IslamAwakened.com Qur'an Tafsir of Surah ash-Shu`ara` - The Poets as rendered by N J Dawood (2014)
26:1
Tā‘ sīn mīm
26:2
These are the revelations of the veritable Book
26:3
you will perhaps fret yourself to death on account of their unbelief
26:4
If We will, We can reveal to them a sign from heaven before which they will bow their necks in utter humility
26:5
They turn their backs on each fresh Admonition they received from the Merciful
26:6
they disbelieved, but the truth of that which they have laughed to scorn will dawn upon them
26:7
Do they not see the earth, how We have planted on it all kinds of beneficial plants?
26:8
Surely in this there is a sign; yet most of them do not believe
26:9
And surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
26:10
Your Lord called out to Moses, saying: ‘Go to those wicked people
26:11
the people of Pharaoh. Will they not take heed?&lsquo
26:12
Lord,‘ he said, ‘I fear they will deny me
26:13
I may become impatient and stammer in my speech. Send for Aaron
26:14
They accuse me of a crime,¹ and I fear that they may put me to death.&lsquo
26:15
Never fear,‘ said He. ‘Go both of you with Our signs; We shall be with you and shall hear all
26:16
Go to Pharaoh and say to him: "We are messengers from the Lord of the Universe
26:17
Let the Israelites depart with us."&lsquo
26:18
Pharaoh said: ‘Did we not bring you up when you were an infant? And did you not stay in our midst several years of your life
26:19
Yet you have done the deed you did; surely you are ungrateful.&lsquo
26:20
He said: ‘I did that when I had gone astray
26:21
I fled from you because I feared you. But my Lord has given me wisdom and made me an apostle
26:22
And this is the favour with which you taunt me: you have made the Israelites your bondsmen.&lsquo
26:23
Who is the Lord of the Universe?‘ said Pharaoh
26:24
He said: ‘The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them. If only you believed!&lsquo
26:25
Do you hear?‘ said he to those around him
26:26
Your Lord,‘ he went on, ‘and the Lord of your forefathers.&lsquo
26:27
He said: ‘The apostle who has been sent to you is surely possessed!&lsquo
26:28
The Lord of the East and of the West,‘ said Moses, ‘and all that lies between them. If only you could understand!&lsquo
26:29
If you serve any other god but myself,‘ he said, ‘I shall have you thrown into prison.&lsquo
26:30
Even if I showed you a convincing sign?‘ he said
26:31
He replied: ‘Show it to us, if what you say be true.&lsquo
26:32
He threw down his staff and thereupon it changed to a veritable serpent
26:33
Then he drew out his hand, and it was white to all who saw it
26:34
This man,‘ he said to the nobles around him, ‘is a skilful sorcere
26:35
who seeks to drive you from your land by his sorcery. What is your counsel?&lsquo
26:36
They said: ‘Put them off awhile, him and his brother, and send forth criers to the cities to brin
26:37
every skilled enchanter to your presence.&lsquo
26:38
The sorcerers were gathered on an appointed day
26:39
and the people were asked: ‘Are you all assembled
26:40
We may follow the sorcerers if they win the day.&lsquo
26:41
And when the sorcerers came they said to Pharaoh: ‘Shall we be rewarded if we win?&lsquo
26:42
‘Yes,‘ he answered, ‘and you shall become my favoured friends.&lsquo
26:43
Moses said to them: ‘Throw down all that you wish to throw.&lsquo
26:44
They threw down their ropes and staffs, saying: ‘By Pharaoh‘s glory, we shall surely win!&lsquo
26:45
Then Moses threw down his staff, and it swallowed up their false devices
26:46
The sorcerers prostrated themselves
26:47
saying: ‘We now believe in the Lord of the Universe
26:48
the Lord of Moses and Aaron.&lsquo
26:49
He said: ‘Do you dare believe in him before I give you leave? He must surely be your master, who has taught you witchcraft. But you shall see. I will cut off your hands and feet on alternate sides and crucify you all.&lsquo
26:50
That cannot harm us,‘ they replied, ‘for to our Lord we shall return
26:51
We hope our Lord will forgive us our sins, since we are the first who have believed.&lsquo
26:52
Then We revealed Our will to Moses, saying: ‘Set forth with My servants in the night, for you will be pursued.&lsquo
26:53
Pharaoh sent forth criers to the cities
26:54
These,‘ they said, ‘are but a puny band
26:55
who have provoked us much
26:56
But we are a numerous army, well-prepared.&lsquo
26:57
Thus did We make them leave their gardens and their fountains
26:58
their treasures and their sumptuous dwellings
26:59
Even thus; and to the Israelites We gave those
26:60
At sunrise the Egyptians followed them
26:61
And when the two multitudes came within sight of each other, Moses‘ companions said: ‘We are surely undone!&lsquo
26:62
No,‘ he said, ‘my Lord is with me, and He will guide me.&lsquo
26:63
We bade Moses strike the sea with his staff, and the sea was cleft asunder, each part as high as a massive mountain
26:64
In between We made the others follow
26:65
We delivered Moses and all who were with him
26:66
and the others We drowned
26:67
Surely in that there was a sign; yet most of them did not believe
26:68
Surely, your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
26:69
Recount to them the story of Abraham
26:70
He said to his father and to his people: ‘What is that which you worship?&lsquo
26:71
They said: ‘We worship idols and pray to them with all fervour.&lsquo
26:72
Do they hear you when you pray?‘ he asked
26:73
‘Can they help you or do you harm?&lsquo
26:74
They said: ‘This was what our fathers did before us.&lsquo
26:75
He said: ‘Do you see those you have worshipped
26:76
you and your forefathers of old
26:77
They are my enemies. Not so the Lord of the Universe
26:78
who has created me; who gives me guidance
26:79
food and drink
26:80
who, when I am sick, restores me
26:81
who will cause me to die and bring me back to life hereafter
26:82
who, I hope, will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgement
26:83
Lord, bestow wisdom upon me, and admit me among the righteous
26:84
Endow me with a tongue of truthfulness among posterit
26:85
and count me among the heirs of the Blissful Garden
26:86
Forgive my father, for he has gone astray
26:87
Do not hold me up to shame on the Day of Resurrection
26:88
the day when wealth and offspring will be of no avail
26:89
and when none shall be saved but him who comes before his Lord with a pure heart
26:90
when Paradise shall be brought within sight of the righteou
26:91
and Hell be revealed to the erring
26:92
They will be asked: "Where are the idols which you worshipped besides God
26:93
Can they help you or help themselves?
26:94
And into Hell they shall be hurled, they and those who misled them
26:95
and Satan‘s legions all
26:96
"By the Lord," they will say, as they contend with them
26:97
"we clearly erre
26:98
when we made you equals with the Lord of the Universe
26:99
It was but the transgressors who led us astray
26:100
We have no intercessors now
26:101
no loving friend
26:102
Could we but live our lives again we would be true believers."&lsquo
26:103
Surely in that there was a sign, yet most of them did not believe
26:104
Surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
26:105
The people of Noah disbelieved the emissaries
26:106
Will you not fear God?‘ said Noah, their kin, to them
26:107
I am indeed your truthful apostle
26:108
Fear God, then, and follow me
26:109
For this I demand of you no recompense, for none can reward me except the Lord of the Universe
26:110
Fear God, and follow me.&lsquo
26:111
They said: ‘Are we to believe in you when your followers are but the lowest of the low?&lsquo
26:112
I have no knowledge of what they did,‘ he said
26:113
‘My Lord alone can bring them to account. Would that you understood
26:114
Nor will I drive away the true believers
26:115
I am sent forth only to give plain warning.&lsquo
26:116
Noah,‘ they said, ‘desist, or you shall be stoned to death.&lsquo
26:117
He said: ‘Lord, my people disbelieve me
26:118
Judge rightly between us. Save me and the believers who are with me.&lsquo
26:119
So We delivered him and those who were with him in the laden ark
26:120
and drowned the others thereafter
26:121
Surely in that there was a sign; yet most of them did not believe
26:122
Surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
26:123
Ad disbelieved the apostles
26:124
Their kin Hūd had said to them: ‘Will you not fear God
26:125
I am indeed your truthful apostle
26:126
Fear God, then, and follow me
26:127
For this I demand of you no recompense; none can reward me except the Lord of the Universe. &lsquo
26:128
Will you erect a monument on every hill
26:129
Vain is your work. You build strong fortresses, hoping that you may last for ever
26:130
When you exercise your power, you act like cruel tyrants
26:131
Fear God, and follow me
26:132
Fear Him who has given you all the things you know
26:133
He has given you flocks and children
26:134
gardens and fountains
26:135
Beware the torment of a fateful day.&lsquo
26:136
They said: ‘We care nothing whether or not you preach to us
26:137
This is but a myth of the ancients
26:138
Surely we shall not be punished.&lsquo
26:139
They denied him, and thus We utterly destroyed them. Surely in that there was a sign; yet most of them did not believe
26:140
Surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
26:141
Thamūd disbelieved the apostles
26:142
Their kin Ṣālih had said to them: ‘Will you not fear God
26:143
I am indeed your truthful apostle
26:144
Fear God and follow me
26:145
For this I demand of you no recompense; none can reward me except the Lord of the Universe
26:146
Are you to be left secure in this land
26:147
amid gardens and fountains
26:148
cornfields and palm-trees laden with fine fruit
26:149
hewing your dwellings out of the mountains and leading a wanton life
26:150
Have fear of God and follow me
26:151
Do not obey the bidding of transgressor
26:152
who perpetrate corruption in the land and do no good at all.&lsquo
26:153
They said: ‘Surely you are bewitched
26:154
You are but a mortal like ourselves. Show us a sign, if what you say be true.&lsquo
26:155
‘Here,‘ he said, ‘is this she-camel. She shall have her share of water as you have yours, each drinking on an appointed day
26:156
Do not harm her, or the scourge of a fateful day shall take you.&lsquo
26:157
Yet they hamstrung her, and in the morning were repentant
26:158
The scourge took them. Surely in that there was a sign. Yet most of them did not believe
26:159
Surely your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
26:160
Lot‘s people disbelieved the apostles
26:161
Their kin Lot had said to them: ‘Will you not fear God
26:162
I am indeed your truthful apostle
26:163
Fear God and follow me
26:164
For this I demand of you no recompense; none can reward me except the Lord of the Universe
26:165
Will you fornicate with the males of human
26:166
and eschew the wives whom God has created for you? Surely you are a sinful people
26:167
Lot,‘ they said, ‘desist or you shall be banished.&lsquo
26:168
He said: ‘I abhor your ways
26:169
Lord, deliver me and my kin from their practices.&lsquo
26:170
We delivered him and his kindred all
26:171
save for one old woman who stayed behind,
26:172
and the others We utterly destroyed
26:173
We pelted them with rain, and evil was the rain which fell on those who were forewarned
26:174
Surely in that there was a sign. Yet most of them did not believe
26:175
Your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
26:176
The dwellers of the Forest¹ disbelieved the apostles
26:177
Shu‘aib had said to them: ‘Will you not fear God
26:178
I am indeed your truthful apostle
26:179
Fear God and follow me
26:180
For this I demand of you no recompense: none can reward me except the Lord of the Universe
26:181
Give just measure and defraud none
26:182
Weigh with even scale
26:183
and do not cheat the people of what is rightly theirs; nor shall you corrupt the land with evil
26:184
And fear Him who created you and the earlier generation.&lsquo
26:185
They said: ‘You are surely bewitched
26:186
You are but a mortal like ourselves. Indeed, we believe that you are lying
26:187
Bring down upon us a fragment of the sky if what you say be true.&lsquo
26:188
He said: ‘My Lord has better knowledge of what you do.&lsquo
26:189
They disbelieved him, and thus the scourge of the Day of Darkness smote them; it was surely the scourge of a fateful day
26:190
Surely in that there was a sign; yet most of them did not believe
26:191
Your Lord is the Mighty One, the Compassionate
26:192
This is surely revealed by the Lord of the Universe
26:193
The Faithful Spirit has brought it dow
26:194
into your heart, that you may give warnin
26:195
in eloquent Arabic speech
26:196
It was surely foretold in the Scriptures of the ancients
26:197
Is it not sufficient proof for them that the doctors of the Israelites recognize it
26:198
If We had revealed it to a foreign man
26:199
and he had recited it to them, they still would not have believed
26:200
Thus do We put unbelief in the hearts of the guilty
26:201
they shall not believe in it until they see the woeful scourge
26:202
which shall suddenly smite them when they are heedless
26:203
And then they will say: ‘Shall we ever be reprieved?&lsquo
26:204
Is it their wish to hurry on Our scourge
26:205
Think! If We let them live in ease for many years
26:206
and then the promised scourge does fall upon them
26:207
of what avail will their past enjoyments be to them
26:208
Never have We destroyed a city We did not war
26:209
and admonish beforehand. We are never unjust
26:210
It was not the demons who brought this down
26:211
it is neither in their interest nor in their power
26:212
Indeed, they are too far away to overhear it
26:213
Therefore call on no other god besides God, lest you suffer torment
26:214
Admonish your nearest ki
26:215
and show kindness to those of the believers who follow you
26:216
If they disobey you, say: ‘I am not accountable for what you do.&lsquo
26:217
Put your trust in the Mighty One, the Compassionate
26:218
who observes you when you stand uprigh
26:219
and when you walk among the worshippers
26:220
He it is who hears all and knows all
26:221
Shall I tell you on whom the demons descend
26:222
They descend on every lying sinner
26:223
They eagerly listen, but most of them are liars
26:224
Poets are followed by erring men
26:225
Behold how aimlessly they rove in every valley
26:226
preaching what they never practise
26:227
Not so the true believers, who do good works and remember God with fervour and defend themselves only when wronged. The wrongdoers will then learn to what end they will be overturned
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