Surah 71 of 114 · Makki · 28 ayat
Nuh نوح
Noah
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِۦٓ أَنْ أَنذِرْ قَوْمَكَ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
PickthallLo! We sent Noah unto his people (saying): Warn thy people ere the painful doom come unto them.
Yusuf AliWe sent Noah to his People (with the Command): "Do thou warn thy People before there comes to them a grievous Penalty."
The agreed readingWe sent Noah to his people: warn your people before a painful punishment comes to them. The commentaries agree the warning came first and the punishment only after it was refused.
قَالَ يَٰقَوْمِ إِنِّى لَكُمْ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
PickthallHe said: O my people! Lo! I am a plain warner unto you
Yusuf AliHe said: "O my People! I am to you a Warner, clear and open:
The agreed readingHe said: my people, I am a plain warner to you — plain, the commentaries gloss, in that nothing about the warning was left obscure.
أَنِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱتَّقُوهُ وَأَطِيعُونِ
Pickthall(Bidding you): Serve Allah and keep your duty unto Him and obey me,
Yusuf Ali"That ye should worship Allah, fear Him and obey me:
The agreed readingServe God, and guard yourselves against Him, and obey me. The commentaries take the three together as the whole of what he was sent with.
يَغْفِرْ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرْكُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى إِنَّ أَجَلَ ٱللَّهِ إِذَا جَآءَ لَا يُؤَخَّرُ لَوْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
PickthallThat He may forgive you somewhat of your sins and respite you to an appointed term. Lo! the term of Allah, when it cometh, cannot be delayed, if ye but knew.
Yusuf Ali"So He may forgive you your sins and give you respite for a stated Term: for when the Term given by Allah is accomplished, it cannot be put forward: if ye only knew."
The agreed readingHe will forgive you your sins and defer you to a stated term. When God's term comes it is not deferred, if only you knew — the commentaries agree the respite is real but bounded, and the boundary does not move.
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى دَعَوْتُ قَوْمِى لَيْلًا وَنَهَارًا
PickthallHe said: My Lord! Lo! I have called unto my people night and day
Yusuf AliHe said: "O my Lord! I have called to my People night and day:
The agreed readingHe said: my Lord, I have called my people night and day — the commentaries gloss the pair as meaning without a break, not on two occasions.
فَلَمْ يَزِدْهُمْ دُعَآءِىٓ إِلَّا فِرَارًا
PickthallBut all my calling doth but add to their repugnance;
Yusuf Ali"But my call only increases (their) flight (from the Right).
The agreed readingand my calling has only increased their fleeing. The commentaries agree the fleeing is from believing, not from him.
وَإِنِّى كُلَّمَا دَعَوْتُهُمْ لِتَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ جَعَلُوٓا۟ أَصَٰبِعَهُمْ فِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَٱسْتَغْشَوْا۟ ثِيَابَهُمْ وَأَصَرُّوا۟ وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ ٱسْتِكْبَارًا
PickthallAnd lo! whenever I call unto them that Thou mayst pardon them they thrust their fingers in their ears and cover themselves with their garments and persist (in their refusal) and magnify themselves in pride.
Yusuf Ali"And every time I have called to them, that Thou mightest forgive them, they have (only) thrust their fingers into their ears, covered themselves up with their garments, grown obstinate, and given themselves up to arrogance.
The agreed readingAnd every time I called them, so that You might forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears and pulled their garments over themselves, and persisted, and grew greatly proud. The commentaries read the gestures as deliberate: they stopped their ears so as not to hear and covered themselves so as not to see.
ثُمَّ إِنِّى دَعَوْتُهُمْ جِهَارًا
PickthallAnd lo! I have called unto them aloud,
Yusuf Ali"So I have called to them aloud;
The agreed readingThen I called them aloud, at the top of my voice — having been refused in every quieter way, the commentaries note, he raised it.
ثُمَّ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَنتُ لَهُمْ وَأَسْرَرْتُ لَهُمْ إِسْرَارًا
PickthallAnd lo! I have made public proclamation unto them, and I have appealed to them in private.
Yusuf Ali"Further I have spoken to them in public and secretly in private,
The agreed readingThen I proclaimed to them publicly and spoke to them in private — the commentaries agree he exhausted every manner of calling, openly and secretly, one after another.
فَقُلْتُ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ غَفَّارًا
PickthallAnd I have said: Seek pardon of your Lord. Lo! He was ever Forgiving.
Yusuf Ali"Saying, 'Ask forgiveness from your Lord; for He is Oft-Forgiving;
The agreed readingAnd I said: ask forgiveness of your Lord; He is ever forgiving. The commentaries take the asking as being asked of them for their refusal of God, and the forgiving as certain for whoever asks.
يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًا
PickthallHe will let loose the sky for you in plenteous rain,
Yusuf Ali"'He will send rain to you in abundance;
The agreed readingHe will loose the sky upon you in abundant rain — rain pouring steadily and without stint, which the commentaries say had been withheld from them.
وَيُمْدِدْكُم بِأَمْوَٰلٍ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّٰتٍ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَٰرًا
PickthallAnd will help you with wealth and sons, and will assign unto you Gardens and will assign unto you rivers.
Yusuf Ali"'Give you increase in wealth and sons; and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers (of flowing water).
The agreed readingand support you with wealth and sons, and make gardens for you, and make rivers for you. The commentaries carry the same background together: rain had been withheld from them, so what is promised is the very thing they lacked.
مَّا لَكُمْ لَا تَرْجُونَ لِلَّهِ وَقَارًا
PickthallWhat aileth you that ye hope not toward Allah for dignity
Yusuf Ali"'What is the matter with you, that ye place not your hope for kindness and long-suffering in Allah,-
The agreed readingWhat is it with you, that you do not look for greatness in God — that you do not reckon with His majesty as it deserves?
وَقَدْ خَلَقَكُمْ أَطْوَارًا
PickthallWhen He created you by (divers) stages?
Yusuf Ali"'Seeing that it is He that has created you in diverse stages?
The agreed readingwhen He created you in stages. The commentaries agree the stages are those of a man's making, one condition after another, and that looking at them ought to be enough.
أَلَمْ تَرَوْا۟ كَيْفَ خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍ طِبَاقًا
PickthallSee ye not how Allah hath created seven heavens in harmony,
Yusuf Ali"'See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another,
The agreed readingDo you not see how God created seven heavens in layers, one above another — the commentaries take the question as the argument itself: what is overhead is evidence enough.
وَجَعَلَ ٱلْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًا وَجَعَلَ ٱلشَّمْسَ سِرَاجًا
PickthallAnd hath made the moon a light therein, and made the sun a lamp?
Yusuf Ali"'And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp?
The agreed readingand set the moon in them as a light and the sun as a lamp? The commentaries note the sun is called the lamp because its light is its own and stronger.
وَٱللَّهُ أَنۢبَتَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ نَبَاتًا
PickthallAnd Allah hath caused you to grow as a growth from the earth,
Yusuf Ali"'And Allah has produced you from the earth growing (gradually),
The agreed readingAnd God caused you to grow out of the earth, growing — the commentaries agree it looks back to Adam, made from it.
ثُمَّ يُعِيدُكُمْ فِيهَا وَيُخْرِجُكُمْ إِخْرَاجًا
PickthallAnd afterward He maketh you return thereto, and He will bring you forth again, a (new) forthbringing.
Yusuf Ali"'And in the End He will return you into the (earth), and raise you forth (again at the Resurrection)?
The agreed readingthen returns you into it, and will bring you out again, a bringing-out — buried in it, the commentaries agree, and raised from it.
وَٱللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ بِسَاطًا
PickthallAnd Allah hath made the earth a wide expanse for you
Yusuf Ali"'And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out),
The agreed readingAnd God made the earth a spread-out expanse for you — spread out, the commentaries gloss, so that walking on it and settling on it are possible at all.
لِّتَسْلُكُوا۟ مِنْهَا سُبُلًا فِجَاجًا
PickthallThat ye may thread the valley-ways thereof.
Yusuf Ali"'That ye may go about therein, in spacious roads.'"
The agreed readingthat you might travel its open roads. The commentaries gloss the roads as broad passes, and the spreading as what makes settling and moving on it possible.
قَالَ نُوحٌ رَّبِّ إِنَّهُمْ عَصَوْنِى وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ مَن لَّمْ يَزِدْهُ مَالُهُۥ وَوَلَدُهُۥٓ إِلَّا خَسَارًا
PickthallNoah said: My Lord! Lo! they have disobeyed me and followed one whose wealth and children increase him in naught save ruin;
Yusuf AliNoah said: "O my Lord! They have disobeyed me, but they follow (men) whose wealth and children give them no increase but only Loss.
The agreed readingNoah said: my Lord, they have disobeyed me and followed one whose wealth and children increased him in nothing but loss. The commentaries agree the followed ones are the chiefs, and that what they had was what made them worth following in the people's eyes.
وَمَكَرُوا۟ مَكْرًا كُبَّارًا
PickthallAnd they have plotted a mighty plot,
Yusuf Ali"And they have devised a tremendous Plot.
The agreed readingand they schemed a mighty scheme — a scheme, the commentaries agree, of the chiefs against him and against those who followed him.
وَقَالُوا۟ لَا تَذَرُنَّ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ وَلَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلَا سُوَاعًا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًا
PickthallAnd they have said: Forsake not your gods. Forsake not Wadd, nor Suwa', nor Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr.
Yusuf Ali"And they have said (to each other), 'Abandon not your gods: Abandon neither Wadd nor Suwa', neither Yaguth nor Ya'uq, nor Nasr';-
The agreed readingand they said: do not abandon your gods; do not abandon Wadd, or Suwāʿ, or Yaghūth and Yaʿūq and Nasr. The commentaries carry the same account: these were the names of their idols, and the tradition that they had been righteous men whose images were made after they died, and worshipped when time had passed.
وَقَدْ أَضَلُّوا۟ كَثِيرًا وَلَا تَزِدِ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا ضَلَٰلًا
PickthallAnd they have led many astray, and Thou increasest the wrong-doers in naught save error.
Yusuf Ali"They have already misled many; and grant Thou no increase to the wrong-doers but in straying (from their mark)."
The agreed readingAnd they led many astray. And do not increase the wrongdoers in anything but error — the commentaries agree the last clause is Noah's, said after he was told that none of his people would believe beyond those who had.
مِّمَّا خَطِيٓـَٰٔتِهِمْ أُغْرِقُوا۟ فَأُدْخِلُوا۟ نَارًا فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا۟ لَهُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَنصَارًا
PickthallBecause of their sins they were drowned, then made to enter a Fire. And they found they had no helpers in place of Allah.
Yusuf AliBecause of their sins they were drowned (in the flood), and were made to enter the Fire (of Punishment): and they found- in lieu of Allah- none to help them.
The agreed readingFor their sins they were drowned and then made to enter a Fire, and they found no helpers for themselves besides God.
وَقَالَ نُوحٌ رَّبِّ لَا تَذَرْ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ مِنَ ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ دَيَّارًا
PickthallAnd Noah said: My Lord! Leave not one of the disbelievers in the land.
Yusuf AliAnd Noah, said: "O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers, a single one on earth!
The agreed readingAnd Noah said: my Lord, do not leave upon the earth a single one of those who refuse —
إِنَّكَ إِن تَذَرْهُمْ يُضِلُّوا۟ عِبَادَكَ وَلَا يَلِدُوٓا۟ إِلَّا فَاجِرًا كَفَّارًا
PickthallIf Thou shouldst leave them, they will mislead Thy slaves and will beget none save lewd ingrates.
Yusuf Ali"For, if Thou dost leave (any of) them, they will but mislead Thy devotees, and they will breed none but wicked ungrateful ones.
The agreed readingfor if You leave them they will lead Your servants astray, and will father only the depraved and the refusing. The commentaries agree he prayed this only after being told they would not believe.
رَّبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَىَّ وَلِمَن دَخَلَ بَيْتِىَ مُؤْمِنًا وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ وَلَا تَزِدِ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ إِلَّا تَبَارًۢا
PickthallMy Lord! Forgive me and my parents and him who entereth my house believing, and believing men and believing women, and increase not the wrong-doers in aught save ruin.
Yusuf Ali"O my Lord! Forgive me, my parents, all who enter my house in Faith, and (all) believing men and believing women: and to the wrong-doers grant Thou no increase but in perdition!"
The agreed readingMy Lord, forgive me and my parents, and whoever enters my house believing, and the believing men and the believing women — and do not increase the wrongdoers in anything but ruin.