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Muhammad Asad   
But now they would say, “Long has our Sustainer made the distance between our journey- stages!” - for they had sinned against themselves. And in the end We caused them to become [one of those] tales [of things long past], and scattered them in countless fragments. Herein, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are wholly patient in adversity and deeply grateful [to God]
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
But they said, “Our Lord! Make ˹the distances of˺ our journeys longer,” wronging themselves. So We reduced them to ˹cautionary˺ tales, and scattered them utterly. Surely in this are lessons for whoever is steadfast, grateful.
Safi Kaskas   
But [they complained], "Our Lord has made the distance between our staging posts so long." [In so doing], they wronged themselves, so We made their fate a tale for all and scattered them in small groups throughout the land. There are certainly signs in this for everyone, patient and grateful.

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Source Arabic and Literal tools
Arabic   
فَقَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَا بَـٰعِدۡ بَیۡنَ أَسۡفَارِنَا وَظَلَمُوۤا۟ أَنفُسَهُمۡ فَجَعَلۡنَـٰهُمۡ أَحَادِیثَ وَمَزَّقۡنَـٰهُمۡ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍۚ إِنَّ فِی ذَ ٰلِكَ لَءَایَـٰتࣲ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارࣲ شَكُورࣲ ۝١٩
Transliteration (2021)   
faqālū rabbanā bāʿid bayna asfārinā waẓalamū anfusahum fajaʿalnāhum aḥādītha wamazzaqnāhum kulla mumazzaqin inna fī dhālika laāyātin likulli ṣabbārin shakūri
Word for Word
Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh, Ms. Kauser Katri, and more
  
But they said, "Our Lord lengthen (the distance) between our journeys." And they wronged themselves, so We made them narrations and We dispersed them (in) a total dispersion. Indeed, in that surely (are) Signs for everyone, patient (and) grateful.

Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad   
But now they would say, “Long has our Sustainer made the distance between our journey- stages!” - for they had sinned against themselves. And in the end We caused them to become [one of those] tales [of things long past], and scattered them in countless fragments. Herein, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are wholly patient in adversity and deeply grateful [to God]
M. M. Pickthall   
But they said: Our Lord! Make the stage between our journeys longer. And they wronged themselves, therefore We made them bywords (in the land) and scattered them abroad, a total scattering. Lo! herein verily are portents for each steadfast, grateful (heart)
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)   
But they said: "Our Lord! Place longer distances between our journey-stages": but they wronged themselves (therein). At length We made them as a tale (that is told), and We dispersed them all in scattered fragments. Verily in this are Signs for every (soul that is) patiently constant and grateful
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
But they said, “Our Lord! Make ˹the distances of˺ our journeys longer,” wronging themselves. So We reduced them to ˹cautionary˺ tales, and scattered them utterly. Surely in this are lessons for whoever is steadfast, grateful.
Safi Kaskas   
But [they complained], "Our Lord has made the distance between our staging posts so long." [In so doing], they wronged themselves, so We made their fate a tale for all and scattered them in small groups throughout the land. There are certainly signs in this for everyone, patient and grateful.
Wahiduddin Khan   
but they said, Our Lord! Make the stages of our journeys longer. Thus they wronged themselves and We made them bygone tales and scattered them throughout the land. There are certainly signs in that for everyone who is steadfast and thankful
Shakir   
And they said: O our Lord! make spaces to be longer between our journeys; and they were unjust to themselves so We made them stories and scattered them with an utter scattering; most surely there are signs in this for every patient, grateful on
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar   
But they said: Our Lord! Cause a distance between our journeys and they did wrong to themselves. So We made them as tales and We tore them to pieces, a total tearing to pieces. Truly, in that are signs for every enduring grateful one.
T.B.Irving   
They said: "Our Lord, lengthen the distance between our stops!" They wronged themselves so We turned them into legends; We scattered them into every [possible] fragment. In that are signs for every patient, grateful person.
Abdul Hye   
But they said: “Our Lord! Make the stages longer between our journeys.” They wronged themselves, so We made them (in the land) as tales, and We dispersed them in a total scattering. Surely, there are signs for every patient, grateful person.
The Study Quran   
But they said, “Our Lord, increase the distance of our journeys.” And they wronged themselves; so We made them as tales [of old] and tore them completely to pieces. Truly in that are signs for all who are patient, thankful
Talal Itani & AI (2024)   
Yet they said, “Our Lord, extend the distances of our journeys,” and they wronged themselves. As a result, We made them legends and scattered them in every direction. There are signs in this for every patient, grateful individual.
Talal Itani (2012)   
But they said, 'Our Lord, lengthen the distances of our journeys.' They wronged themselves; so We made them history, and We scattered them in every direction. In this are lessons for every steadfast and appreciative person
Dr. Kamal Omar   
But they said: “Our Nourisher-Sustainer! Make the stages between our journeys longer.” And they wronged themselves, so We made them as narrations (of the days gone by) and We dispersed them to a complete disintegration. Verily, in this are surely lessons for all those who are steadfast (and) grateful
M. Farook Malik   
But they prayed: "Our Lord! Make our journeys longer." Thereby they wronged their souls and We made them merely a tale that is told and dispersed them in scattered fragments. Surely there is a sign in this for every patient, grateful person
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali   
Yet they said, "Our Lord, prolong (the stages) between our journeys." And they did injustice to themselves, so We made them (as only) discourses, and we tore them utterly to pieces. Surely in that are indeed signs for every (person) most patient, (and) constantly thankful
Muhammad Sarwar   
They said, "Lord, make the distances of our journeys longer." They did injustice to themselves and We turned their existence into ancient tales by making them disintegrate totally. In this there is evidence (of the truth) for every forbearing and grateful person
Muhammad Taqi Usmani   
Then they said, .Our Lord, make (the phases of) our journeys more distant. And they wronged themselves, therefore We turned them into stories, and tore them into pieces. Surely in this there are signs for everyone who is ever-patient, fully grateful
Shabbir Ahmed   
But now, their ungrateful attitude was saying, "Our Lord! Make our journey-stages longer." (Make the trade route insecure, unprofitable and deserted). They wronged people and thus harmed themselves. Consequently, We made them history, and We scattered them utterly. Herein, behold, are Signs indeed for individuals and nations who would patiently draw lessons from history and learn to be practically grateful
Dr. Munir Munshey   
But they said, "Oh our Lord, lengthen our traveling distance between our towns. They subjected themselves to unjust practices (i.e. adopted means to reverse population growth). Therefore, We turned them into tales (of people long gone). We completely disintegrated (their empire) and scattered them all around. In that, is surely a sign for every steadfast and grateful person
Syed Vickar Ahamed   
But they said: "Our Lord! Place longer distances between the stages of our journey." And (so doing), they wronged themselves; So We made them like a story (that is told in the land), and We spread them out all in small groups. Surely, in this are Signs for every (one who is) always patient and grateful
Umm Muhammad (Sahih International)   
But [insolently] they said, "Our Lord, lengthen the distance between our journeys," and wronged themselves, so We made them narrations and dispersed them in total dispersion. Indeed in that are signs for everyone patient and grateful
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)   
But they said: "Our Lord, make the measure between our journeys longer," and they wronged themselves. So We made them a thing of the past, and We scattered them into small groups. In this are signs for every person who is patient, thankful
Abdel Haleem   
but [still] they complained, ‘Our Lord has made the distance between our staging posts so long!’They wronged themselves and, in the end, We made their fate a byword, and scattered them in countless fragments. There truly are signs in this for every patient, thankful person
Abdul Majid Daryabadi   
Then they said: Our Lord make the distance between our journeys longer. And they wronged themselves. Wherefore We made them by words and dispersed them with a total dispersion. Verily herein are signs for every persevering, grateful persons
Ahmed Ali   
But they said: "O Lord, make the distance between the stages of our journeys longer;" but (by doing so) they wronged themselves. So We turned them into bygone tales, and dispersed them, scattered in all directions. Surely there are signs in this for those who endeavour and are grateful
Aisha Bewley   
They said, ´Our Lord, put more distance between our staging posts.´ They wronged themselves so We made legends of them and scattered them without a trace. There are certainly Signs in that for everyone who is steadfast and thankful.
Ali Ünal   
But (this comfort and security spoiled them, and) they said: "Our Lord! Make the distances between our travel-stages longer!" , and they wronged themselves (by committing sins). So We caused them to become one of the legends (to circulate among later generations about the distant past), and dispersed them around in numerous fragments. Surely in that are signs (important lessons) for all who are greatly patient and perseverant (in obedience to God and in adversity for His sake), and greatly thankful (for His favors)
Ali Quli Qara'i   
But they said, ‘Our Lord! Make the stages between our journeys far apart,’ and they wronged themselves. So We turned them into folktales and caused them to disintegrate totally. There are indeed signs in that for every patient and grateful [servant]
Hamid S. Aziz   
And they said, "O our Lord! Make the spaces longer between our journeys.". They were unjust to themselves (wronged themselves) so We made them as stories (by words, legends) and dispersed them with an utter scattering; most surely there are sig
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad   
Then they said: “Our Lord, prolong between our journeys.” And they did wrong to themselves, so We made them stories (for people to talk about) and We broke them up into pieces, a total break up. Indeed, there are signs in that for every persevering (and patient) and thankful (person).
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)   
But they said, “Our Lord, place longer distances between our journey stages.” But they wronged themselves with this. Then We made them as a tale that is told, and We dispersed them all in scattered fragments, indeed in this are signs for every soul who is patient and grateful
Musharraf Hussain   
Despite this they said, “Our Lord has made our journeys even longer.” They were unthankful. We made them a legend, destroying them. In that are signs for the patient and thankful.
Maududi   
But they said: "Lord, make the stages of our journeys longer." They wronged their own selves so We reduced them to bygone tales, and utterly tore them to pieces. Verily there are Signs in this for everyone who is steadfast and thankful
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)   
But they said: "Our Lord, make the measure between our journeys longer," and they wronged themselves. So We made them narrations and We tore them into pieces. In this are signs for every person who is patient, thankful
Mohammad Shafi   
But then they said, "Our Lord! Make the stages of our journeys longer." And they wronged themselves! And We reduced them to just a tale among numerous other tales, and scattered them completely. Therein indeed are signs for anyone who is patient and grateful

Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)   
But they said, O our Lord! Put distance in our journeys and they wronged themselves, therefore We made them tales and We broke them into pieces with full confusion. Undoubtedly, in it arc signs for every enduring grateful person.
Rashad Khalifa   
But they (turned unappreciative and) challenged: "Our Lord, we do not care if You increase the distance of our journeys (without any stations)." They thus wronged their own souls. Consequently, we made them history, and scattered them into small communities throughout the land. This should provide lessons for those who are steadfast, appreciative.
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah   
But they said: 'Lord, make the stages between our journeys longer, ' so they wronged themselves; so We made them news and We tore them utterly into pieces. Surely, there are signs in this for every one who is patient, thankful
Maulana Muhammad Ali   
But they said: Our Lord, make longer stages between our journeys. And they wronged themselves; so We made them stories and scattered them a total scattering. Surely there are signs in this for every patient, grateful one
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira   
So they said: "Our Lord, make distant between our journeys/voyages ." And they caused injustice/oppression (to) themselves, so We made them (as) information , and We tore/scattered them every/each tearing/scattering , that truly in that (are) evidences/signs (E) to every/each patient/endurer, thankful/grateful
Bijan Moeinian   
[When this blessing was brought to their attention, instead of becoming grateful] They said: “Make our journey longer and more difficult [who cares].” Thus they wronged their own souls. Eventually we scattered them into small communities and they became history. This should be a lesson for those who are patient and grateful by nature
Faridul Haque   
So they said, “Our Lord! Make the stage between our journeys longer” and they wronged themselves – We therefore turned them into fables and scattered them completely with adversity; indeed in this are signs for every greatly enduring, most grateful person
Sher Ali   
But instead of giving thanks to God, they said, `Our Lord, place longer distances between the stages of our journeys.' And they wronged themselves; so WE made them bywords and WE broke them into pieces, an utter breaking up. In that, verily, are Signs for every steadfast and grateful person
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri   
Then they said: ‘O our Lord, place between our break-journey points longer distances.’ And they wronged their souls. So We made them tales (for a lesson of warning). And We disintegrated them into pieces and scattered them. Surely, there are signs in it for every extremely patient and highly thankful person
Amatul Rahman Omar   
But (due to their ingratitude) they wanted (as if) to say, `Our Lord! make longer the distance between (the stages of) our journeys.' And they did injustice to themselves. So We reduced them to mere legends and We broke them into complete disintegration (and scattered them far and wide). Behold! there are signs in this for all those who are patiently- persevering and highly grateful persons
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali   
But they said: "Our Lord! Make the stages between our journey longer," and they wronged themselves, so We made them as tales (in the land), and We dispersed them all, totally. Verily, in this are indeed signs for every steadfast grateful (person)

Non-Muslim and/or Orientalist works
Arthur John Arberry   
But they said, 'Our Lord, prolong the stages of our travel'; and they wronged themselves, so We made them as but tales, and We tore them utterly to pieces. Surely in that are signs for every man enduring, thankful
George Sale   
But they said, O Lord, put a greater distance between our journeys: And they were unjust unto themselves; and We made them the subject of discourse, and dispersed them with a total dispersion. Verily herein are signs, unto every patient, grateful person
Edward Henry Palmer   
And they said, 'Our Lord! make a greater distance between our journeys;' and they wronged themselves, and we made them legends; and we tore them all to pieces; verily, in that are signs to every patient, grateful person
John Medows Rodwell   
But they said, "O Lord! make the distance between our journeys longer," - and against themselves did they act unjustly: so we made them a tale, and scattered them with an utter scattering. Truly herein are signs to everyone that is patient, grateful
N J Dawood (2014)   
But they said: ‘Lord, make the stages of our travel longer.‘ They sinned against their souls; so We held them up as an example and tore them into shreds. Surely there is a sign in this for every steadfast, thankful person

New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame   
And they said, “O our Lord! Put a distance between our travels.” and they wronged their own souls. So We made them into tales and We dismembered them completely into pieces. Truly in that are surely signs for anyone who is patient and grateful.
Munir Mezyed   
But they said: “Our Lord, make the stages between our journeys longer." They were unfair to their own selves (when voluntarily and consciously abandoned the Full Knowledge of the Truth in favour of their own whims), and so We made them as stories, and tore them completely into pieces. Most surely there are Signs in this for every forbearing, grateful.
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher   
But they said: our Lord, extend our journeys, and they wronged themselves, so We made them history and scattered them completely; for in this are signs for everyone who is patient and grateful.
Linda “iLHam” Barto   
But they said, “Our Lord, place longer distances for our journeys,” but they wronged themselves. Eventually, We made them as a fable, and We dispersed them all in scattered fragments. Truly, in this are signs for every patient and grateful person.
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation   
But they said, “Our Lord, lengthen the distances of our journeys.” Thus they were unjust to themselves, so We made them history and We scattered them in every direction; indeed, in this are signs for everyone who is most patient, constantly thankful.
Irving & Mohamed Hegab   
They said: "Our Lord, lengthen the distance between our stops!" They wronged themselves so We turned them into legends; We scattered them into every [possible] fragment. In that are signs for every patient, grateful person.
Samy Mahdy   
So, they said, “Our Lord, lengthened the distances between our journeys.” And they oppressed themselves; So, We set them, narrations and We shredded them every shredding. Surely within that is verses for every patient, thankful one.
Sayyid Qutb   
But they said: 'Our Lord! Make our journeys longer.' They sinned against their souls; so We caused them to become a tale, and scattered them throughout the land. Surely, there are signs in all this for anyone who is patient in adversity, deeply grateful.
Ahmed Hulusi   
But they said, “Our Rabb, lengthen – expand – the distance of our trips” and they wronged themselves... So We turned them into exemplary lessons in narrations and spread them in total dispersion. Certainly there are signs in this for those who are patient and those who are grateful.
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli   
And they said: O our Lord! Place longer distances between our journeys ; and they were unjust to themselves, so We made them stories and We dispersed them all in scattered fragments. Verily in this there are signs for every patient, grateful one.
Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur‘an al-Karim   
But lacking patience and endurance, they, to their detriment, prayed: "O Allah, our Creator, would You make our stations distant and far apart and not close together and our commercial travels remote in time" and they wronged themselves. In response to this request We made them the talk of the town existing then and of those towns existing thereafter. We tore them apart, while those who remained lived dispersed among the Bedouins in the desert and among other people else-where. This was an act making the patient who is thankful lift to Allah his inward sight
Mir Aneesuddin   
But they said, “Our Fosterer! increase the distance between our journeys,” and they were unjust to themselves, so We made them stories and We scattered them a total scattering. Certainly there are signs in that for every patient, grateful one.
The Wise Quran   
And they said, 'Our Lord! Make a greater distance between our journeys;' And they wronged themselves, and We made them legends; and We tore them all to pieces; indeed, in that surely are signs for every patient, grateful one.

Obsolete and/or older editions
Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)   
But they said: "Our Lord! Place longer distances between our journey- stages": but they wronged themselves (therein). At length We made them as a tale (that is told), and We dispersed them all in scattered fragments. Verily in this are Signs fo r every (soul that is) patiently constant and grateful
OLD Literal Word for Word   
But they said, "Our Lord lengthen (the distance) between our journeys." And they wronged themselves, so We made them narrations and We dispersed them (in) a total dispersion. Indeed, in that surely (are) Signs for everyone, patient (and) grateful
OLD Transliteration   
Faqaloo rabbana baAAid bayna asfarina wathalamoo anfusahum fajaAAalnahum ahadeetha wamazzaqnahum kulla mumazzaqin inna fee thalika laayatin likulli sabbarin shakoorin