Surah Al-Anbya, Ayah 21-40 — Word by Word
الأنبياء
The Prophets
Explanations are simplified from tafsirs by Ibn Kathir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.
ami ittakhadhū ālihatan mina l-arḍi hum yunshirūna
Or have they [i.e., men] taken for themselves gods from the earth who resurrect [the dead]?
law kāna fīhimā ālihatun illā l-lahu lafasadatā fasub'ḥāna l-lahi rabbi l-ʿarshi ʿammā yaṣifūna
Had there been within them [i.e., the heavens and earth] gods besides Allāh, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allāh, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe.
lā yus'alu ʿammā yafʿalu wahum yus'alūna
He is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned.
ami ittakhadhū min dūnihi ālihatan qul hātū bur'hānakum hādhā dhik'ru man maʿiya wadhik'ru man qablī bal aktharuhum lā yaʿlamūna l-ḥaqa fahum muʿ'riḍūna
Or have they taken gods besides Him? Say, [O Muḥammad], "Produce your proof. This [Qur’ān] is the message for those with me and the message of those before me." But most of them do not know the truth, so they are turning away.
wamā arsalnā min qablika min rasūlin illā nūḥī ilayhi annahu lā ilāha illā anā fa-uʿ'budūni
And We sent not before you any messenger except We revealed to him that, "There is no deity except Me, so worship Me."
waqālū ittakhadha l-raḥmānu waladan sub'ḥānahu bal ʿibādun muk'ramūna
And they say, "The Most Merciful has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather, they are [but] honored servants.
lā yasbiqūnahu bil-qawli wahum bi-amrihi yaʿmalūna
They cannot precede Him in word, and they act by His command.
yaʿlamu mā bayna aydīhim wamā khalfahum walā yashfaʿūna illā limani ir'taḍā wahum min khashyatihi mush'fiqūna
He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they cannot intercede except on behalf of one whom He approves. And they, from fear of Him, are apprehensive.
waman yaqul min'hum innī ilāhun min dūnihi fadhālika najzīhi jahannama kadhālika najzī l-ẓālimīna
And whoever of them should say, "Indeed, I am a god besides Him" - that one We would recompense with Hell. Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers.
awalam yara alladhīna kafarū anna l-samāwāti wal-arḍa kānatā ratqan fafataqnāhumā wajaʿalnā mina l-māi kulla shayin ḥayyin afalā yu'minūna
Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and then We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?
wajaʿalnā fī l-arḍi rawāsiya an tamīda bihim wajaʿalnā fīhā fijājan subulan laʿallahum yahtadūna
And We placed within the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shift with them, and We made therein [mountain] passes [as] roads that they might be guided.
wajaʿalnā l-samāa saqfan maḥfūẓan wahum ʿan āyātihā muʿ'riḍūna
And We made the sky a protected ceiling, but they, from its signs, are turning away.
wahuwa alladhī khalaqa al-layla wal-nahāra wal-shamsa wal-qamara kullun fī falakin yasbaḥūna
And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming.
wamā jaʿalnā libasharin min qablika l-khul'da afa-in mitta fahumu l-khālidūna
And We did not grant to any man before you eternity [on earth]; so if you die - would they be eternal?
kullu nafsin dhāiqatu l-mawti wanablūkum bil-shari wal-khayri fit'natan wa-ilaynā tur'jaʿūna
Every soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good as trial; and to Us you will be returned.
wa-idhā raāka alladhīna kafarū in yattakhidhūnaka illā huzuwan ahādhā alladhī yadhkuru ālihatakum wahum bidhik'ri l-raḥmāni hum kāfirūna
And when those who disbelieve see you, [O Muḥammad], they take you not except in ridicule, [saying], "Is this the one who mentions [i.e., insults] your gods?" And they are, at the mention of the Most Merciful, disbelievers.
khuliqa l-insānu min ʿajalin sa-urīkum āyātī falā tastaʿjilūni
Man was created of haste [i.e., impatience]. I will show you My signs [i.e., vengeance], so do not impatiently urge Me.
wayaqūlūna matā hādhā l-waʿdu in kuntum ṣādiqīna
And they say, "When is this promise, if you should be truthful?"
law yaʿlamu alladhīna kafarū ḥīna lā yakuffūna ʿan wujūhihimu l-nāra walā ʿan ẓuhūrihim walā hum yunṣarūna
If those who disbelieved but knew the time when they will not avert the Fire from their faces or from their backs and they will not be aided...
bal tatīhim baghtatan fatabhatuhum falā yastaṭīʿūna raddahā walā hum yunẓarūna
Rather, it will come to them unexpectedly and bewilder them, and they will not be able to repel it, nor will they be reprieved.