Surah 51 of 114 · Makki · 60 ayat
Adh-Dhariyat الذاريات
The Winnowing Winds
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ وَٱلذَّٰرِيَٰتِ ذَرْوًا
PickthallBy those that winnow with a winnowing
Yusuf AliBy the (Winds) that scatter broadcast;
The agreed readingThe sura opens with an oath by those that scatter, scattering. The commentaries take these to be the winds - what lifts the dust and drives it along before it.
فَٱلْحَٰمِلَٰتِ وِقْرًا
PickthallAnd those that bear the burden (of the rain)
Yusuf AliAnd those that lift and bear away heavy weights;
The agreed readingAnd by those that carry a load. The commentaries read these as the clouds, bearing the weight of the water they hold.
فَٱلْجَٰرِيَٰتِ يُسْرًا
PickthallAnd those that glide with ease (upon the sea)
Yusuf AliAnd those that flow with ease and gentleness;
The agreed readingAnd by those that run with ease. The commentaries read these as the ships, running light over the face of the water.
فَٱلْمُقَسِّمَٰتِ أَمْرًا
PickthallAnd those who distribute (blessings) by command,
Yusuf AliAnd those that distribute and apportion by Command;-
The agreed readingAnd by those that apportion a matter. The commentaries read these as the angels, dividing out the provisions and the rains among the lands and the servants by the command they are given.
إِنَّمَا تُوعَدُونَ لَصَادِقٌ
PickthallLo! that wherewith ye are threatened is indeed true,
Yusuf AliVerily that which ye are promised is true;
The agreed readingWhat you are promised is true. Here the oath falls due: the promise made to them - of the raising, and of what comes after it - is a promise that holds.
وَإِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ لَوَٰقِعٌ
PickthallAnd lo! the judgment will indeed befall.
Yusuf AliAnd verily Judgment and Justice must indeed come to pass.
The agreed readingAnd the judgement will certainly fall. The commentaries gloss it as the requital that comes after the reckoning, and read the whole chain of oaths as the argument for it - the One with power over those things has power over this.
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ ٱلْحُبُكِ
PickthallBy the heaven full of paths,
Yusuf AliBy the Sky with (its) numerous Paths,
The agreed readingAnd by the sky, possessed of paths. The commentaries describe them as tracks running through its very making - the word is used of the ripple-lines wind leaves in sand - and read in them the ordered beauty of the sky.
إِنَّكُمْ لَفِى قَوْلٍ مُّخْتَلِفٍ
PickthallLo! ye, forsooth, are of various opinion (concerning the truth).
Yusuf AliTruly ye are in a doctrine discordant,
The agreed readingYou are in a saying that contradicts itself. The commentaries find the contradiction in what they said of Muhammad and of the Qur'an: a poet, a sorcerer, a soothsayer - verdicts that cannot all stand together, and of which only one could ever have been true.
يُؤْفَكُ عَنْهُ مَنْ أُفِكَ
PickthallHe is made to turn away from it who is (himself) averse.
Yusuf AliThrough which are deluded (away from the Truth) such as would be deluded.
The agreed readingTurned away from it is the one who is turned away. The commentaries read 'it' as the Prophet and the Qur'an - belief in them - and the turning as the settled state of one already turned from guidance.
قُتِلَ ٱلْخَرَّٰصُونَ
PickthallAccursed be the conjecturers
Yusuf AliWoe to the falsehood-mongers,-
The agreed readingCursed be those who guess. The commentaries gloss the word the same way: one who estimates and speaks without knowledge. Speaking without knowledge stands so close to lying that the word came to name the liar outright.
ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى غَمْرَةٍ سَاهُونَ
PickthallWho are careless in an abyss!
Yusuf AliThose who (flounder) heedless in a flood of confusion:
The agreed readingThose who are sunk in a flood and heedless. The commentaries gloss the flood as an ignorance closing over them, and the heedlessness as heedlessness of what comes after.
يَسْـَٔلُونَ أَيَّانَ يَوْمُ ٱلدِّينِ
PickthallThey ask: When is the Day of Judgment?
Yusuf AliThey ask, "When will be the Day of Judgment and Justice?"
The agreed readingThey ask: when is the Day of Judgement? The commentaries note the question was not put in order to learn the answer - it was put in mockery.
يَوْمَ هُمْ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ يُفْتَنُونَ
Pickthall(It is) the day when they will be tormented at the Fire,
Yusuf Ali(It will be) a Day when they will be tried (and tested) over the Fire!
The agreed readingThe Day they are tried over the Fire. The commentaries gloss the trying plainly: it is the punishment itself.
ذُوقُوا۟ فِتْنَتَكُمْ هَٰذَا ٱلَّذِى كُنتُم بِهِۦ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ
Pickthall(And it will be said unto them): Taste your torment (which ye inflicted). This is what ye sought to hasten.
Yusuf Ali"Taste ye your trial! This is what ye used to ask to be hastened!"
The agreed readingTaste your trial. This is what you were asking to have hurried. The commentaries tie it back to the question they had asked in mockery - the thing they wanted brought forward is now in front of them.
إِنَّ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ فِى جَنَّٰتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
PickthallLo! those who keep from evil will dwell amid gardens and watersprings,
Yusuf AliAs to the Righteous, they will be in the midst of Gardens and Springs,
The agreed readingThose who guard themselves are amid gardens and springs. The commentaries note the two words are left indefinite, and read that as pointing past description - gardens and springs of a kind no describer reaches.
ءَاخِذِينَ مَآ ءَاتَىٰهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ قَبْلَ ذَٰلِكَ مُحْسِنِينَ
PickthallTaking that which their Lord giveth them; for lo! aforetime they were doers of good;
Yusuf AliTaking joy in the things which their Lord gives them, because, before then, they lived a good life.
The agreed readingTaking what their Lord gives them. Before that they were doers of good. The commentaries read the taking as receiving with contentment what is given, and the good-doing as what they did in the life before - which is what the next verses set out, one line at a time.
كَانُوا۟ قَلِيلًا مِّنَ ٱلَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ
PickthallThey used to sleep but little of the night,
Yusuf AliThey were in the habit of sleeping but little by night,
The agreed readingThey used to sleep little of the night. The commentaries gloss it as standing in prayer through it and sleeping only a small part.
وَبِٱلْأَسْحَارِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ
PickthallAnd ere the dawning of each day would seek forgiveness,
Yusuf AliAnd in the hour of early dawn, they (were found) praying for Forgiveness;
The agreed readingAnd in the hours before dawn they were asking forgiveness. The commentaries name the hour precisely - the last stretch of the night, before daybreak - and the asking as asking God to forgive their sins.
وَفِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ حَقٌّ لِّلسَّآئِلِ وَٱلْمَحْرُومِ
PickthallAnd in their wealth the beggar and the outcast had due share.
Yusuf AliAnd in their wealth and possessions (was remembered) the right of the (needy,) him who asked, and him who (for some reason) was prevented (from asking).
The agreed readingAnd in their wealth was a right: for the one who asks, and for the one who is deprived. The commentaries define the second by the first - he does not ask, and it is his own restraint that keeps him from asking. The right is his all the same.
وَفِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ءَايَٰتٌ لِّلْمُوقِنِينَ
PickthallAnd in the earth are portents for those whose faith is sure.
Yusuf AliOn the earth are signs for those of assured Faith,
The agreed readingAnd in the earth are signs for those who are certain. The commentaries instance the mountains and the seas, the trees and the fruit and everything that grows - all of it pointing to God's power and to His being one.
وَفِىٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ
PickthallAnd (also) in yourselves. Can ye then not see?
Yusuf AliAs also in your own selves: Will ye not then see?
The agreed readingAnd in yourselves. Do you not see? The commentaries take this sign to run from the beginning of a man's making to its end, and through the wonders of how he is put together.
وَفِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ
PickthallAnd in the heaven is your providence and that which ye are promised;
Yusuf AliAnd in heaven is your Sustenance, as (also) that which ye are promised.
The agreed readingAnd in the sky is your provision, and what you are promised. The commentaries read the provision as the rain and what grows by it, and the promise as a thing already written above, which comes down in its time.
فَوَرَبِّ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ إِنَّهُۥ لَحَقٌّ مِّثْلَ مَآ أَنَّكُمْ تَنطِقُونَ
PickthallAnd by the Lord of the heavens and the earth, it is the truth, even as (it is true) that ye speak.
Yusuf AliThen, by the Lord of heaven and earth, this is the very Truth, as much as the fact that ye can speak intelligently to each other.
The agreed readingBy the Lord of the heaven and the earth, it is true - as true as that you speak. The commentaries hold to the comparison being made: you do not doubt your own speaking, and this is of that same certainty.
هَلْ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ ضَيْفِ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ٱلْمُكْرَمِينَ
PickthallHath the story of Abraham's honoured guests reached thee (O Muhammad)?
Yusuf AliHas the story reached thee, of the honoured guests of Abraham?
The agreed readingHas the story of Abraham's honoured guests reached you? The commentaries identify the guests as angels, and read the honouring as Abraham's own - what he did for them the moment they arrived.
إِذْ دَخَلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا۟ سَلَٰمًا قَالَ سَلَٰمٌ قَوْمٌ مُّنكَرُونَ
PickthallWhen they came in unto him and said: Peace! he answered, Peace! (and thought): Folk unknown (to me).
Yusuf AliBehold, they entered his presence, and said: "Peace!" He said, "Peace!" (and thought, "These seem) unusual people."
The agreed readingThey came in upon him and said: peace. He said: peace - a people I do not know. The commentaries mark the difference between the two greetings: his answer returned more than was given him, and he still did not recognise them.
فَرَاغَ إِلَىٰٓ أَهْلِهِۦ فَجَآءَ بِعِجْلٍ سَمِينٍ
PickthallThen he went apart unto his housefolk so that they brought a fatted calf;
Yusuf AliThen he turned quickly to his household, brought out a fatted calf,
The agreed readingThen he slipped away to his household and came with a fattened calf. The commentaries hold to the quietness of it - he went aside without a word, so that his guests would not know a thing was being made ready.
فَقَرَّبَهُۥٓ إِلَيْهِمْ قَالَ أَلَا تَأْكُلُونَ
PickthallAnd he set it before them, saying: Will ye not eat?
Yusuf AliAnd placed it before them.. he said, "Will ye not eat?"
The agreed readingHe set it before them and said: will you not eat? The commentaries note what happened next - they gave him no answer, and they did not eat.
فَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً قَالُوا۟ لَا تَخَفْ وَبَشَّرُوهُ بِغُلَٰمٍ عَلِيمٍ
PickthallThen he conceived a fear of them. They said: Fear not! and gave him tidings of (the birth of) a wise son.
Yusuf Ali(When they did not eat), He conceived a fear of them. They said, "Fear not," and they gave him glad tidings of a son endowed with knowledge.
The agreed readingSo he conceived a fear of them. They said: do not fear - and gave him the good news of a boy who would have knowledge. The commentaries connect the fear straight to the untouched food, and name the son as Isaac.
فَأَقْبَلَتِ ٱمْرَأَتُهُۥ فِى صَرَّةٍ فَصَكَّتْ وَجْهَهَا وَقَالَتْ عَجُوزٌ عَقِيمٌ
PickthallThen his wife came forward, making moan, and smote her face, and cried: A barren old woman!
Yusuf AliBut his wife came forward (laughing) aloud: she smote her forehead and said: "A barren old woman!"
The agreed readingHis wife came forward crying out, and struck her face, and said: an old woman, barren. The commentaries read the cry as astonishment at the news, and her words as her own account of herself - too old, and one who had never borne a child.
قَالُوا۟ كَذَٰلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
PickthallThey said: Even so saith thy Lord. Lo! He is the Wise, the Knower.
Yusuf AliThey said, "Even so has thy Lord spoken: and He is full of Wisdom and Knowledge."
The agreed readingThey said: so has your Lord said. He is the Wise, the Knowing. The commentaries set the two names against the case standing in front of her: wise in what He does, and knowing in what He creates.
قَالَ فَمَا خَطْبُكُمْ أَيُّهَا ٱلْمُرْسَلُونَ
Pickthall(Abraham) said: And (afterward) what is your errand, O ye sent (from Allah)?
Yusuf Ali(Abraham) said: "And what, O ye Messengers, is your errand (now)?"
The agreed readingAbraham said: then what is your errand, you who are sent? The commentaries place the question after the recognition - once he knew what his guests were, he asked what they had come for.
قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّآ أُرْسِلْنَآ إِلَىٰ قَوْمٍ مُّجْرِمِينَ
PickthallThey said: Lo! we are sent unto a guilty folk,
Yusuf AliThey said, "We have been sent to a people (deep) in sin;-
The agreed readingThey said: we have been sent to a people who are guilty. The commentaries name them at once - the people of Lot.
لِنُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهِمْ حِجَارَةً مِّن طِينٍ
PickthallThat we may send upon them stones of clay,
Yusuf Ali"To bring on, on them, (a shower of) stones of clay (brimstone),
The agreed readingTo send down upon them stones of clay. The commentaries gloss the clay as baked hard in fire.
مُّسَوَّمَةً عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ
PickthallMarked by thy Lord for (the destruction of) the wanton.
Yusuf Ali"Marked as from thy Lord for those who trespass beyond bounds."
The agreed readingMarked with your Lord, for those who went past all bounds. The commentaries read the marking as a mark set on each stone by God, and name the excess that brought it: their going to men, on top of their refusal to believe.
فَأَخْرَجْنَا مَن كَانَ فِيهَا مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
PickthallThen we brought forth such believers as were there.
Yusuf AliThen We evacuated those of the Believers who were there,
The agreed readingSo We brought out of it whoever was there of the believers - the commentaries note the bringing out came first, before anything fell on the town.
فَمَا وَجَدْنَا فِيهَا غَيْرَ بَيْتٍ مِّنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ
PickthallBut We found there but one house of those surrendered (to Allah).
Yusuf AliBut We found not there any just (Muslim) persons except in one house:
The agreed readingAnd We found in it only one household of those who had submitted. The commentaries identify the house as Lot and his two daughters, and read the two words used of them together: believing in their hearts, and acting on it with their limbs.
وَتَرَكْنَا فِيهَآ ءَايَةً لِّلَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ ٱلْعَذَابَ ٱلْأَلِيمَ
PickthallAnd We left behind therein a portent for those who fear a painful doom.
Yusuf AliAnd We left there a Sign for such as fear the Grievous Penalty.
The agreed readingAnd We left in it a sign for those who fear the painful punishment. The commentaries read the sign as the mark of what happened there, left standing so that those who came after would not do the same.
وَفِى مُوسَىٰٓ إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَٰهُ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ بِسُلْطَٰنٍ مُّبِينٍ
PickthallAnd in Moses (too, there is a portent) when We sent him unto Pharaoh with clear warrant,
Yusuf AliAnd in Moses (was another Sign): Behold, We sent him to Pharaoh, with authority manifest.
The agreed readingAnd in Moses there is a sign, when We sent him to Pharaoh with a clear authority. The commentaries gloss the authority as a plain proof set in his hand.
فَتَوَلَّىٰ بِرُكْنِهِۦ وَقَالَ سَٰحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ
PickthallBut he withdrew (confiding) in his might, and said: A wizard or a madman.
Yusuf AliBut (Pharaoh) turned back with his Chiefs, and said, "A sorcerer, or one possessed!"
The agreed readingBut he turned away with his supports and said: a sorcerer, or a man possessed. The commentaries read the supports as his armies and his people, and keep the image the word carries - the corner-pillar a building leans its weight on.
فَأَخَذْنَٰهُ وَجُنُودَهُۥ فَنَبَذْنَٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْيَمِّ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ
PickthallSo We seized him and his hosts and flung them in the sea, for he was reprobate.
Yusuf AliSo We took him and his forces, and threw them into the sea; and his was the blame.
The agreed readingSo We seized him and his hosts and flung them into the sea. The commentaries gloss the flinging as a thing thrown down and done with, and read the closing word as his own doing: he came carrying what he was blamed for.
وَفِى عَادٍ إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلرِّيحَ ٱلْعَقِيمَ
PickthallAnd in (the tribe of) A'ad (there is a portent) when we sent the fatal wind against them.
Yusuf AliAnd in the 'Ad (people) (was another Sign): Behold, We sent against them the devastating Wind:
The agreed readingAnd in 'Ad, when We sent against them the barren wind. The commentaries agree on why it is called barren: it brings no good with it at all - it raises no cloud, pollinates no tree, winnows no grain, and benefits no animal.
مَا تَذَرُ مِن شَىْءٍ أَتَتْ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا جَعَلَتْهُ كَٱلرَّمِيمِ
PickthallIt spared naught that it reached, but made it (all) as dust.
Yusuf AliIt left nothing whatever that it came up against, but reduced it to ruin and rottenness.
The agreed readingIt left nothing it came upon without making it like crumbled ruin. The commentaries gloss the last word as what has decayed and fallen to pieces - what is dried out and trodden down until nothing holds together.
وَفِى ثَمُودَ إِذْ قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَمَتَّعُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ حِينٍ
PickthallAnd in (the tribe of) Thamud (there is a portent) when it was told them: Take your ease awhile.
Yusuf AliAnd in the Thamud (was another Sign): Behold, they were told, "Enjoy (your brief day) for a little while!"
The agreed readingAnd in Thamud, when it was said to them: take your enjoyment for a while. The commentaries place the words after the hamstringing of the she-camel, and read the while as a term already counted out and running.
فَعَتَوْا۟ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلصَّٰعِقَةُ وَهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ
PickthallBut they rebelled against their Lord's decree, and so the thunderbolt overtook them even while they gazed;
Yusuf AliBut they insolently defied the Command of their Lord: So the stunning noise (of an earthquake) seized them, even while they were looking on.
The agreed readingBut they went beyond their Lord's command, and the thunderbolt seized them while they were looking on. The commentaries place it at the end of the days they had been given, and read 'looking on' as its coming in open daylight.
فَمَا ٱسْتَطَٰعُوا۟ مِن قِيَامٍ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ مُنتَصِرِينَ
PickthallAnd they were unable to rise up, nor could they help themselves.
Yusuf AliThen they could not even stand (on their feet), nor could they help themselves.
The agreed readingThey were not able to rise, nor could they defend themselves. The commentaries take both halves at their plainest: they did not get up from where they fell, and there was nothing they could do to keep the punishment off.
وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ مِّن قَبْلُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ قَوْمًا فَٰسِقِينَ
PickthallAnd the folk of Noah aforetime. Lo! they were licentious folk.
Yusuf AliSo were the People of Noah before them for they wickedly transgressed.
The agreed readingAnd the people of Noah before them. The commentaries gloss the word said of them as a going out - out of God's obedience into disobedience, and out of belief into refusal.
وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بَنَيْنَٰهَا بِأَيْي۟دٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ
PickthallWe have built the heaven with might, and We it is Who make the vast extent (thereof).
Yusuf AliWith power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace.
The agreed readingAnd the sky - He built it with might. The commentaries gloss the word as power, and read what follows as the vastness and capacity belonging to the One who built it.
وَٱلْأَرْضَ فَرَشْنَٰهَا فَنِعْمَ ٱلْمَٰهِدُونَ
PickthallAnd the earth have We laid out, how gracious is the Spreader (thereof)!
Yusuf AliAnd We have spread out the (spacious) earth: How excellently We do spread out!
The agreed readingAnd the earth - He spread it out. The commentaries gloss the spreading as making it a bed laid ready, and the praise closing the verse is of the One who laid it.
وَمِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
PickthallAnd all things We have created by pairs, that haply ye may reflect.
Yusuf AliAnd of every thing We have created pairs: That ye may receive instruction.
The agreed readingAnd of every thing He created a pair, so that you might take heed. The commentaries fill the word out with what they can see of it - male and female, the sky and the earth, the sun and the moon, the plain and the mountain, summer and winter, the sweet and the sour.
فَفِرُّوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ إِنِّى لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
PickthallTherefor flee unto Allah; lo! I am a plain warner unto you from him.
Yusuf AliHasten ye then (at once) to Allah: I am from Him a Warner to you, clear and open!
The agreed readingSo flee to God. The commentaries read the fleeing as a movement with two ends: away from your sins and from His punishment, and toward Him. I am to you from Him a clear warner.
وَلَا تَجْعَلُوا۟ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا ءَاخَرَ إِنِّى لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
PickthallAnd set not any other god along with Allah; lo! I am a plain warner unto you from Him.
Yusuf AliAnd make not another an object of worship with Allah: I am from Him a Warner to you, clear and open!
The agreed readingAnd do not set up another god beside God. I am to you from Him a clear warner. The words are the Messenger's, spoken at God's command, and they answer the call before them: flee to God, and set nothing beside Him. The warning is called plain because it leaves no room for mistaking it.
كَذَٰلِكَ مَآ أَتَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا قَالُوا۟ سَاحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ
PickthallEven so there came no messenger unto those before them but they said: A wizard or a madman!
Yusuf AliSimilarly, no messenger came to the Peoples before them, but they said (of him) in like manner, "A sorcerer, or one possessed"!
The agreed readingSo it went before them: no messenger came to the people before them without their saying, a sorcerer or a man possessed. The commentaries set the words beside what was being said of Muhammad - the same charge, in the same two words, from every generation that refused.
أَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِهِۦ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ طَاغُونَ
PickthallHave they handed down (the saying) as an heirloom one unto another? Nay, but they are froward folk.
Yusuf AliIs this the legacy they have transmitted, one to another? Nay, they are themselves a people transgressing beyond bounds!
The agreed readingDid they hand the saying down to one another? The commentaries read the question as a denial: no, they did not agree it between them. What gathered them all onto the same words was that they were a people in rebellion.
فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ فَمَآ أَنتَ بِمَلُومٍ
PickthallSo withdraw from them (O Muhammad), for thou art in no wise blameworthy,
Yusuf AliSo turn away from them: not thine is the blame.
The agreed readingSo turn away from them; you are not to be blamed. The commentaries ground that in what had already been done - the message was delivered, and delivering it was the whole of what was asked of him.
وَذَكِّرْ فَإِنَّ ٱلذِّكْرَىٰ تَنفَعُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
PickthallAnd warn, for warning profiteth believers.
Yusuf AliBut teach (thy Message) for teaching benefits the Believers.
The agreed readingAnd remind, for the reminder benefits those who believe. The commentaries set this verse directly against the one before it: the turning away was not an abandoning, and those whom the first verse had frightened were put at ease when this one came down after it.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
PickthallI created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.
Yusuf AliI have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me.
The agreed readingI created the jinn and mankind only that they should worship Me. The commentaries read the words as naming the purpose they were made for, and note that a purpose stated is not the same as a purpose reached - many did not.
مَآ أُرِيدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ وَمَآ أُرِيدُ أَن يُطْعِمُونِ
PickthallI seek no livelihood from them, nor do I ask that they should feed Me.
Yusuf AliNo Sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that they should feed Me.
The agreed readingHe seeks no provision from them, and does not ask them to feed Him. The commentaries take this as closing off a misreading of the verse before: the worship they were made for returns its benefit to them, and nothing of it returns to Him.
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلرَّزَّاقُ ذُو ٱلْقُوَّةِ ٱلْمَتِينُ
PickthallLo! Allah! He it is that giveth livelihood, the Lord of unbreakable might.
Yusuf AliFor Allah is He Who gives (all) Sustenance,- Lord of Power,- Steadfast (for ever).
The agreed readingIt is God who is the Provider, the Lord of strength, the Firm. The commentaries gloss the last name as a strength in which weakness is not possible - the One who provides for every creature needs no helper to do it.
فَإِنَّ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ ذَنُوبًا مِّثْلَ ذَنُوبِ أَصْحَٰبِهِمْ فَلَا يَسْتَعْجِلُونِ
PickthallAnd lo! for those who (now) do wrong there is an evil day like unto the evil day (which came for) their likes (of old); so let them not ask Me to hasten on (that day).
Yusuf AliFor the Wrong-doers, their portion is like unto the portion of their fellows (of earlier generations): then let them not ask Me to hasten (that portion)!
The agreed readingThose who did wrong have a bucketful coming, like the bucketful of their fellows before them. The commentaries hold to the image the word carries - the great bucket drawn at a shared well, each in his turn - and name the fellows as the peoples already destroyed. So let them not ask Me to hurry it.
فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن يَوْمِهِمُ ٱلَّذِى يُوعَدُونَ
PickthallAnd woe unto those who disbelieve, from (that) their day which they are promised.
Yusuf AliWoe, then, to the Unbelievers, on account of that Day of theirs which they have been promised!
The agreed readingSo woe to those who refuse, from that Day of theirs which they are promised. The commentaries name the day: the Day of Resurrection - the very thing they had been asking to have brought forward.