وَالشَّمْسِ وَضُحَاهَا
CONSIDER the sun and its radiant brightness, (1)
وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَاهَا
and the moon as it reflects the sun! (2)
وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّاهَا
Consider the day as it reveals the world, (3)
وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَاهَا
and the night as it veils it darkly! (4)
وَالسَّمَاءِ وَمَا بَنَاهَا
Consider the sky and its wondrous make, (5)
وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا طَحَاهَا
and the earth and all its expanse! (6)
وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا
Consider the human self, and how it is formed in accordance with what it is meant to be, (7)
فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا
and how it is imbued with moral failings as well as with consciousness of God! (8)
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا
To a happy state shall indeed attain he who causes this [self] to grow in purity, (9)
وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا
and truly lost is he who buries it [in darkness]. (10)
كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ بِطَغْوَاهَا
TO [THIS] TRUTH gave the lie, in their overweening arrogance, [the tribe of] Thamūd, (11)
إِذِ انْبَعَثَ أَشْقَاهَا
when that most hapless wretch from among them rushed forward [to commit his evil deed], (12)
فَقَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ نَاقَةَ اللَّهِ وَسُقْيَاهَا
although God's apostle had told them, "It is a she-camel belonging to God, so let her drink [and do her no harm]!" (13)
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِذَنْبِهِمْ فَسَوَّاهَا
But they gave him the lie, and cruelly slaughtered her – whereupon their Sustainer visited them with utter destruction for this their sin, destroying them all alike: (14)
وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا
for none [of them] had any fear of what might befall them. (15)
- But they gave him the lie, and cruelly slaughtered her9 - whereupon their Sustainer visited them with utter destruction for this their sin, destroying them all alike:
- 9 For this rendering of aqaruha, see note 61 on 7:91.
- Then they rejected him (as a false prophet), and they hamstrung her.6157 So their Lord, on account of their crime, obliterated their traces and made them equal (in destruction, high and low)!
- 6157 The man who was deputed to do the impious deed of hamstringing the shecamel had, of course, the sympathy and cooperation of the whole people. Only he was more daring than the rest.
-
Then they rejected him (as a false prophet), and they hamstrung her. So their Lord, on account of their crime, obliterated their traces and made them equal (in destruction, high and low)!
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
But they denied him, and they hamstrung her, so Allah doomed them for their sin and rased (their dwellings).
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
But they called him a liar and slaughtered her, therefore their Lord crushed them for their sin and levelled them (with the ground).
— M. Habib Shakir -
Then they denied him and they killed it. So their Lord destroyed them because of their sin, and made them equal in destruction (i.e. all grades of people, rich and poor, strong and weak, etc.)!
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
Then they belied him, and they hamstrung her; wherefore their Lord overwhelmed them for their crime, and made it equal.
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
But they belied him, and hamstrung her. So their Lord crushed them for their sin and leveled it (their village).
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
But they gave lies to him and hamstrung her; so their Lord overwhelmed them for their sin, and levelled them;
— Ayub Khan -
But they called him a liar and hamstrung her, so their Lord destroyed them completely because of their sin, and made destruction overtake all of them alike.
— Sher Ali -
But they gave him the lie, and cruelly slaughtered her – whereupon their Sustainer visited them with utter destruction for this their sin, destroying them all alike:
— Muhammad Asad -
But they cried him lies, and hamstrung her, so their Lord crushed them for their sin, and leveled them:
— Arthur Arberry -
But they rejected his statement as a lie and hamstrung the she-camel.{{10}} For that crime their Lord rumbled down upon them, utterly razing them to the ground.
— Abu'l Ala Maududi