034 Saba

He knows whatever goes into the earth and whatever comes out of it, and whatever descends from the heaven and whatever ascends to it, and He is the Most Merciful, All-Forgiving.

Those who disbelieve say, “The Hour will not come to us.” Say, “Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you.” [He is] the Knower of the unseen; not even an atom’s weight[1] is hidden from Him in the heavens or on earth, nor is there anything smaller or bigger than that, except that it is in a clear Record[2],

Translation notes: [1] Or the weight of the smallest ant. [2] i.e., the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfūz).

so that He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds; it is they who will have forgiveness and a generous provision.

But those who strive against Our verses[3], seeking to discredit them, for such there will be a punishment of agonizing pain.

Translation notes: [3] In order to undermine their credibility.

Those who are blessed with knowledge can see that whatever has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth and that it guides to the path of the All-Mighty, the Praiseworthy.

The disbelievers [mockingly] say, “Shall we show you a man[4] who will tell you that when you are completely disintegrated into dust, you will be created anew?”

Translation notes: [4] i.e., the Prophet (ﷺ).

Has he fabricated a lie against Allah, or is he mad?”[5] No, but those who do not believe in the Hereafter will be in the punishment, and they are extremely misguided.

Translation notes: [5] People knew that the Prophet (ﷺ) was the most truthful person, as he was known to be the wisest person among them too; so Allah did not refute these two baseless accusations; rather, He only made mention of their consequence of denying the life after death.

Do they not see all that is before them and all that is behind them of the heavens and earth? If We willed, We could cause the earth to swallow them up, or cause fragments of the sky to fall upon them. Indeed, there is a sign in this for every slave who turns to Allah in repentance.

Indeed, We bestowed favors upon David: “O mountains, echo Allah’s praise with him, and the birds too!” And We made iron malleable for him:

“Make coats of mail, and maintain balance in the linking rings, and do [all of you] righteous deeds, for I am All-Seeing of what you do.”

And to Solomon [We subdued] the wind: its morning course was a month’s journey and its evening course was a month’s journey. And We caused a stream of molten brass to flow for him, and there were some jinn who worked for him by his Lord’s permission; whoever among them deviated from Our command, We made him taste the punishment of the Blazing Fire.

They made for him whatever he wished of sanctuaries[6], images[7], basins as large as reservoirs, and huge fixed cooking pots. “Do [good deeds] in gratitude, O household of David!” But few of My slaves are grateful.”

Translation notes: [6] i.e., palaces, dwellings, or places of prayer. [7] Which were not prohibited at the time of Solomon (ﷺ).

Then when We decreed Solomon’s death, nothing showed them that he was dead except a creature of the earth[8] eating away his staff[9]. When he fell down, the jinn realized that if they had truly known the unseen, they would not have remained in the debasing servitude[10].

Translation notes: [8] i.e., a termite was gnawing his staff. [9] Upon which he was leaning. [10] It is proof that the jinn do not have knowledge of the unseen.

There was a sign for [the people of] Sheba in their dwelling place: two gardens – one on the right and one on the left. “Eat of your Lord’s provision, and be grateful to Him; a pleasant land and a Forgiving Lord.”

But they turned away, so We sent against them a devastating flood[11] and replaced their two gardens with two others of bitter fruit, and tamarisk bushes, and a few lote trees.

Translation notes: [11] i.e., which destroyed their dam and submerged their farms.

This is how We punished them for their ingratitude; would We punish anyone except those who are utterly ungrateful?

We placed [a chain of] towns between them and the towns We had blessed[12], and We made between them well-measured distances[13]: “Travel through them by night and day safely.”

Translation notes: [12] i.e., between the land of the people of Sheba and the land of Makkah and Jerusalem. [13] i.e., We placed between them settlements at measured distances for the travelers’ convenience.

But they said, “Our Lord, make [the distance between] our journeys longer[14],” and they wronged themselves. So We made them tales [of the past], and dispersed them in all directions. Indeed, there are signs in this for everyone who is patient and grateful.

Translation notes: [14] They were bored of a comfortable life and easy traveling. Similarly, the Children of Israel were bored of eating the manna and quails and sought other types of food such as onions, garlic, cucumber, etc. See 2:61.

Satan found his assumption[15] about them[16] to be true, for they followed him, except for a group of the believers,

Translation notes: [15] That he would be able to mislead them. [16] i.e., the people of Sheba or humankind in general.

even though he had no authority over them, except that We might distinguish those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are in doubt about it. Your Lord is Watchful over all things.”

Say, “Call upon those whom you claim [to be gods] besides Allah. They do not have even an atom’s weight of authority in the heavens or on earth, nor do they have any share in either of them, nor is any of them a helper to Allah.”

No intercession will be of any benefit before Him, except for those whom He gave permission. Until when their hearts are relieved of dread[17], they will say [to the angels], “What did your Lord just say?” They will say, “The Truth, and He is the Most High, Most Great.”

Translation notes: [17] i.e., the hearts of the angels who will have permission to intercede.

Say, “Who provides for you from the heavens and earth?” Say, “Allah! And surely either we or you[18] are rightly guided or clearly misguided.”

Translation notes: [18] i.e., the believers or the polytheists.

Say, “You will not be questioned about our misdeeds, nor will we be questioned about your deeds.”

Say, “Our Lord will gather us together, then He will rightly judge between us, for He is the All-Knowing Judge[19].”

Translation notes: [19] Al-Fattāh (lit., "the Opener"): He who decides all matters in truth and justice; opens the way to victory, success, relief, and knowledge.

Say, “Show me those whom you have associated with Him as partners. No indeed! Rather, He is Allah, the All-Mighty, All-Wise.”

We have not sent you [O Prophet] except as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most people do not know.

They say, “When will this promise come to pass, if you are truthful?”

Say, “There is an appointed Day for you that you can neither delay for a while, nor can you bring it forward.”

Those who disbelieve say, “We will never believe in this Qur’an or in any [Scripture] before it.” If only you could see when the wrongdoers would be made to stand before their Lord, throwing blame at one another! Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, “Had it not been for you, we would have been believers.”

Those who were arrogant will say to those who were oppressed, “Was it we who prevented you from guidance after it came to you? Rather, you yourselves were wicked.”

Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, “Rather, [it was your] conspiracy of night and day when you were ordering us to disbelieve in Allah and to set up rivals to Him.” They will hide their remorse when they see the punishment, and We will put shackles around the necks of those who disbelieved. Will they be recompensed except for what they used to do?

We never sent a warner to a town except that its affluent ones said, “We disbelieve in what you have been sent with.”

They[20] said, “We have greater wealth and more children, and we will not be punished”.

Translation notes: [20] i.e., the affluent ones of the people of Makkah and others.

Say, “My Lord extends provision to whom He wills or restricts it, but most people do not know”.

It is not your wealth or your children that bring you closer to Us; but those who believe and do righteous deeds, it is they who will have a multiple reward for what they did, and they will be safe in the lofty mansions.

But those who strive against Our verses[21], seeking to discredit them, it is they who will be summoned to the punishment.

Translation notes: [21] In order to undermine their credibility.

Say, “My Lord extends provision to whom He wills of His slaves or restricts it. Whatever you spend in charity, He will compensate for it, for He is the Best of Providers.”

On the Day when He gathers them all together, then He will say to the angels, “Was it you that they used to worship?”

They will say, “Glory be to You! You are our Protector, not they. Rather they used to worship the jinn[22]; most of them believed in them.”

Translation notes: [22] i.e., the devils.

So Today none of you has the power to benefit or harm one another. And We will say to the wrongdoers, “Taste the punishment of the Fire which you used to deny!”

When Our clear verses are recited to them, they say, “This is nothing but a man who wishes to turn you away from what your forefathers used to worship.” And they say, “This is nothing but a fabricated lie.” And the disbelievers say about the Truth when it comes to them, “This is nothing but clear magic,”

even though We did not give them any scriptures to study, nor did We send them any warner before you.

Those who came before them also rejected [the truth], while these [Makkans] have not been given even one-tenth of what We had given those [earlier nations], yet they rejected My messengers; how severe was My response!

Say [O Prophet], “I only advise you to do one thing: stand up for Allah, in pairs and individually, then reflect. There is no madness in your companion[23]; he is but a warner to you ahead of a severe punishment.”

Translation notes: [23] i.e., Muhammad (ﷺ).

Say, “If I had ever asked you for a reward, it is yours. My reward is only with Allah, and He is Witness over all things.”

Say, “My Lord hurls the Truth [against falsehood], and He is the All-Knower of the unseen.”

Say, “The Truth has come, and falsehood can neither initiate nor restore anything[24].”

Translation notes: [24] i.e., the falsehood has been abolished.

Say, “If I go astray, the detriment of my straying is only upon myself; but if I am guided, it is because of what my Lord reveals to me. He is indeed All-Hearing, Ever Near.”

If only you could see when they are stricken with terror, but there will be no escape, and they will be seized from a nearby place[25].

Translation notes: [25] i.e., from the place of Judgment to the Hellfire.

They will say, “Now we believe in it,” but how could they attain faith from such a distant place[26],

Translation notes: [26] For it is already too late to return to worldly life.

while they disbelieved in it before, making far-fetched conjectures about the unseen[27]?

Translation notes: [27] i.e., conjectures far from the truth; saying about the Prophet (ﷺ) that he is a magician, a soothsayer, a poet, etc.

A barrier will be placed between them and what they desire[28], as was done with the likes of them before, for they were indeed in a disquieting doubt.

Translation notes: [28] i.e., the attainment of faith and admission into Paradise.