العنكبوت
The Spider
Explanations are simplified from tafsirs by Ibn Kathir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.
yuʿadhibu man yashāu wayarḥamu man yashāu wa-ilayhi tuq'labūna
He punishes whom He wills and has mercy upon whom He wills, and to Him you will be returned.
wamā antum bimuʿ'jizīna fī l-arḍi walā fī l-samāi wamā lakum min dūni l-lahi min waliyyin walā naṣīrin
And you will not cause failure [to Allāh] upon the earth or in the heaven. And you have not other than Allāh any protector or any helper.
wa-alladhīna kafarū biāyāti l-lahi waliqāihi ulāika ya-isū min raḥmatī wa-ulāika lahum ʿadhābun alīmun
And the ones who disbelieve in the signs of Allāh and the meeting with Him - those have despaired of My mercy, and they will have a painful punishment.
famā kāna jawāba qawmihi illā an qālū uq'tulūhu aw ḥarriqūhu fa-anjāhu l-lahu mina l-nāri inna fī dhālika laāyātin liqawmin yu'minūna
And the answer of his [i.e., Abraham's] people was not but that they said, "Kill him or burn him," but Allāh saved him from the fire. Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe.
waqāla innamā ittakhadhtum min dūni l-lahi awthānan mawaddata baynikum fī l-ḥayati l-dun'yā thumma yawma l-qiyāmati yakfuru baʿḍukum bibaʿḍin wayalʿanu baʿḍukum baʿḍan wamawākumu l-nāru wamā lakum min nāṣirīna
And [Abraham] said, "You have only taken, other than Allāh, idols as [a bond of] affection among you in worldly life. Then on the Day of Resurrection you will deny one another and curse one another, and your refuge will be the Fire, and you will not have any helpers."
faāmana lahu lūṭun waqāla innī muhājirun ilā rabbī innahu huwa l-ʿazīzu l-ḥakīmu
And Lot believed him. [Abraham] said, "Indeed, I will emigrate to [the service of] my Lord. Indeed, He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise."
wawahabnā lahu is'ḥāqa wayaʿqūba wajaʿalnā fī dhurriyyatihi l-nubuwata wal-kitāba waātaynāhu ajrahu fī l-dun'yā wa-innahu fī l-ākhirati lamina l-ṣāliḥīna
And We gave to him Isaac and Jacob and placed in his descendants prophethood and scripture. And We gave him his reward in this world, and indeed, he is in the Hereafter among the righteous.
walūṭan idh qāla liqawmihi innakum latatūna l-fāḥishata mā sabaqakum bihā min aḥadin mina l-ʿālamīna
And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Indeed, you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds.
a-innakum latatūna l-rijāla wataqṭaʿūna l-sabīla watatūna fī nādīkumu l-munkara famā kāna jawāba qawmihi illā an qālū i'tinā biʿadhābi l-lahi in kunta mina l-ṣādiqīna
Indeed, you approach men and obstruct the road and commit in your meetings [every] evil." And the answer of his people was not but that they said, "Bring us the punishment of Allāh, if you should be of the truthful."
qāla rabbi unṣur'nī ʿalā l-qawmi l-muf'sidīna
He said, "My Lord, support me against the corrupting people."
walammā jāat rusulunā ib'rāhīma bil-bush'rā qālū innā muh'likū ahli hādhihi l-qaryati inna ahlahā kānū ẓālimīna
And when Our messengers [i.e., angels] came to Abraham with the good tidings, they said, "Indeed, we will destroy the people of that [i.e., Lot's] city. Indeed, its people have been wrongdoers."
qāla inna fīhā lūṭan qālū naḥnu aʿlamu biman fīhā lanunajjiyannahu wa-ahlahu illā im'ra-atahu kānat mina l-ghābirīna
[Abraham] said, "Indeed, within it is Lot." They said, "We are more knowing of who is within it. We will surely save him and his family, except his wife. She is to be of those who remain behind."
walammā an jāat rusulunā lūṭan sīa bihim waḍāqa bihim dharʿan waqālū lā takhaf walā taḥzan innā munajjūka wa-ahlaka illā im'ra-ataka kānat mina l-ghābirīna
And when Our messengers [i.e., angels] came to Lot, he was distressed for them and felt for them great discomfort. They said, "Fear not, nor grieve. Indeed, we will save you and your family, except your wife; she is to be of those who remain behind.
innā munzilūna ʿalā ahli hādhihi l-qaryati rij'zan mina l-samāi bimā kānū yafsuqūna
Indeed, we will bring down on the people of this city punishment from the sky because they have been defiantly disobedient."
walaqad taraknā min'hā āyatan bayyinatan liqawmin yaʿqilūna
And We have certainly left of it a sign as clear evidence for a people who use reason.
wa-ilā madyana akhāhum shuʿayban faqāla yāqawmi uʿ'budū l-laha wa-ir'jū l-yawma l-ākhira walā taʿthaw fī l-arḍi muf'sidīna
And to Madyan [We sent] their brother Shuʿayb, and he said, "O my people, worship Allāh and expect the Last Day and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption."
fakadhabūhu fa-akhadhathumu l-rajfatu fa-aṣbaḥū fī dārihim jāthimīna
But they denied him, so the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone.
waʿādan wathamūdā waqad tabayyana lakum min masākinihim wazayyana lahumu l-shayṭānu aʿmālahum faṣaddahum ʿani l-sabīli wakānū mus'tabṣirīna
And [We destroyed] ʿAad and Thamūd, and it has become clear to you from their [ruined] dwellings. And Satan had made pleasing to them their deeds and averted them from the path, and they were endowed with perception.
waqārūna wafir'ʿawna wahāmāna walaqad jāahum mūsā bil-bayināti fa-is'takbarū fī l-arḍi wamā kānū sābiqīna
And [We destroyed] Qārūn and Pharaoh and Hāmān. And Moses had already come to them with clear evidences, and they were arrogant in the land, but they were not outrunners [of Our punishment].
fakullan akhadhnā bidhanbihi famin'hum man arsalnā ʿalayhi ḥāṣiban wamin'hum man akhadhathu l-ṣayḥatu wamin'hum man khasafnā bihi l-arḍa wamin'hum man aghraqnā wamā kāna l-lahu liyaẓlimahum walākin kānū anfusahum yaẓlimūna
So each We seized for his sin; and among them were those upon whom We sent a storm of stones, and among them were those who were seized by the blast [from the sky], and among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned. And Allāh would not have wronged them, but it was they who were wronging themselves.