Maktab QuranSurah Yaseen is among the most beloved and most-recited surahs in the Muslim world — 83 short, rhythmic Meccan ayahs on revelation, resurrection and the signs of Allah in creation. Families recite it in times of difficulty and for the ill and deceased across the world; its cadence is so strong that many students find it half-memorizes itself through sheer familiarity.
Surah Yaseen is the 36th chapter of the Qur'an, a Meccan surah of 83 verses. It affirms that the Prophet ﷺ is among the messengers on a straight path, relates the account of the messengers sent to a town and the man who came running from its farthest end, points to signs in the created world, and answers the question of who will give life to disintegrated bones.
Surah Yaseen at a glance
| Surah number | 36 of 114 |
|---|---|
| Arabic name | سُورَةُ يسٓ |
| Name in English | Yaseen — “Yaseen” |
| Verses (ayahs) | 83 |
| Revealed in | Makkah |
| Juz | 22, 23 |
| Length in the Mushaf | about 6 pages |
The opening affirmation
The surah opens with an oath by the wise Qur'an that the Prophet ﷺ is among the messengers, on a straight path, sent to warn a people whose forefathers were not warned. It describes those upon whom the word has already come into effect.
The town, and the man who came running
It relates the messengers sent to the companions of a town who denied them, and the man who came running from the farthest end of the city urging his people to follow them — and what was said to him afterwards.
Signs, and the answer about the bones
The surah turns to signs: the dead earth revived, gardens and springs, night stripped of day, the sun running its course, the moon and its phases, the ship laden at sea. It closes with the man who asks who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated, and the answer — He who produced them the first time — followed by the statement that His command is only to say to a thing “Be.”
Read Surah Yaseen in full
The Arabic below is the Uthmani script, with a Roman transliteration to help you sound out each verse and the Sahih International English translation of the meaning. If you are learning to recite it, read the Arabic line first and use the transliteration only to check yourself — leaning on it slows real reading down.
Listen to Surah Yaseen (Mishary Al-Afasy)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ يسٓ
Yaa-Seeen
Ya, Seen.
وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ
Wal-Qur-aanil-Hakeem
By the wise Qur'an.
إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ
Innaka laminal mursaleen
Indeed you, [O Muhammad], are from among the messengers,
عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍۢ مُّسْتَقِيمٍۢ
'Alaa Siraatim Mustaqeem
On a straight path.
تَنزِيلَ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Tanzeelal 'Azeezir Raheem
[This is] a revelation of the Exalted in Might, the Merciful,
لِتُنذِرَ قَوْمًۭا مَّآ أُنذِرَ ءَابَآؤُهُمْ فَهُمْ غَٰفِلُونَ
Litunzira qawmam maaa unzira aabaaa'uhum fahum ghaafiloon
That you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are unaware.
لَقَدْ حَقَّ ٱلْقَوْلُ عَلَىٰٓ أَكْثَرِهِمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Laqad haqqal qawlu 'alaaa aksarihim fahum laa yu'minoon
Already the word has come into effect upon most of them, so they do not believe.
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا فِىٓ أَعْنَٰقِهِمْ أَغْلَٰلًۭا فَهِىَ إِلَى ٱلْأَذْقَانِ فَهُم مُّقْمَحُونَ
Innaa ja'alnaa feee a'naaqihim aghlaalan fahiya ilal azqaani fahum muqmahoon
Indeed, We have put shackles on their necks, and they are to their chins, so they are with heads [kept] aloft.
وَجَعَلْنَا مِنۢ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ سَدًّۭا وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ سَدًّۭا فَأَغْشَيْنَٰهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ
Wa ja'alnaa mim baini aydeehim saddanw-wa min khalfihim saddan fa aghshai naahum fahum laa yubsiroon
And We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier and covered them, so they do not see.
وَسَوَآءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Wa sawaaa'un 'alaihim 'a-anzartahum am lam tunzirhum laa yu'minoon
And it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them - they will not believe.
إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ مَنِ ٱتَّبَعَ ٱلذِّكْرَ وَخَشِىَ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ ۖ فَبَشِّرْهُ بِمَغْفِرَةٍۢ وَأَجْرٍۢ كَرِيمٍ
Innamaa tunziru manit taba 'az-Zikra wa khashiyar Rahmaana bilghaib, fabashshirhu bimaghfiratinw-wa ajrin kareem
You can only warn one who follows the message and fears the Most Merciful unseen. So give him good tidings of forgiveness and noble reward.
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا۟ وَءَاثَٰرَهُمْ ۚ وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَٰهُ فِىٓ إِمَامٍۢ مُّبِينٍۢ
Innaa Nahnu nuhyil mawtaa wa naktubu maa qaddamoo wa aasaarahum; wa kulla shai'in ahsainaahu feee Imaamim Mubeen
Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have put forth and what they left behind, and all things We have enumerated in a clear register.
وَٱضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلًا أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ إِذْ جَآءَهَا ٱلْمُرْسَلُونَ
Wadrib lahum masalan Ashaabal Qaryatih; iz jaaa'ahal mursaloon
And present to them an example: the people of the city, when the messengers came to it -
إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْهِمُ ٱثْنَيْنِ فَكَذَّبُوهُمَا فَعَزَّزْنَا بِثَالِثٍۢ فَقَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّآ إِلَيْكُم مُّرْسَلُونَ
Iz arsalnaaa ilaihimusnaini fakazzaboohumaa fa'azzaznaa bisaalisin faqaalooo innaaa ilaikum mursaloon
When We sent to them two but they denied them, so We strengthened them with a third, and they said, "Indeed, we are messengers to you."
قَالُوا۟ مَآ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا بَشَرٌۭ مِّثْلُنَا وَمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ مِن شَىْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا تَكْذِبُونَ
Qaaloo maaa antum illaa basharum mislunaa wa maaa anzalar Rahmaanu min shai'in in antum illaa takziboon
They said, "You are not but human beings like us, and the Most Merciful has not revealed a thing. You are only telling lies."
قَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا يَعْلَمُ إِنَّآ إِلَيْكُمْ لَمُرْسَلُونَ
Qaaloo Rabbunaa ya'lamu innaaa ilaikum lamursaloon
They said, "Our Lord knows that we are messengers to you,
وَمَا عَلَيْنَآ إِلَّا ٱلْبَلَٰغُ ٱلْمُبِينُ
Wa maa 'alainaaa illal balaaghul mubeen
And we are not responsible except for clear notification."
قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا تَطَيَّرْنَا بِكُمْ ۖ لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهُوا۟ لَنَرْجُمَنَّكُمْ وَلَيَمَسَّنَّكُم مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ
Qaaloo innaa tataiyarnaa bikum la'il-lam tantahoo lanar jumannakum wa la-yamassan nakum minnaa 'azaabun aleem
They said, "Indeed, we consider you a bad omen. If you do not desist, we will surely stone you, and there will surely touch you, from us, a painful punishment."
قَالُوا۟ طَٰٓئِرُكُم مَّعَكُمْ ۚ أَئِن ذُكِّرْتُم ۚ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌۭ مُّسْرِفُونَ
Qaaloo taaa'irukum ma'akum; a'in zukkirtum; bal antum qawmum musrifoon
They said, "Your omen is with yourselves. Is it because you were reminded? Rather, you are a transgressing people."
وَجَآءَ مِنْ أَقْصَا ٱلْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌۭ يَسْعَىٰ قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ ٱتَّبِعُوا۟ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ
Wa jaaa'a min aqsal madeenati rajuluny yas'aa qaala yaa qawmit tabi'ul mursaleen
And there came from the farthest end of the city a man, running. He said, "O my people, follow the messengers.
Showing the first 20 of 83 verses. Read the complete surah with translation at Quran.com.
Learning Surah Yaseen
Yaseen is one of the most widely memorised surahs outside Juz 30, and its verses are short with strong rhyme, so it moves faster than 83 verses suggests. The middle narrative is where order slips.
Why memorize Surah Yaseen?
Because you've heard it all your life. For most students Yaseen is the long surah with the biggest head start: the ear already knows its rhythm, so the work is converting passive familiarity into precise, corrected memorization.
How long does Surah Yaseen take to memorize?
Honest answer: it depends on your daily portion and whether someone is correcting you. Surah Yaseen is about 83 lines of mushaf text. Here is what that means at three realistic paces — each assuming you also run the revision cycle (which is what makes it permanent):
| Pace | New memorization per day | Time to finish Surah Yaseen | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relaxed | ~3 lines | about 4 weeks | Busy adults, first-time memorizers |
| Steady | ~5 lines | about 3 weeks | Most students — the sweet spot |
| Focused | ~10 lines | about 9 days | Experienced memorizers, school holidays |
Add roughly a consolidation week at the end — the point where you can recite the whole surah to a listener without prompts. Our guide to how long the whole Quran takes uses the same arithmetic.
The smart way to memorize Surah Yaseen
Use the rhythm — Yaseen's short ayahs land in tight rhyming clusters, so memorize in meaning-groups of 5–10 ayahs rather than lines. The surah divides cleanly: the messengers of the town (13–32), the signs in creation (33–50), the Day of Resurrection (51–68), and the closing argument (69–83). Listen to one reciter only while memorizing; Yaseen is recited in many styles and switching qaris mid-surah scrambles the audio memory.
A milestone plan for Surah Yaseen
At the steady pace (~5 lines a day), Surah Yaseen breaks into four milestones. Print our free planner PDF and mark them off:
| Portion | New-memorization time | Cumulative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milestone 1 | Ayahs 1–20 | ~4 days | Day 4 |
| Milestone 2 | Ayahs 21–40 | ~4 days | Day 8 |
| Milestone 3 | Ayahs 41–60 | ~4 days | Day 12 |
| Milestone 4 | Ayahs 61–83 | ~5 days | Day 17 |
The method: sabaq, sabqi, manzil
Serious memorization runs on the classic three-cycle system used in hifz institutes worldwide: sabaq (today's new portion), sabqi (the recent pages, revised daily until solid), and manzil (older material, cycled weekly so it never fades). Our Hifz course is built on exactly this cycle, and our free memorization planner PDF gives you printable sabaq–sabqi–manzil grids to track it.
Why memorize with a live teacher
Self-memorization has one fatal flaw: you cannot hear your own mistakes. A mispronounced letter or shortened madd, repeated twenty times during memorization, becomes near-permanent — teachers call it 'memorizing your mistakes'. In a live one-to-one lesson on our synchronized Quran screen, every slip is corrected the moment it happens, before it settles. Recitation is checked ayah by ayah, revision is scheduled for you, and the first lesson is a free trial.