الشعراء
The Poets
Explanations are simplified from tafsirs by Ibn Kathir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.
kadhabat thamūdu l-mur'salīna
Thamūd denied the messengers
idh qāla lahum akhūhum ṣāliḥun alā tattaqūna
When their brother Ṣāliḥ said to them, "Will you not fear Allāh?
innī lakum rasūlun amīnun
Indeed, I am to you a trustworthy messenger.
fa-ittaqū l-laha wa-aṭīʿūni
So fear Allāh and obey me.
wamā asalukum ʿalayhi min ajrin in ajriya illā ʿalā rabbi l-ʿālamīna
And I do not ask you for it any payment. My payment is only from the Lord of the worlds.
atut'rakūna fī mā hāhunā āminīna
Will you be left in what is here, secure [from death],
fī jannātin waʿuyūnin
Within gardens and springs
wazurūʿin wanakhlin ṭalʿuhā haḍīmun
And fields of crops and palm trees with softened fruit?
watanḥitūna mina l-jibāli buyūtan fārihīna
And you carve out of the mountains, homes, with skill.
fa-ittaqū l-laha wa-aṭīʿūni
So fear Allāh and obey me.
walā tuṭīʿū amra l-mus'rifīna
And do not obey the order of the transgressors,
alladhīna yuf'sidūna fī l-arḍi walā yuṣ'liḥūna
Who cause corruption in the land and do not amend."
qālū innamā anta mina l-musaḥarīna
They said, "You are only of those affected by magic.
mā anta illā basharun mith'lunā fati biāyatin in kunta mina l-ṣādiqīna
You are but a man like ourselves, so bring a sign, if you should be of the truthful."
qāla hādhihi nāqatun lahā shir'bun walakum shir'bu yawmin maʿlūmin
He said, "This is a she-camel. For her is a [time of] drink, and for you is a [time of] drink, [each] on a known day.
walā tamassūhā bisūin fayakhudhakum ʿadhābu yawmin ʿaẓīmin
And do not touch her with harm, lest you be seized by the punishment of a terrible day."
faʿaqarūhā fa-aṣbaḥū nādimīna
But they hamstrung her and so became regretful.
fa-akhadhahumu l-ʿadhābu inna fī dhālika laāyatan wamā kāna aktharuhum mu'minīna
And the punishment seized them. Indeed in that is a sign, but most of them were not to be believers.
wa-inna rabbaka lahuwa l-ʿazīzu l-raḥīmu
And indeed, your Lord - He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful.
kadhabat qawmu lūṭin l-mur'salīna
The people of Lot denied the messengers