38. Sūrat Ṣād

٣٨۔ سُورَةُ ص

Qurʾān > Chapter 38 > Section 1
القرآن > كتاب ٣٨ > باب ١

38.1 The Quran is full of admonition. disbelievers are in sheer arrogance for calling the prophets, liars.

٣٨۔١ مقطع في سُورَةُ ص

quran:38:1 – In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Sad. By the Qur'an containing reminder...  

Sād: God knows best what He means by this ˹letter˺. By the Qur’ān bearing the Remembrance, that is, ˹bearing˺ the Pronouncement; or ˹what is meant is that the Qur’ān is a Book˺ of renown (the response to this oath has been omitted, in other words: ‘It is not as the Meccan disbelievers say, that there are many gods’).
القرآن:٣٨:١ – بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

ص ۚ وَالْقُرْآنِ ذِي الذِّكْرِ  

{ص} الله أعلم بمراده به {والقرآن ذي الذكر} أي البيان أو الشرف، وجواب هذا القسم محذوف: أي ما الأمر كما قال كفار مكة من تعدد الآلهة.
quran:38:2 –

But those who disbelieve are in pride and dissension.  

Nay, but those who disbelieve, from among the people of Mecca, dwell in conceit, in self-glory and ˹in˺ disdain of faith, and defiance, disagreement with, and enmity towards, the Prophet (s).
القرآن:٣٨:٢ –

بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي عِزَّةٍ وَشِقَاقٍ  

{بل الذين كفروا} من أهل مكة {في عزة} حمية وتكبر عن الإيمان {وشقاق} خلاف وعداوة للنبي ﷺ .
quran:38:3 –

How many a generation have We destroyed before them, and they ˹then˺ called out; but it was not a time for escape.  

How many — in other words, many — a generation, a community of past communities, We have destroyed before them, and they cried out, when the chastisement was sent down on them, when it was no longer the time for escape, that is to say, the time was not one for fleeing (the ˹suffixed˺ tā’ ˹of wa-lāta˺ is extra; the sentence is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject of ˹the verb˺ nādaw, ‘they cried out’) in other words, they called for help but the situation was such that there could be no escape or deliverance; but still the Meccan disbelievers have not taken heed from their example.
القرآن:٣٨:٣ –

كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ مِنْ قَرْنٍ فَنَادَوْا وَلَاتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ  

{كم} أي كثيرا {أهلكنا من قبلهم من قرنِ} أي أمة من الأمم الماضية {فنادوْا} حين نزول العذاب بهم {ولاتَ حين مناص} أي ليس حين فرار والتاء زائدة، والجملة حال من فاعل نادوا، أي استغاثوا، والحال أن لا مهرب ولا منجى وما اعتبر بهم كفار مكة.
quran:38:4 –

And they wonder that there has come to them a warner from among themselves. And the disbelievers say, "This is a magician and a liar.  

And they marvel that a warner has come to them from among themselves, a messenger from among their number, to warn them and to threaten them with ˹the punishment of˺ the Fire after resurrection — and this ˹warner˺ is the Prophet (s). And those who disbelieve (the overt noun ˹al-kāfirūnā˺ has replaced the ˹third person˺ pronominalisation) say, ‘This is a sorcerer, a liar.
القرآن:٣٨:٤ –

وَعَجِبُوا أَنْ جَاءَهُمْ مُنْذِرٌ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَقَالَ الْكَافِرُونَ هَٰذَا سَاحِرٌ كَذَّابٌ  

{وعجبوا أن جاءهم منذر منهم} رسول من أنفسهم ينذرهم ويخوفهم النار بعد البعث وهو النبي * ﷺ {وقال الكافرون} فيه وضع الظاهر موضع المضمر {هذا ساحر كذاب}.
quran:38:5 –

Has he made the gods ˹only˺ one God? Indeed, this is a curious thing."  

Has he made the gods One God? — for he had said to them, ‘Say: there is no god except God’ — in other words ˹they objected˺: how could one god suffice for all of creation? Lo! that is indeed a curious thing’.
القرآن:٣٨:٥ –

أَجَعَلَ الْآلِهَةَ إِلَٰهًا وَاحِدًا ۖ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَشَيْءٌ عُجَابٌ  

{أجعل الآلهة إلها واحدا} حيث قال لهم قولوا: لا إله إلا الله، أي كيف يسع الخلق كلهم إله واحد {إن هذا لشيء عجاب} أي عجيب.
quran:38:6 –

And the eminent among them went forth, ˹saying˺, "Continue, and be patient over ˹the defense of˺ your gods. Indeed, this is a thing intended.  

And the council from among them go about, from the place of their assembly at the house of Abū Tālib and ˹the place˺ where they heard the Prophet (s) say, ‘Say: there is no god except God’, saying, ‘Go!, they say to one another, go, and stand by your gods, adhere firmly to worship of them; lo! this, that has been mentioned concerning the Oneness of God, is indeed a thing sought, from us.
القرآن:٣٨:٦ –

وَانْطَلَقَ الْمَلَأُ مِنْهُمْ أَنِ امْشُوا وَاصْبِرُوا عَلَىٰ آلِهَتِكُمْ ۖ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَشَيْءٌ يُرَادُ  

{وانطلق الملأ منهم} من مجلس اجتماعهم عند أبي طالب وسماعهم فيه من النبي ﷺ قولوا: لا إله إلا الله {أن امشوا} يقول بعضهم لبعض امشوا {واصبروا على آلهتكم} اثبتوا على عبادتها {إن هذا} المذكور من التوحيد {لشيء يراد} منا.
quran:38:7 –

We have not heard of this in the latest religion. This is not but a fabrication.  

We never heard of this in the latter-day creed, namely, the creed of Jesus. This is surely ˹nothing˺ but an invention, ˹mere˺ lies.
القرآن:٣٨:٧ –

مَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَٰذَا فِي الْمِلَّةِ الْآخِرَةِ إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا اخْتِلَاقٌ  

{ما سمعنا بهذا في الملة الآخرة} أي ملة عيسى {إن} ما {هذا إلا اختلاق} كذب.
quran:38:8 –

Has the message been revealed to him out of ˹all of˺ us?" Rather, they are in doubt about My message. Rather, they have not yet tasted My punishment.  

Has the Remembrance, the Qur’ān, been revealed to him, Muhammad (s), out of ˹all of˺ us’, when he is neither the elder nor the noblest among us? In other words, it could not have been revealed to him (read aunzila pronouncing both hamzas, or not pronouncing the second one, but in both cases inserting an intervening alif or without ˹this insertion˺). God, exalted be He, says: Nay, but they are in doubt concerning My Remembrance, My revelation, that is, the Qur’ān, for they deny the one who has brought it. Nay, but they have not yet tasted My chastisement, and if they were to taste it, they would certainly believe the Prophet (s) in what he has brought — but then ˹in such a case˺ their belief ˹in the Prophet˺ would be of no benefit to them.
القرآن:٣٨:٨ –

أَأُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ الذِّكْرُ مِنْ بَيْنِنَا ۚ بَلْ هُمْ فِي شَكٍّ مِنْ ذِكْرِي ۖ بَلْ لَمَّا يَذُوقُوا عَذَابِ  

{أَأُنزل} بتحقيق الهمزتين وتسهيل الثانية، وإدخال ألف بينهما على الوجهين وتركه {عليه} على محمد {الذكر} أي القرآن {من بيننا} وليس بأكبرنا ولا أشرفنا: أي لم ينزل عليه، قال تعالى: {بل هم في شك من ذكري} وحْيي أي القرآن حيث كذبوا الجائي به {بل لما} لم {يذوقوا عذاب} ولو ذاقوه لصدقوا النبي ﷺ فيما جاء به ولا ينفعهم التصديق حينئذ.
quran:38:9 –

Or do they have the depositories of the mercy of your Lord, the Exalted in Might, the Bestower?  

Or do they possess the treasuries of your Lord’s mercy, the Mighty, the Victor, the Bestower?, ˹treasuries˺ such as prophethood and otherwise, so that they might give it to whomever they want?
القرآن:٣٨:٩ –

أَمْ عِنْدَهُمْ خَزَائِنُ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّكَ الْعَزِيزِ الْوَهَّابِ  

{أم عندهم خزائن رحمة ربك العزيز} الغالب {الوهاب} من النبوَّة وغيرها فيعطونها من شاءوا.
quran:38:10 –

Or is theirs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and what is between them? Then let them ascend through ˹any˺ ways of access.  

Or do they possess the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them? If this is what they claim: Then let them ascend by the means, ˹of ascension˺ that lead to the heaven and bring ˹down˺ some revelation (wahy) and then assign it exclusively to whomever they wish (am in both verses represents the ˹rhetorical˺ hamza of denial).
القرآن:٣٨:١٠ –

أَمْ لَهُمْ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ۖ فَلْيَرْتَقُوا فِي الْأَسْبَابِ  

{أم لهم ملك السماوات والأرض وما بينهما} إن زعموا ذلك {فليرتقوا في الأسباب} الموصلة إلى السماء فيأتوا بالوحي فيخصوا به من شاءوا، وأمْ في الموضعين بمعنى همزة الإنكار.
quran:38:11 –

˹They are but˺ soldiers ˹who will be˺ defeated there among the companies ˹of disbelievers˺.  

A routed (mahzūmun is an adjectival qualification of jundun, ‘host’) host ˹is all that they are˺, in other words, they are ˹nothing but˺ a despicable host, nothing more — in their denial of you — from among the factions (mina’l-ahzābi, also an adjectival qualification of jundun) in other words, ˹they are˺ like those hosts of factions who were in confederation against prophets before you: these were defeated and destroyed, and likewise We shall destroy these ˹people˺.
القرآن:٣٨:١١ –

جُنْدٌ مَا هُنَالِكَ مَهْزُومٌ مِنَ الْأَحْزَابِ  

{جند ما} أي هم جند حقير {هنالك} في تكذيبهم لك {مهزوم} صفة جند {من الأحزاب} صفة جند أيضا: أي كالأجناد من جنس الأحزاب المتحزبين على الأنبياء قبلك وأولئك قد قهروا وأهلكوا فكذا نهلك هؤلاء.
quran:38:12 –

The people of Noah denied before them, and ˹the tribe of˺ 'Aad and Pharaoh, the owner of stakes,  

Before them the people of Noah denied (the inflection of ˹the verb kadhdabat, ‘denied’, that is governed by˺ qawmu, ‘people’, is in the feminine person because of the ˹implicit˺ sense), and ˹so did those of˺ ‘Ād and Pharaoh, he of the stakes — he used to fix four stakes for the person who incurred his wrath and tie to these ˹stakes˺ that person’s hands and feet and then torture him —
القرآن:٣٨:١٢ –

كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَعَادٌ وَفِرْعَوْنُ ذُو الْأَوْتَادِ  

{كذبت قبلهم قوم نوح} تأنيث قوم باعتبار المعنى {وعاد وفرعون ذو الأوتاد} كان يتد لكل من يغضب عليه أربعة أوتاد يشد إليها يديه ورجليه ويعذبه.
quran:38:13 –

And ˹the tribe of˺ Thamud and the people of Lot and the companions of the thicket. Those are the companies.  

and Thamūd and the people of Lot and the dwellers in the wood, a small forest, namely, the people of Shu‘ayb, peace be upon him — those were the factions.
القرآن:٣٨:١٣ –

وَثَمُودُ وَقَوْمُ لُوطٍ وَأَصْحَابُ الْأَيْكَةِ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ الْأَحْزَابُ  

{وثمود وقوم لوط وأصحاب الأيكة} أي الغيضة، وهم قوم شعيب عليه السلام {أولئك الأحزاب}.
quran:38:14 –

Each of them denied the messengers, so My penalty was justified.  

Each one, of the factions, did not but deny the messengers, for when they deny one, they have ˹in effect˺ denied them all, since their call ˹to God˺ is ˹the same˺ one, namely, the call to ˹affirmation of˺ His Oneness. So My retribution was justified, ˹it was˺ necessary.
القرآن:٣٨:١٤ –

إِنْ كُلٌّ إِلَّا كَذَّبَ الرُّسُلَ فَحَقَّ عِقَابِ  

{إن} ما {كل} من الأحزاب {إلا كذب الرسل} لأنهم إذا كذبوا واحدا منهم فقد كذبوا جميعهم لأن دعوتهم واحدة، وهي دعوة التوحيد {فحق} وجب {عقاب}.