Surah 50 of 114 · Makki · 45 ayat
Qaf ق
The Letter "Qaf"
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ قٓ وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ٱلْمَجِيدِ
PickthallQaf. By the Glorious Qur'an,
Yusuf AliQaf: By the Glorious Qur'an (Thou art Allah's Messenger).
The agreed readingQaf - a single letter set at the head of the sura, whose meaning the commentaries leave with God. Then the oath: by the Qur'an, glorious and noble. What the oath answers is the denial that follows immediately after it.
بَلْ عَجِبُوٓا۟ أَن جَآءَهُم مُّنذِرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَقَالَ ٱلْكَٰفِرُونَ هَٰذَا شَىْءٌ عَجِيبٌ
PickthallNay, but they marvel that a warner of their own hath come unto them; and the disbelievers say: This is a strange thing:
Yusuf AliBut they wonder that there has come to them a Warner from among themselves. So the Unbelievers say: "This is a wonderful thing!
The agreed readingWhat astonished them was not a sign in the sky but a man - a warner risen from among their own people, whose face and family they already knew. The commentaries agree the warning was of what comes after the dead are raised. Those who refuse called it a strange thing.
أَءِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا ذَٰلِكَ رَجْعٌۢ بَعِيدٌ
PickthallWhen we are dead and have become dust (shall we be brought back again)? That would be a far return!
Yusuf Ali"What! When we die and become dust, (shall we live again?) That is a (sort of) return far (from our understanding)."
The agreed readingTheir objection put plainly: once we are dead and crumbled into dust, are we to be brought back? The commentaries read 'a far return' as their own verdict - that such a thing is too far-fetched to happen. The distance is in their estimate of it, not in God's power.
قَدْ عَلِمْنَا مَا تَنقُصُ ٱلْأَرْضُ مِنْهُمْ وَعِندَنَا كِتَٰبٌ حَفِيظٌۢ
PickthallWe know that which the earth taketh of them, and with Us is a recording Book.
Yusuf AliWe already know how much of them the earth takes away: With Us is a record guarding (the full account).
The agreed readingThe answer is knowledge rather than argument. God knows exactly what the earth takes away of them, as it takes it, particle by particle. And with Him is a Book that preserves - nothing of them is lost track of, so nothing of them is lost.
بَلْ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ فَهُمْ فِىٓ أَمْرٍ مَّرِيجٍ
PickthallNay, but they have denied the truth when it came unto them, therefor they are now in troubled case.
Yusuf AliBut they deny the Truth when it comes to them: so they are in a confused state.
The agreed readingThey denied the truth as soon as it reached them, and so their affair is unsettled. The commentaries find that confusion in their own shifting verdicts - the same man called a sorcerer, then a poet, then a soothsayer. One settled truth, met by answers that will not hold still.
أَفَلَمْ يَنظُرُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَوْقَهُمْ كَيْفَ بَنَيْنَٰهَا وَزَيَّنَّٰهَا وَمَا لَهَا مِن فُرُوجٍ
PickthallHave they not then observed the sky above them, how We have constructed it and beautified it, and how there are no rifts therein?
Yusuf AliDo they not look at the sky above them?- How We have made it and adorned it, and there are no flaws in it?
The agreed readingThe proof they ask for is already above them. Look at the sky: how it was built, how it was adorned, and how there is no crack or split anywhere in it. The commentaries take the looking to be with the eye and the heeding with the mind - a made thing with no flaw in it argues for the one who made it.
وَٱلْأَرْضَ مَدَدْنَٰهَا وَأَلْقَيْنَا فِيهَا رَوَٰسِىَ وَأَنۢبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍۭ بَهِيجٍ
PickthallAnd the earth have We spread out, and have flung firm hills therein, and have caused of every lovely kind to grow thereon,
Yusuf AliAnd the earth- We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and produced therein every kind of beautiful growth (in pairs)-
The agreed readingAnd the earth: spread out, with firm mountains flung into it to hold it steady, and every kind of growth raised from it that gladdens the one who sees it. The commentaries hold to that last word - the growth is not merely useful, it is a delight to look at.
تَبْصِرَةً وَذِكْرَىٰ لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ مُّنِيبٍ
PickthallA vision and a reminder for every penitent slave.
Yusuf AliTo be observed and commemorated by every devotee turning (to Allah).
The agreed readingAll of it gives sight and reminds. But the commentaries note who actually receives it: every servant who turns back to God. The sky and the earth stand before everyone; they become a proof for the one who is already turning.
وَنَزَّلْنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً مُّبَٰرَكًا فَأَنۢبَتْنَا بِهِۦ جَنَّٰتٍ وَحَبَّ ٱلْحَصِيدِ
PickthallAnd We send down from the sky blessed water whereby We give growth unto gardens and the grain of crops,
Yusuf AliAnd We send down from the sky rain charted with blessing, and We produce therewith gardens and Grain for harvests;
The agreed readingAnd from the sky, water carrying blessing - with it gardens grow, and the grain that is harvested. The commentaries name it plainly: rain, and out of rain the orchard and the field.
وَٱلنَّخْلَ بَاسِقَٰتٍ لَّهَا طَلْعٌ نَّضِيدٌ
PickthallAnd lofty date-palms with ranged clusters,
Yusuf AliAnd tall (and stately) palm-trees, with shoots of fruit-stalks, piled one over another;-
The agreed readingAnd the date-palms standing tall, their clustered spathes packed one above another. The commentaries note the packing belongs to the sheath - layer upon layer, before it opens.
رِّزْقًا لِّلْعِبَادِ وَأَحْيَيْنَا بِهِۦ بَلْدَةً مَّيْتًا كَذَٰلِكَ ٱلْخُرُوجُ
PickthallProvision (made) for men; and therewith We quicken a dead land. Even so will be the resurrection of the dead.
Yusuf AliAs sustenance for (Allah's) Servants;- and We give (new) life therewith to land that is dead: Thus will be the Resurrection.
The agreed readingProvision for God's servants. And with that same water a dead land is brought back to life - here the commentaries make the argument explicit: the coming out from the graves is exactly this, and whoever has watched a dead land turn green has already watched it happen.
كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَأَصْحَٰبُ ٱلرَّسِّ وَثَمُودُ
PickthallThe folk of Noah denied (the truth) before them, and (so did) the dwellers at Ar-Rass and (the tribe of) Thamud,
Yusuf AliBefore them was denied (the Hereafter) by the People of Noah, the Companions of the Rass, the Thamud,
The agreed readingDenial is not new and they are not the first at it. Before them the people of Noah denied, and the people of al-Rass, and Thamud - the people to whom Salih was sent. The commentaries connect al-Rass with a well their people were settled around.
وَعَادٌ وَفِرْعَوْنُ وَإِخْوَٰنُ لُوطٍ
PickthallAnd (the tribe of) A'ad, and Pharaoh, and the brethren of Lot,
Yusuf AliThe 'Ad, Pharaoh, the brethren of Lut,
The agreed readingAnd 'Ad, the people to whom Hud was sent; and Pharaoh; and the brethren of Lot - the commentaries name them as the people of Sodom and the towns around it, to whom Lot was sent.
وَأَصْحَٰبُ ٱلْأَيْكَةِ وَقَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ كُلٌّ كَذَّبَ ٱلرُّسُلَ فَحَقَّ وَعِيدِ
PickthallAnd the dwellers in the wood, and the folk of Tubb'a: every one denied their messengers, therefor My threat took effect.
Yusuf AliThe Companions of the Wood, and the People of Tubba'; each one (of them) rejected the messengers, and My warning was duly fulfilled (in them).
The agreed readingAnd the dwellers of the thicket, to whom Shu'ayb was sent, and the people of Tubba' - the commentaries identify Tubba' as the title borne by the kings of Yemen. Every one of them denied the messengers sent to them, and what God had threatened fell due.
أَفَعَيِينَا بِٱلْخَلْقِ ٱلْأَوَّلِ بَلْ هُمْ فِى لَبْسٍ مِّنْ خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ
PickthallWere We then worn out by the first creation? Yet they are in doubt about a new creation.
Yusuf AliWere We then weary with the first Creation, that they should be in confused doubt about a new Creation?
The agreed readingWere We worn out by the first making? The commentaries turn the question back on them: they never denied that God made them the first time - they only doubt He will do it again. The one who was not tired at the beginning is not tired at the return.
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِۦ نَفْسُهُۥ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ ٱلْوَرِيدِ
PickthallWe verily created man and We know what his soul whispereth to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.
Yusuf AliIt was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.
The agreed readingGod made man and knows what his own self whispers to him - not the deed only, the thought underneath it. And He is nearer to him than the vein in his neck. The commentaries agree on how that nearness is read: it is the nearness of knowledge, closer to him than the closest thing in his own body.
إِذْ يَتَلَقَّى ٱلْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ ٱلشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌ
PickthallWhen the two Receivers receive (him), seated on the right hand and on the left,
Yusuf AliBehold, two (guardian angels) appointed to learn (his doings) learn (and noted them), one sitting on the right and one on the left.
The agreed readingTwo receivers take down what he does, one seated at his right and one at his left. The commentaries call them the two angels appointed over him, and describe their work as taking and fixing - what is received is not left loose.
مَّا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ
PickthallHe uttereth no word but there is with him an observer ready.
Yusuf AliNot a word does he utter but there is a sentinel by him, ready (to note it).
The agreed readingNot a word leaves him without a watcher beside him, present and ready. The commentaries hold to that readiness: the recorder is not sent for when he is needed, he is already there.
وَجَآءَتْ سَكْرَةُ ٱلْمَوْتِ بِٱلْحَقِّ ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ
PickthallAnd the agony of death cometh in truth. (And it is said unto him): This is that which thou wast wont to shun.
Yusuf AliAnd the stupor of death will bring Truth (before his eyes): "This was the thing which thou wast trying to escape!"
The agreed readingThe stupor of death arrives, and it arrives carrying the truth with it - the commentaries note that the man who denied what comes after now sees it plainly, with his own eyes. And it is said to him: this is the very thing you kept running from.
وَنُفِخَ فِى ٱلصُّورِ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ ٱلْوَعِيدِ
PickthallAnd the trumpet is blown. This is the threatened Day.
Yusuf AliAnd the Trumpet shall be blown: that will be the Day whereof Warning (had been given).
The agreed readingAnd the trumpet is blown for the raising. That is the Day the warning had spoken of.
وَجَآءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّعَهَا سَآئِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ
PickthallAnd every soul cometh, along with it a driver and a witness.
Yusuf AliAnd there will come forth every soul: with each will be an (angel) to drive, and an (angel) to bear witness.
The agreed readingEvery soul arrives with two beside it. The commentaries describe the pair in the same terms: one who drives it to the place of gathering, and one who bears witness against it by what it did.
لَّقَدْ كُنتَ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ هَٰذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنكَ غِطَآءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ ٱلْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ
Pickthall(And unto the evil-doer it is said): Thou wast in heedlessness of this. Now We have removed from thee thy covering, and piercing is thy sight this day.
Yusuf Ali(It will be said:) "Thou wast heedless of this; now have We removed thy veil, and sharp is thy sight this Day!"
The agreed readingYou were heedless of this. Now the covering is lifted, and your sight today is sharp. The commentaries agree on what the covering was - the heedlessness itself, and being sunk in what can be touched and seen. Once it is taken away, the eye that denied is the eye that now sees.
وَقَالَ قَرِينُهُۥ هَٰذَا مَا لَدَىَّ عَتِيدٌ
PickthallAnd (unto the evil-doer) his comrade saith: This is that which I have ready (as testimony).
Yusuf AliAnd his Companion will say: "Here is (his Record) ready with me!"
The agreed readingThe one set over him says: here is what I have, ready. The commentaries read the record as complete - nothing added to it and nothing taken out of it.
أَلْقِيَا فِى جَهَنَّمَ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ
Pickthall(And it is said): Do ye twain hurl to hell each rebel ingrate,
Yusuf Ali(The sentence will be:) "Throw, throw into Hell every contumacious Rejecter (of Allah)!-
The agreed readingThe command is given to two: cast into Hell every stubborn one who refuses. The commentaries hold to the stubbornness - what is meant is not ignorance of the truth but setting oneself against it.
مَّنَّاعٍ لِّلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ مُّرِيبٍ
PickthallHinderer of good, transgressor, doubter,
Yusuf Ali"Who forbade what was good, transgressed all bounds, cast doubts and suspicions;
The agreed readingThree things are named against him: he held back the good that was owed - the commentaries instance the zakat; he was a wrongdoer who overstepped; and he was in doubt about the very religion he professed.
ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا ءَاخَرَ فَأَلْقِيَاهُ فِى ٱلْعَذَابِ ٱلشَّدِيدِ
PickthallWho setteth up another god along with Allah. Do ye twain hurl him to the dreadful doom.
Yusuf Ali"Who set up another god beside Allah: Throw him into a severe penalty."
The agreed readingAnd the root of all of it - he set up another god beside God. Cast him into the severe punishment.
قَالَ قَرِينُهُۥ رَبَّنَا مَآ أَطْغَيْتُهُۥ وَلَٰكِن كَانَ فِى ضَلَٰلٍۭ بَعِيدٍ
PickthallHis comrade saith: Our Lord! I did not cause him to rebel, but he was (himself) far gone in error.
Yusuf AliHis Companion will say: "Our Lord! I did not make him transgress, but he was (himself) far astray."
The agreed readingNow his comrade speaks, and here the commentaries identify him as the devil set with him: I did not drive him to rebel, he was already far astray. They read the defence the same way - the enticement found a man leaning that way already, and answered him rather than made him.
قَالَ لَا تَخْتَصِمُوا۟ لَدَىَّ وَقَدْ قَدَّمْتُ إِلَيْكُم بِٱلْوَعِيدِ
PickthallHe saith: Contend not in My presence, when I had already proffered unto you the warning.
Yusuf AliHe will say: "Dispute not with each other in My Presence: I had already in advance sent you Warning.
The agreed readingDo not quarrel in My presence. The commentaries note there is nothing left for the quarrel to win: the warning was put before them in advance, on the tongues of the messengers, while there was still time to act on it.
مَا يُبَدَّلُ ٱلْقَوْلُ لَدَىَّ وَمَآ أَنَا۠ بِظَلَّٰمٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ
PickthallThe sentence that cometh from Me cannot be changed, and I am in no wise a tyrant unto the slaves.
Yusuf Ali"The Word changes not before Me, and I do not the least injustice to My Servants."
The agreed readingThe word given does not change with God, and He does no wrong to His servants. The commentaries read the second half as the guarantee standing under the first - no one is punished for what he did not do.
يَوْمَ نَقُولُ لِجَهَنَّمَ هَلِ ٱمْتَلَأْتِ وَتَقُولُ هَلْ مِن مَّزِيدٍ
PickthallOn the day when We say unto hell: Art thou filled? and it saith: Can there be more to come?
Yusuf AliOne Day We will ask Hell, "Art thou filled to the full?" It will say, "Are there any more (to come)?"
The agreed readingOn that Day Hell is asked: are you filled? And it answers: is there more? The commentaries take the question as the confirming of a promise already given - that it would be filled.
وَأُزْلِفَتِ ٱلْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ
PickthallAnd the Garden is brought nigh for those who kept from evil, no longer distant.
Yusuf AliAnd the Garden will be brought nigh to the Righteous,- no more a thing distant.
The agreed readingAnd the Garden is brought near for those who guard themselves - near enough to see, no longer at any distance from them.
هَٰذَا مَا تُوعَدُونَ لِكُلِّ أَوَّابٍ حَفِيظٍ
Pickthall(And it is said): This is that which ye were promised. (It is) for every penitent and heedful one,
Yusuf Ali(A voice will say:) "This is what was promised for you,- for every one who turned (to Allah) in sincere repentance, who kept (His Law),
The agreed readingThis is what you were promised - for everyone who kept turning back to God and kept His limits. The commentaries gloss the two together: one who returns, and returns again, and one who guards what God has set.
مَّنْ خَشِىَ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ وَجَآءَ بِقَلْبٍ مُّنِيبٍ
PickthallWho feareth the Beneficent in secret and cometh with a contrite heart.
Yusuf Ali"Who feared (Allah) Most Gracious Unseen, and brought a heart turned in devotion (to Him):
The agreed readingWho feared the Merciful in the unseen - the commentaries read that as fearing Him without ever having seen Him - and who came carrying a heart that turns back to Him.
ٱدْخُلُوهَا بِسَلَٰمٍ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ ٱلْخُلُودِ
PickthallEnter it in peace. This is the day of immortality.
Yusuf Ali"Enter ye therein in Peace and Security; this is a Day of Eternal Life!"
The agreed readingEnter it in peace. The commentaries take that peace both ways the words allow: safe from everything feared, and greeted with peace on arrival. That is the Day of abiding, where what is given does not end.
لَهُم مَّا يَشَآءُونَ فِيهَا وَلَدَيْنَا مَزِيدٌ
PickthallThere they have all that they desire, and there is more with Us.
Yusuf AliThere will be for them therein all that they wish,- and more besides in Our Presence.
The agreed readingThere they have whatever they wish for. And with God there is more - the commentaries agree the 'more' lies beyond what they knew to ask for, past anything that had occurred to them.
وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُم مِّن قَرْنٍ هُمْ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُم بَطْشًا فَنَقَّبُوا۟ فِى ٱلْبِلَٰدِ هَلْ مِن مَّحِيصٍ
PickthallAnd how many a generation We destroyed before them, who were mightier than these in prowess so that they overran the lands! Had they any place of refuge (when the judgment came)?
Yusuf AliBut how many generations before them did We destroy (for their sins),- stronger in power than they? Then did they wander through the land: was there any place of escape (for them)?
The agreed readingHow many generations before them were destroyed, stronger than these in their grip on things, who ranged through the lands at will. The commentaries take the closing question as put to everyone: was any escape found - by them, or by anyone else?
إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَذِكْرَىٰ لِمَن كَانَ لَهُۥ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى ٱلسَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ
PickthallLo! therein verily is a reminder for him who hath a heart, or giveth ear with full intelligence.
Yusuf AliVerily in this is a Message for any that has a heart and understanding or who gives ear and earnestly witnesses (the truth).
The agreed readingIn all of that is a reminder for whoever has a heart, or gives ear while he is present. The commentaries gloss both conditions the same way: 'heart' here is the understanding, and being present means present in mind, listening so as to take it in. Hearing without attending is not what is meant.
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ وَمَا مَسَّنَا مِن لُّغُوبٍ
PickthallAnd verily We created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six Days, and naught of weariness touched Us.
Yusuf AliWe created the heavens and the earth and all between them in Six Days, nor did any sense of weariness touch Us.
The agreed readingHe made the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them in six days, and no weariness touched Him. The commentaries hold that closing denial to be the point being made: the making cost its maker nothing at all.
فَٱصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ ٱلْغُرُوبِ
PickthallTherefor (O Muhammad) bear with what they say, and hymn the praise of thy Lord before the rising and before the setting of the sun;
Yusuf AliBear, then, with patience, all that they say, and celebrate the praises of thy Lord, before the rising of the sun and before (its) setting.
The agreed readingSo bear with patience what they say, and glorify your Lord with praise before the sun rises and before it sets. The commentaries tie the two times to the prayers kept at them, and read the glorifying as declaring God free of everything they were saying of Him.
وَمِنَ ٱلَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ وَأَدْبَٰرَ ٱلسُّجُودِ
PickthallAnd in the night-time hymn His praise, and after the (prescribed) prostrations.
Yusuf AliAnd during part of the night, (also,) celebrate His praises, and (so likewise) after the postures of adoration.
The agreed readingAnd glorify Him in part of the night, and after the prostrations. The commentaries read the prostrations as the prayers themselves, and what follows them as what is said once they are done.
وَٱسْتَمِعْ يَوْمَ يُنَادِ ٱلْمُنَادِ مِن مَّكَانٍ قَرِيبٍ
PickthallAnd listen on the day when the crier crieth from a near place,
Yusuf AliAnd listen for the Day when the Caller will call out from a place quiet near,-
The agreed readingAnd listen for the Day the caller calls from a place close by. The commentaries agree on what the call is for: the raising, and the gathering for the reckoning.
يَوْمَ يَسْمَعُونَ ٱلصَّيْحَةَ بِٱلْحَقِّ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ ٱلْخُرُوجِ
PickthallThe day when they will hear the (Awful) Cry in truth. That is the day of coming forth (from the graves).
Yusuf AliThe Day when they will hear a (mighty) Blast in (very) truth: that will be the Day of Resurrection.
The agreed readingThe Day they hear the Cry in truth. That is the Day of coming forth. The commentaries take the Cry as the blast that raises them, heard by the whole of creation at once.
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْىِۦ وَنُمِيتُ وَإِلَيْنَا ٱلْمَصِيرُ
PickthallLo! We it is Who quicken and give death, and unto Us is the journeying.
Yusuf AliVerily it is We Who give Life and Death; and to Us is the Final Goal-
The agreed readingIt is God who gives life and gives death, and the journey ends with Him. The commentaries set this as the seal on the argument the sura has been making: the one who already does both holds the very power that was being doubted, and the returning is to Him and to no one else.
يَوْمَ تَشَقَّقُ ٱلْأَرْضُ عَنْهُمْ سِرَاعًا ذَٰلِكَ حَشْرٌ عَلَيْنَا يَسِيرٌ
PickthallOn the day when the earth splitteth asunder from them, hastening forth (they come). That is a gathering easy for Us (to make).
Yusuf AliThe Day when the Earth will be rent asunder, from (men) hurrying out: that will be a gathering together,- quite easy for Us.
The agreed readingThe Day the earth splits open from over them and they come out hurrying. Such a gathering is easy for God to make.
نَّحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِجَبَّارٍ فَذَكِّرْ بِٱلْقُرْءَانِ مَن يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ
PickthallWe are Best Aware of what they say, and thou (O Muhammad) art in no wise a compeller over them. But warn by the Qur'an him who feareth My threat.
Yusuf AliWe know best what they say; and thou art not one to overawe them by force. So admonish with the Qur'an such as fear My Warning!
The agreed readingGod knows what they say. And Muhammad is not set over them to force belief - the commentaries are agreed on that limit: his work is to deliver the message, not to compel it. So remind by the Qur'an; it is the one who fears the warning who takes the reminder.