Overall meaning : I swear by the redness that spreads on the horizon after sunset, and by the night and all the creatures it envelops and by the moon when it grows to its fullest and brightest that you, mankind, will move onward, stage by stage!
Why then do the unbelievers not believe in the hereafter and deny the resurrection after death, and when the Qur’an is recited to them they do not prostrate themselves to Allah?! There is nothing that should prevent them from believing and prostrating themselves before Allah; in fact, they deny the Qur’an and the resurrection out of sheer stubborn arrogance, but Allah is fully aware of the unbelief they keep hidden in their hearts. Therefore, give them, Muhammad, the news of a painful punishment. However, those among them who repent, believe in Allah and obey Him will have, in the life to come, a full reward, which will be undiminished and everlasting.