ٱلْقَلَم : ٤٢

  • يَوۡمَ (The) Day
  • يُكۡشَفُ will be uncovered
  • عَن from
  • سَاقٖ the shin
  • وَيُدۡعَوۡنَ and they will be called
  • إِلَى to
  • ٱلسُّجُودِ prostrate
  • فَلَا but not
  • يَسۡتَطِيعُونَ they will be able
The Day the shin will be uncovered1 and they are invited to prostration but they [i.e., the disbelievers] will not be able,
Footnotes
1 - i.e., when everyone will find before him great difficulty. In accordance with authentic ḥadīths, "the shin" might also refer to that of Allāh (subḥānahu wa taʿālā), before which every believer will prostrate on the Day of Judgement. See footnote to 2:19.
Mention, the day when the shank is bared (an expression denoting the severity of the predicament during the reckoning and the requital on the Day of Resurrection: one says kashafati'l-harbu 'an saaqin, 'the war has bared its shank', to mean that it has intensified) and they are summoned to prostrate themselves, as a test of their faith, but they will not be able [to do so] - their backs will become as [stiff as] a brick wall.