Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad
He makes the night grow longer by shortening the day, and He makes the day grow longer by shortening the night; and He has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws], each running its course for a term set [by Him]. Thus is God, your Sustainer: unto Him belongs all dominion - whereas those whom you invoke instead of Him do not own so much as the husk of a date-stone
M. M. Pickthall
He maketh the night to pass into the day and He maketh the day to pass into the night. He hath subdued the sun and moon to service. Each runneth unto an appointed term. Such is Allah, your Lord; His is the Sovereignty; and those unto whom ye pray instead of Him own not so much as the white spot on a date-stone
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)
He merges Night into Day, and he merges Day into Night, and he has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law): each one runs its course for a term appointed. Such is Allah your Lord: to Him belongs all Dominion. And those whom ye invoke besides Him have not the least power
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab
He merges the night into the day and the day into the night, and has subjected the sun and the moon, each orbiting for an appointed term. That is Allah—your Lord! All authority belongs to Him. But those ˹idols˺ you invoke besides Him do not possess even the skin of a date stone.
Safi Kaskas
He merges the night into the day and the day into the night and has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws], each running [its course] for an appointed time. This is God, your Lord. Sovereignty belongs to Him, while those whom you invoke besides Him do not even control [as much as] the skin of a date seed.
Wahiduddin Khan
He makes the night pass into the day and He makes the day pass into the night. He has subjected the sun and the moon, each running for an appointed term. Such is God, your Lord: His is the kingdom. Those whom you invoke besides Him do not own so much as the skin of a date stone
Shakir
He causes the night to enter in upon the day, and He causes the day to enter in upon the night, and He has made subservient (to you) the sun and the moon; each one follows its course to an appointed time; this is Allah, your Lord, His is the kingdom; and those whom you call upon besides Him do not control a straw
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar
He causes the nighttime to be interposed in the daytime and He causes the daytime to be interposed into the nighttime and He caused the sun to be subservient and the moon. Each runs its course for a term, that is determined. That is God, your Lord. For Him is the dominion! And those whom you call to other than Him possess not even the white spot of a date stone.
T.B.Irving
He wraps night up into daytime and wraps daytime up in night, and regulates the sun and moon; each runs along on a stated course. Such is God, your Lord! Control belongs to Him; while the ones whom you appeal to instead of Him do not control a wisp.
Abdul Hye
He merges the night into the day and the day into the night. And He has subjected the sun and the moon (to serve you), each runs (its course) for an appointed term. Such is Allah, your Lord; His is the kingdom. Those to whom you pray instead of Him, don’t even own a thin membrane of a date-stone.
The Study Quran
He makes the night pass into the day and makes the day pass into the night, and He has made the sun and the moon subservient, each running for a term appointed. That is God, your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. As for those upon whom you call apart from Him, they do not possess so much as the husk of a date stone
Talal Itani & AI (2024)
He merges the night into the day, and the day into the night. He subjected the sun and the moon, each running for a specified period. That is God, your Lord; to Him belongs all sovereignty. Those whom you invoke besides Him don’t possess a speck.
Talal Itani (2012)
He merges the night into the day, and He merges the day into the night; and He regulates the sun and the moon, each running for a stated term. Such is God, your Lord; His is the sovereignty. As for those you call upon besides Him, they do not possess a speck
Dr. Kamal Omar
He merges the night into the day (i.e., the decrease in the hours of the night gets added to the hours of the day), and He merges the day into the night. And He has controlled and regulated the sun and the moon, all (of these heavenly bodies) swiftly move for a term appointed. Such, to you, is Allah, your Nourisher-Sustainer; His is the Dominion . And those whom you invoke (or call upon) besides Him — they do not own even a Qitmir
He causes the night to pass into the day and the day into the night, and He has made the sun and the moon to serve you; each one follows its course for an appointed term. Such is Allah, your Lord; His is the kingdom; and those to whom you pray besides Him do not even own a thread of a date-stone
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali
He inserts the night into the daytime and inserts the daytime into the night, and He has subjected the sun and the moon, each of them running to a stated term. That is Allah your Lord; to Him belongs The Kingdom; and the ones you invoke apart from Him, in no way do they possess as much as the skin of a date-stone
Muhammad Sarwar
He causes the night to enter into the day and the day to enter into the night. He has made subservient to Himself the sun and moon, each moving in an orbit for an appointed time. Such is God, your Lord, to whom belongs the kingdom. Those whom you worship besides Him do not posses even a single straw
Muhammad Taqi Usmani
He makes the night enter into the day and makes the day enter into the night, and He has subjugated the sun and the moon; each one of them is running towards an appointed time. That is Allah, your Lord. To Him belongs the kingdom. And those whom you invoke beside Him do not own even the membrane on a date-stone
Shabbir Ahmed
He makes the night grow longer by shortening the day, and makes the day grow longer by shortening the night. And He has committed the sun and the moon to service, each running to an appointed term. Such is Allah, your Lord - unto Him belongs all Dominion. And those whom you call upon instead of Him, do not own so much as the husk of a date-stone. (4:53), (4:124)
Dr. Munir Munshey
He wraps the night over the day and He rolls out the day over the night. He has tamed the sun and the moon _ each will stay in motion for a specified period. Such is Allah, your Lord. The empire (of this entire universe) belongs to Him. Those others you call gods beside Him do not own even a flimsy film over a date-stone
Syed Vickar Ahamed
He merges the night into day and He merges the day into night, and He has forced the sun and the moon (to His law) each goes on its course for a fixed period of time. Such is Allah! Your Lord: To Him belongs all Kingdom. And those, whom you invoke other than Him do not even own a tiniest skin (of a data-stone) of anything
He causes the night to enter the day, and He causes the day to enter the night and has subjected the sun and the moon - each running [its course] for a specified term. That is Allah , your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. And those whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the membrane of a date seed
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)
He merges the night into the day, and merges the day into the night. And He has committed the sun and the moon, each runs for a predetermined period. Such is God your Lord; to Him is the sovereignty. And as for those whom you call on besides Him, they do not possess a seed's shell
Abdel Haleem
He makes the night merge into the day and the day into the night; He has subjected the sun and the moon- each runs for an appointed term. Such is God your Lord: all control belongs to Him. Those you invoke beside Him do not even control the skin of a date stone
Abdul Majid Daryabadi
He plungeth the night into the day and He plungeth the day into the night, and He hath subjected the sun and moon, each running till an appointed term. Such is Allah, your Lord; His is the dominion; and those whom ye call on besides Him own not even the husk of a date-stone
Ahmed Ali
He makes night run into day, the day run into night, and has harnessed the sun and the moon so that each runs to its determined course. This is God your Lord; His is the kingdom; and those you invoke apart from Him are not masters even of the film on a date-palm stone
Aisha Bewley
He makes night merge into day and day merge into night, and He has made the sun and moon subservient, each one running until a specified time. That is Allah, your Lord. The Kingdom is His. Those you call on besides Him have no power over even the smallest speck.
Ali Ünal
He makes the night pass into the day and He makes the day pass into the night (and so makes each grow longer or shorter); and He has made the sun and the moon subservient to His command, each running its course for a term appointed. Such is God, your Lord: His is the Sovereignty (the absolute ownership and dominion of all things). Whereas those whom you deify and invoke, apart from Him, own not so much as the pellicle of a date-stone
Ali Quli Qara'i
He makes the night pass into the day and makes the day pass into the night, and He has disposed the sun and the moon, each moving for a specified term. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs all sovereignty. As for those whom you invoke besides Him, they do not control so much as the husk of a date stone
Hamid S. Aziz
He causes the night to enter in upon the day, and He causes the day to enter in upon the night, and He has made subservient the sun and the moon; each one follows its course to an appointed time; this is Allah, your Lord, His is the kingdom; and those wh
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad
He makes the night pass through the day and makes the day pass through the night, and He regulates the sun and the moon, each running (its course) in a finite time. This is God, your Lord, the rule belongs to Him. And those whom you call on besides Him do not own the skin of a date pit.
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)
He merges night into day, and He merges day into night, and He has subjected the Sun and the Moon to His law. Each one runs its course for a term appointed. Such is God your Lord. To Him belongs all control, and those whom you invoke besides Him have no power in the least
Musharraf Hussain
He merges night into day and day into night and has caused both the sun and the moon to travel through the sky for a fixed period. That’s Allah, your Lord, all power belongs to Him; those you call beside Him don’t possess even the tiniest amount.
Maududi
He causes the night to phase into the day and the day into the night, and He has subjected the sun and the moon, each running its course to an appointed term. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs the Kingdom; but those whom you call upon, apart from Allah, possess not so much as the skin of a date-stone
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)
He merges the night into the day, and He merges the day into the night. And He has commissioned the sun and the moon, each running for an appointed term. Such is God your Lord; to Him is the sovereignty. And as for those whom you pray to besides Him, they do not possess even the shell of a seed.
Mohammad Shafi
Allah makes the night enter the day, and He makes the day enter the night. And He has made the sun and the moon subservient, each pursuing its course till an appointed time. That is Allah, your Lord; His is the kingdom! And those whom you pray to besides Him own not even so much as skin of a date-stone
Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)
He brings the night into the day and brings the day into the night and He has engaged the sun and the moon into services; every one run upto an appointed time. This is Allah your Lord, His is the kingdom. And those whom you worship beside Him, own not even the husk of a date palm
He merges the night into the day, and merges the day into the night. He has committed the sun and the moon to run for a predetermined period of time. Such is GOD your Lord; to Him belongs all kingship. Any idols you set up beside Him do not possess as much as a seed's shell.
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah
He causes the night to enter into the day and the day into the night. He has subjected the sun and the moon each running for a named term. Such is Allah, your Lord. To Him belongs the Kingdom; and those whom you call upon, other than Him, do not possess even as much as the membrane of a datestone
Maulana Muhammad Ali
He causes the night to enter in upon the day, and causes the day to enter in upon the night, and He has made subservient the sun and the moon, each one moves to an appointed time. This is Allah, your Lord; His is the kingdom. And those whom you call upon besides Him own not a straw
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira
He makes the night to enter/penetrate in the daytime, and He makes the daytime to enter/penetrate in the night, and He manipulated/subjugated the sun and the moon, each passes/orbits to a named/identified term/time, that one (is) God your Lord, for Him (is) the ownership/kingdom , and those whom you call from other than Him, they do not own/possess from (a) thin layer between the date and its pit/anything
Bijan Moeinian
Although two seas [living environments] are not alike (one being salty and undrinkable, the other fresh and delicious), from each of them you catch tender to eat meat and extract jewelry to wear. Look at the ships that [with the permission of God] sail through them seeking God’s favor; may you be grateful
Faridul Haque
He brings the night in a part of the day and He brings the day in a part of the night; and He has subjected the sun and moon; each one runs to its fixed term; such is Allah, your Lord – only His is the kingship; and those whom you worship instead of Him do not own even the husk of a date-seed
Sher Ali
HE merges the night into the day, and HE merges the day into the night. And HE has pressed into service the sun and the moon, each runs its course to an appointed term. Such is ALLAH, your Lord; His is the Kingdom, and those whom you call upon beside ALLAH own not even a whit
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
He causes the night to pass into the day and the day to pass into the night. And He has subjected the sun and the moon (to a system), each rotating for an appointed term. Such is Allah, your Lord. His is all the sovereignty. And the idols that you worship apart from Him do not own (even) the thin membrane of a date stone
Amatul Rahman Omar
He causes the night to gain on the day and He causes the day to gain on the night and He has harnessed the sun and the moon into service. Each one (of them) will go on moving for a specified term. Such is (the majesty of) Allah, your Lord! All power belongs to Him. But those whom you call upon apart from Him have no power at all, not even equal to the husk of a date stone
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali
He merges the night into the day (i.e. the decrease in the hours of the night are added to the hours of the day), and He merges the day into the night (i.e. the decrease in the hours of the day are added to the hours of the night). And He has subjected the sun and the moon, each runs its course for a term appointed. Such is Allah your Lord; His is the kingdom. And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmeer (the thin membrane over the datestone)
New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame
He makes the night to enter into the day and the day to enter into the night and He has made the sun and the moon subservient [through His command] each running to an appointed term. That is Allah your Lord, for Him is the dominion and those that you call besides Him do not possess as much as the skin of a date-stone.
Munir Mezyed
He causes the night to pass into the day and He causes the day to pass into the night. He has subjected the sun and the moon, each of them running to an appointed term. This is Allâh, your Lord. His is the Supreme Authority. Those whom you call upon, other than him, possess nothing not even a membrane of a date-seed.
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher
He blends the night into the day and blends the day into the night and made subservient the sun and the moon, each floats for a fixed term. That is Allah your Lord, His is the kingdom, and those you call besides Him do not own even the skin on a date stone.
Linda “iLHam” Barto
He merges night into day and day into night. He has subjected the sun and the moon each to its own laws [of physics] for an appointed time. Such is Allah your Lord. To Him belongs all dominion. Those whom you may invoke besides Him have no power in the least –not even the measure of the membrane of a date seed.
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation
He causes the night to penetrate the day and He causes the day to penetrate the night, and He has subjected the sun and the moon, each running for a stated term. Such is Allah, yourpl Lord; to Him belongs the dominion. But those you call upon apart from Him do not own so much as the mere skin of a date stone.
Irving & Mohamed Hegab
He wraps night up into daytime and wraps daytime up in night, and regulates the sun and moon; each runs along on a stated course. Such is Allah (God), your Lord! Control belongs to Him; while the ones whom you appeal to instead of Him do not control a wisp.
Samy Mahdy
He logs the night into the day, and He logs the day into the night. And He subserviated the sun and the moon, each running for a named term. That is Allah, your Lord; for Him the sovereignty. And those who you call without Him do not own as much as a membrane of a date seed.
Sayyid Qutb
He causes the night to pass into the day, and the day to pass into the night; and He has made the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws], each running its course for an appointed term. Thus is God, your Lord: to Him belongs all dominion, while those whom you invoke instead of Him do not own even the skin of a date- stone.
Ahmed Hulusi
He transforms the night into the day, and the day into the night... He has given functions to the Sun and the Moon... Each one runs its course for a specified time... Thus is Allah, your Rabb! Sovereignty is for Him (for the manifestation and observation of His Names)! Those to whom you turn besides Him (assuming they exist) do not have sovereignty over the membrane of a date seed.
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli
He merges the night into the day and He merges the day into the night, and He has made subservient (to you) the sun and the moon, each of them running to an appointed time; such is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs the kingdom, and those whom you call upon, apart from Him, possess not (so much as) the skin of a date-stone.
He causes the night to lose its character and identity* by absorption into the day and He causes the day to lose its character and identity by absorption into the night and He reduced the sun and the moon to a state of subservience, each describing its orbit for a determined period of time. This is Allah, your Creator, Who has the sovereignty of the universe and its supreme controlling power, whereas those you invoke besides Him do not own even as little as the integument of the smallest seed nor do they exercise over it the least control
Mir Aneesuddin
He makes the night to enter into the day and He makes the day to enter into the night and He compelled the sun and the moon (to follow His laws), each moves fast for an appointed term. That is Allah your Fosterer, His is the kingdom. And those whom you pray to, besides Him, do not own (even) the white spot on a date stone.
The Wise Quran
He makes the night to enter into the day and makes the day to enter into the night; and He subjects the sun and the moon, each runs on to a named term. That is God, your Lord. His is the kingdom; but those you call on besides Him do not possess the husk of a date seed.