37. Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt

٣٧۔ سُورَةُ الصَّافات

Qurʾān > Chapter 37 > Section 1
القرآن > كتاب ٣٧ > باب ١

37.1 God testifies that your God is one God and that Satans do not have an access to the exalted assembly of angels.

٣٧۔١ مقطع في سُورَةُ الصَّافات

quran:37:1 – In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

By those ˹angels˺ lined up in rows  

By those who are ranged in ranks — ˹by˺ the angels who range their souls in worship or their wings in the air awaiting their orders;
القرآن:٣٧:١ – بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَالصَّافَّاتِ صَفًّا  

{والصافات صفّا} الملائكة تصف نفوسها في العبادة أو أجنحتها في الهواء تنتظر ما تؤمر به.
quran:37:2 –

And those who drive ˹the clouds˺  

and the drivers who drive ˹away˺, the angels who drive the clouds;
القرآن:٣٧:٢ –

فَالزَّاجِرَاتِ زَجْرًا  

{فالزاجرات زجرا} الملائكة تزجر السحاب أي تسوقه.
quran:37:3 –

And those who recite the message,  

and those who recite, that is to say, the readers of the Qur’ān, they recite it, by way remembrance (dhikran is a verbal noun referring to ˹the action of˺ al-tāliyāt, ‘those who recite’).
القرآن:٣٧:٣ –

فَالتَّالِيَاتِ ذِكْرًا  

{فالتاليات} أي قراء القرآن يتلونه {ذكرا} مصدر من معنى التاليات.
quran:37:4 –

Indeed, your God is One,  

Indeed your God, O people of Mecca, is certainly One,
القرآن:٣٧:٤ –

إِنَّ إِلَٰهَكُمْ لَوَاحِدٌ  

{إن إلهكم} يا أهل مكة {لواحد}.
quran:37:5 –

Lord of the heavens and the earth and that between them and Lord of the sunrises.  

Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and Lord of the sun’s risings, that is, as well as the sun’s settings — each day it ˹the sun˺ has a rising and a setting.
القرآن:٣٧:٥ –

رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَرَبُّ الْمَشَارِقِ  

{ربُّ السماوات والأرض وما بينهما وربُّ المشارق} أي والمغارب للشمس، لها كل يوم مشرق ومغرب.
quran:37:6 –

Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment of stars  

We have indeed adorned the lowest heaven with an adornment, the stars, that is to say, ˹adorned˺ with their light or with them ˹the stars˺ (the genitive annexation ˹bi-zīnati’l-kawākib˺ is for explication; similarly ˹explicative˺ is the reading of bi-zīnatin, ‘with an adornment’, with nunation, ˹the adornment˺ explained as being ‘the stars’);
القرآن:٣٧:٦ –

إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ  

{إنَّا زينا السماء الدنيا بزينة الكواكب} أي بضوئها أو بها، والإضافة للبيان كقراءة تنوين زينة المبينة بالكواكب.
quran:37:7 –

And as protection against every rebellious devil  

and to guard (wa-hifzan is in the accusative because of an implied verb) that is to say, ‘We have guarded it with meteors’, from every (min kulli is semantically connected to the implied verb) any rebellious devil, who is a transgressor, in rebellion against obedience.
القرآن:٣٧:٧ –

وَحِفْظًا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ مَارِدٍ  

{وحفظا} منصوب بفعل مقدر: أي حفظناها بالشهب {من كل} متعلق بالمقدر {شيطان مارد} عاتٍ خارج عن الطاعة.
quran:37:8 –

˹So˺ they may not listen to the exalted assembly ˹of angels˺ and are pelted from every side,  

They, namely, the devils (lā yasma‘ūna, this is ˹the beginning of˺ a new sentence) cannot listen in — this ‘listening’ of theirs represents that faculty with which they memorise ˹what they hear˺ — on the High Council, the angels in the heavens (the ˹normally transitive verb˺ al-samā‘ is complemented with the preposition ilā, ‘to’ ˹here ‘in on’˺ because it includes the additional sense of ‘paying attention’ ˹while listening˺; a variant reading has yassamma‘una, which is actually yatasamma‘ūna, the tā’ have been assimilated with the sīn), for they, the devils, are pelted, with flames, from every side, from the remotest regions of the heavens,
القرآن:٣٧:٨ –

لَا يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى الْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَىٰ وَيُقْذَفُونَ مِنْ كُلِّ جَانِبٍ  

{لا يسمعون} أي الشياطين مستأنف، وسماعهم هو في المعنى المحفوظ عنه {إلى الملأ الأعلى} الملائكة في السماء، وعدِّي السماع بإلى لتضمنه معنى الإصغاء وفي قراءة بتشديد الميم والسين أصله يتسمعون أدغمت التاء في السين {ويقذفون} أي الشياطين بالشهب {من كل جانب} من آفاق السماء.
quran:37:9 –

Repelled; and for them is a constant punishment,  

to repel ˹them˺ (duhūran is a verbal noun from daharahu, meaning, ‘he repelled him, driving him away’; it is an object denoting reason) and theirs, in the Hereafter, is an everlasting chastisement;
القرآن:٣٧:٩ –

دُحُورًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ  

{دُحُورا} مصدر دحره: أي طرده وأبعده وهو مفعول له {ولهم} في الآخرة {عذاب واصب} دائم.
quran:37:10 –

Except one who snatches ˹some words˺ by theft, but they are pursued by a burning flame, piercing ˹in brightness˺.  

except him who snatches a fragment (al-khatfa is the verbal noun, that is to say, ‘˹that˺ one time’; the exceptive clause refers to the subject ˹of the verb˺ yasma‘ūna, in other words, ‘the only devil that is able to listen is the one that hears a word from the angels and snatches it away quickly’) and who is then pursued by a piercing flame (shihāb is a meteor) that pierces him, or burns him or robs him of his senses.
القرآن:٣٧:١٠ –

إِلَّا مَنْ خَطِفَ الْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ  

{إلا من خطف الخطفة} مصدر: أي المرة، والاستثناء من ضمير يسمعون: أي لا يسمع إلا الشيطان الذي سمع الكلمة من الملائكة فأخذها بسرعة {فأتبعه شهاب} كوكب مضيء {ثاقب} يثقبه أو يحرقه أو يخبله.
quran:37:11 –

Then inquire of them, ˹O Muhammad˺, "Are they a stronger ˹or more difficult˺ creation or those ˹others˺ We have created?" Indeed, We created men from sticky clay.  

So ask them, in other words, inquire of the people of Mecca for affirmation or by way of rebuke: Are they stronger as a creation, or those ˹others˺ whom We created?, of angels, heavens, the two earths and all that is in them (the use of man, ‘those whom’ ˹in man khalaqnā˺ indicates that the reference is predominantly to ˹other˺ rational creatures). Indeed We created them, that is, their origin, Adam, from a viscous clay, that sticks to the hand. The ˹intended˺ meaning is that their physical make-up is fragile so let them not behave arrogantly by rejecting the Prophet and the Qur’ān, a fact which will result in their — easily accomplished — destruction.
القرآن:٣٧:١١ –

فَاسْتَفْتِهِمْ أَهُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَمْ مَنْ خَلَقْنَا ۚ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُمْ مِنْ طِينٍ لَازِبٍ  

{فاستفتهم} استخبر كفار مكة تقريرا أو توبيخا {أهم أشد خلقا أم من خلقنا} من الملائكة والسماوات والأرضين وما فيهما وفي الإتيان بمن تغليب العقلاء {إنا خلقناهم} أي أصلهم آدم {من طين لازب} لازم يلصق باليد: المعنى أن خلقهم ضعيف فلا يتكبروا بإنكار النبي والقرآن المؤدي إلى هلاكهم اليسير.