time zone in the UK, the United States or anywhere else. Paid plans start at £9 per hour.

Claim your 2 free trial lessons →

📜 Surah Al-'Adiyat verse by verse

وَٱلْعَـٰدِيَـٰتِ ضَبْحًا ︑١︒ فَٱلْمُورِيَـٰتِ قَدْحًا ︑٢︒ فَٱلْمُغِيرَٰتِ صُبْحًا ︑٣︒

Wa-l-ʿādiyāti ḍabḥā. Fa-l-mūriyāti qadḥā. Fa-l-mughīrāti ṣubḥā

"By the racers, panting; striking sparks; charging at dawn."

Ḍabḥ is the sound a horse makes in its chest when it runs hard — a word used for almost nothing else. Qadḥ is the strike that makes a spark. Each fa- means "then": the oaths are in sequence, not a list.

فَأَثَرْنَ بِهِۦ نَقْعًا ︑٤︒ فَوَسَطْنَ بِهِۦ جَمْعًا ︑٥︒

Fa-atharna bihi naqʿā. Fa-wasaṭna bihi jamʿā

"Raising thereby a cloud of dust, and driving thereby into the middle of a gathering."

The two verses are built identically — verb, bihi, object — which is what makes them easy to swap. The sequence is physical: dust first, then the point of contact.

إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لِرَبِّهِۦ لَكَنُودٌ ︑٦︒

Inna l-insāna li-rabbihi la-kanūd

"Indeed, the human being is ungrateful to his Lord."

The turn. Kanūd is a strong word: one who withholds thanks, who remembers what he was denied and forgets what he was given.

وَإِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ لَشَهِيدٌ ︑٧︒

Wa innahu ʿalā dhālika la-shahīd

"And indeed he is a witness to that."

He knows. The surah forecloses the excuse of ignorance before it can be made.

وَإِنَّهُۥ لِحُبِّ ٱلْخَيْرِ لَشَدِيدٌ ︑٨︒

Wa innahu li-ḥubbi l-khayri la-shadīd

"And indeed he is intense in his love of wealth."

Al-khayr here means wealth and property — the Qur'an sometimes uses "good" for goods. The point is the contrast in energy: intense about property, ungrateful towards the Provider.

أَفَلَا يَعْلَمُ إِذَا بُعْثِرَ مَا فِى ٱلْقُبُورِ ︑٩︒ وَحُصِّلَ مَا فِى ٱلصُّدُورِ ︑١٠︒

A-fa-lā yaʿlamu idhā buʿthira mā fī l-qubūr. Wa ḥuṣṣila mā fī ṣ-ṣudūr

"Does he not know that when what is in the graves is scattered, and what is in the breasts is brought out?"

Two parallel clauses: what is in the graves and what is in the breasts. Bodies and intentions, both brought out. Ḥuṣṣila means to be sifted and collected — the word used for separating grain from chaff.

إِنَّ رَبَّهُم بِهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَّخَبِيرٌۢ ︑١١︒

Inna rabbahum bihim yawma'idhin la-khabīr

"Indeed their Lord, that Day, is fully aware of them."

Khabīr is knowledge of what is hidden and internal — the exact answer to a verse about what is in the breasts.

💡 Understanding the meaning behind the words

A few words carry most of the weight of this surah, and each rewards a closer look.

Ḍabḥan — The panting sound of a horse running at full effort. It appears only here in the Qur'an, and there is no ordinary English equivalent — which is itself a clue to how specific the opening scene is.

Kanūd — Ungrateful, in the sense of withholding what is owed. Commentators describe the kanūd as the one who counts his misfortunes and forgets his blessings.

Al-khayr — Literally "good", used here for wealth and property. The usage is worth noticing: the surah lets the word for goodness stand in for possessions, which is exactly the confusion it is describing.

Ḥuṣṣila — To be collected after sifting — used for separating out what is wanted from what is not. Applied to what is in the breasts, it means intentions sorted and displayed.

🔗 The Seven-Link Method applied to Surah Al-'Adiyat

Five oaths that are almost identical in shape, then three statements that all end the same way. Al-'Adiyat is built out of near-repetitions, which is exactly what the Seven-Link Method is for.

Verbal link (1) — the chains of repeated forms

Verses 1–3 use the same feminine plural participle pattern (al-ʿādiyāt, al-mūriyāt, al-mughīrāt); verses 4–5 both contain bihi; verses 6–8 all open with inna or wa innahu and end with la- plus an adjective. Three groups of repeated shapes, in three blocks.

Phonetic link (2) — three rhymes, three sections

Verses 1–5 end in -an (ḍabḥan, qadḥan, ṣubḥan, naqʿan, jamʿan); verses 6–8 end in -īd (kanūd, shahīd, shadīd); verses 9–11 end in -ūr and -īr (al-qubūr, aṣ-ṣudūr, khabīr). The rhyme changes exactly where the subject changes. No other short surah signposts its structure so clearly through sound.

Thematic link (3) — oaths, verdict, reckoning

Five oaths set a scene of total effort. Three statements describe a human being. Three verses ask whether he has thought about the end. If you know which of the three blocks you are in, the rhyme tells you the rest.

Narrative link (4) — the turn you must not smooth over

Nothing prepares you for verse 6. The surah spends five verses on horses and then, with no transition, is talking about you. That jolt is the structure — and remembering that there is no bridge stops you looking for one.

Visual link (5) — dawn, then a courtroom

Horses at a gallop in half-light; sparks off stone; dust rising; the moment of impact — and then, abruptly, a person standing still while what was in the graves and what was in the chests is laid out.

Numerical link (6) — counts

11 verses, 40 words, 5 oaths, 3 statements about man, 3 closing verses, 2 bihis, 2 mā fī clauses. The surah divides 5 : 3 : 3.

Similar-verse link (7) — the three -īd words, and the two mā fī clauses

• Kanūd, shahīd and shadīd rhyme and appear in consecutive verses, so their order slips. Fix it by sense: he is ungrateful, he knows it, and he is intense about wealth — accusation, admission, cause.
• Mā fī l-qubūr and mā fī ṣ-ṣudūr are built identically. Graves come first, because bodies are raised before intentions are examined.

🎥 The visual film

Run this sequence in your mind twice after Fajr and twice before sleep — one image per stage:

1. Verses 1–3 — horses at full gallop in half-light, sparks flying from their hooves.

2. Verses 4–5 — a wall of dust, and then the line breaking into the middle of a crowd.

3. Verses 6–8 — the scene cuts. One person, still, described in three sentences.

4. Verses 9–10 — the ground opening; then something invisible being lifted out of a chest.

5. Verse 11 — one who knew all of it already, watching.

📚 How to learn Surah Al-'Adiyat word by word

1. Day 1 — verses 1–5, the oaths. Learn them as a sequence of fa-s: then, then, then. Twelve words in total.

2. Day 2 — verses 6–8. Say the three -īd words in order out loud, several times, before adding the rest of each verse.

3. Day 3 — verses 9–11, and the two mā fī clauses in the right order: graves, then breasts.

4. Day 4 — recite the whole surah listening for the rhyme changing twice. If it does not change twice, you have lost a block.

A qualified teacher shortens all of this: correct Tajweed, honest feedback on the verses you only think you know, and answers to the questions that come up once you start understanding the words.

🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Studying Surah Al-'Adiyat from the UK or the United States

Most people reading this guide are not learning Arabic in an Arabic-speaking country. They are fitting the Qur'an around school runs in Birmingham, shift work in Manchester, or an evening after the commute home in Chicago or Toronto — and the practical problem is rarely motivation. It is finding a teacher who will correct one surah properly, at a time that actually exists in your week.

That is the gap Eaalim Institute was built for. We are a London-based institute teaching English-speaking Muslims across Britain, the United States, Canada and Europe:

• One-to-one, never group. Every lesson is private on Zoom, so the whole session is spent on your recitation rather than waiting your turn in a halaqa.

• Al-Azhar certified teachers. Male and female teachers, matched to the student — which matters for families booking for children.

• Scheduled around your time zone. Evening and weekend slots, arranged around school hours and prayer times rather than against them.

• Two free trial lessons before you pay anything, and plans from £9 per hour after that.

If you have read this far into a word-by-word guide, you are already doing the hard part. A teacher simply makes it faster — and stops you memorising a mistake.

Book 2 free Quran lessons with Eaalim →  |  See plans and pricing →

🎓 Learn it properly with Eaalim

The two halves of this guide match two Eaalim courses. Our Quranic Words Course teaches Qur'anic vocabulary word by word to English-speaking students across the UK, the United States and worldwide. Our Qur'an Memorisation (Hifz) Course applies the Seven-Link Method surah by surah with Al-Azhar certified teachers, one to one.

Start with 2 free trial lessons →  |  Explore the Quranic Words Course →

✨ Key takeaways

• Surah Al-'Adiyat is 11 verses and 40 words, and divides 5 : 3 : 3.

• The rhyme changes twice — -an, then -īd, then -ūr — exactly where the subject changes.

• Kanūd describes someone who counts what he lost and forgets what he was given.

• Al-khayr here means wealth, not goodness in the abstract.

• Graves come before breasts in verses 9–10: bodies raised first, intentions examined after.

Continue with Surah At-Takathur word by word + the Seven-Link Method, which asks a related question about wealth, or with Surah Al-Qari'ah.

✨ Conclusion

Forty words that begin with horses and end with what is inside a person's chest. Learned word by word — ḍabḥan, kanūd, ṣudūr, khabīr — Surah Al-'Adiyat makes an argument it never actually states: the animal gave everything it had, and was never asked to be grateful.

Begin your Hifz journey with Eaalim →