26. [ash-Shuara, Mecca 47]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
كَذَّبَتْ
ثَمُودُ
الْمُرْسَلِينَ
﴿١٤١﴾
26: 141. The Thamud (people) rejected the messengers.
C3203. For the Thamud people see n. 1043 t0 7:73.
They were great builders in stone and a people with agricultural wealth, but they were an exclusive people and oppressed the poor.
The point emphasised here is:
"How long will your wealth last, especially if you depress your own people and dishonour Allah's Signs by sacrilege?"
The inscriptions on the Thamud remains of rock-cut buildings in Al-Hijr are described in the Appendix VII at the end of this Surah.
إِذْ
قَالَ لَهُمْ
أَخُوهُمْ
صَالِحٌ أَلَا
تَتَّقُونَ
﴿١٤٢﴾
26: 142. Behold, their brother Salih said to them:
"Will you fear (Allah)?
إِنِّي
لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ
أَمِينٌ ﴿١٤٣﴾
26: 143. "I am to you a messenger worthy of all trust.
فَاتَّقُوا
اللَّهَ
وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿١٤٤﴾
26: 144. "So fear Allah, and obey me.
وَمَا
أَسْأَلُكُمْ
عَلَيْهِ مِنْ
أَجْرٍ...
26: 145. "No reward do I ask of you for it:
...إِنْ أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا عَلَى رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿١٤٥﴾
my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
أَتُتْرَكُونَ
فِي
مَا هَاهُنَا
آمِنِينَ ﴿١٤٦﴾
26: 146. "Will ye be left secure, in (the enjoyment of) all that ye have here? --
فِي
جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ
﴿١٤٧﴾
26: 147. "Gardens and Springs,
وَزُرُوعٍ
وَنَخْلٍ
طَلْعُهَا
هَضِيمٌ ﴿١٤٨﴾
26: 148. "And corn-fields and date-palms with spathes near breaking (with the weight of fruit)?
C3204. The date palm flowers on a long spathe: when the flowers develop into fruit, the heavy ones hang with the load of fruit.
The Thamud evidently were proud of their skill in producing corn and fruit and in hewing fine dwellings out of rocks, like the later dwellings of Roman times in the town of Petra.
وَتَنْحِتُونَ
مِنَ
الْجِبَالِ
بُيُوتًا فَارِهِينَ
﴿١٤٩﴾
26: 149. "And ye carve house out of (rocky) mountains with great skill.
فَاتَّقُوا
اللَّهَ
وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿١٥٠﴾
26: 150. "But fear Allah and obey me;
وَلَا
تُطِيعُوا
أَمْرَ
الْمُسْرِفِينَ
﴿١٥١﴾
26: 151. "And follow not the bidding of those who are extravagant --
C3205. They are told:
"All your skill is very well; but cultivate virtue and do not follow the ways of those who put forward extravagant claims for men's powers and material resources, or who lead lives of extravagance in luxury and self-indulgence; that makes mischief: but the door of repentance is open: win you repent?"
الَّذِينَ
يُفْسِدُونَ
فِي الْأَرْضِ
وَلَا يُصْلِحُونَ
﴿١٥٢﴾
26: 152. "Who make mischief in the land, and mend not (their ways)."
كَذَّبَ
أَصْحَابُ
الْأَيْكَةِ
الْمُرْسَلِينَ
﴿١٧٦﴾
26: 176. The Companions of the Wood rejected the messengers.
C3214. See n. 2000 to 15:78.
إِذْ
قَالَ
لَهُمْ شُعَيْبٌ
...
26: 177. Behold, Shuaib said to them:
C3215. For Shu'ayb see n. 1054 to 7:85.
... أَلَا تَتَّقُونَ ﴿١٧٧﴾
"Will ye not fear (Allah)?
إِنِّي
لَكُمْ رَسُولٌ
أَمِينٌ ﴿١٧٨﴾
26: 178. "I am to you a messenger worthy of all trust.
فَاتَّقُوا
اللَّهَ
وَأَطِيعُونِ
﴿١٧٩﴾
26: 179. "So fear Allah and obey me.
وَمَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ...
26: 180. "No reward do I ask of you for it:
...إِنْ
أَجْرِيَ إِلَّا
عَلَى رَبِّ
الْعَالَمِينَ
﴿١٨٠﴾
my reward is only from the Lord of the Worlds.
أَوْفُوا
الْكَيْلَ
وَلَا تَكُونُوا
مِنَ الْمُخْسِرِينَ
﴿١٨١﴾
26: 181. "Give just measure, and cause no loss (to others by fraud).
C3216. They were a commercial people, but they were given to fraud, injustice, and wrongful mischief (by intermeddling with others).
They are asked to fear Allah and follow His ways: it is He Who also created their predecessors among mankind, who never prospered by fraud and violent wrong-doing, but only justice and fair dealing.
وَزِنُوا
بِالْقِسْطَاسِ
الْمُسْتَقِيم
﴿١٨٢﴾
ِ
26: 182. "And weigh with scales true and upright.
وَلَا
تَبْخَسُوا
النَّاسَ
أَشْيَاءهُمْ...
26: 183. "And withhold not things justly due to men,
...وَلَا تَعْثَوْا فِي الْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ ﴿١٨٣﴾
nor do evil in the land, working mischief.
وَاتَّقُوا
الَّذِي
خَلَقَكُمْ
وَالْجِبِلَّةَ
الْأَوَّلِينَ
﴿١٨٤﴾
26: 184. "And fear Him Who created you and (Who created) the generations before (you).
قَالُوا
إِنَّمَا
أَنتَ مِنَ
الْمُسَحَّرِينَ
﴿١٨٥﴾
26: 185. They said:
"Thou art only one of those bewitched!
وَمَا
أَنتَ
إِلَّا بَشَرٌ
مِّثْلُنَا...
26: 186. "Thou art no more than a mortal like us,
...وَإِن نَّظُنُّكَ لَمِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ ﴿١٨٦﴾
and indeed we think thou art a liar!
C3217. They deny that he is a prophet or that they are doing wrong, or that any former generations behaved differently. They think they are the true exponents of human nature, and that such as he-idealists-are mere madmen.
فَأَسْقِطْ
عَلَيْنَا
كِسَفًا مِّنَ
السَّمَاء إِن
كُنتَ مِنَ
الصَّادِقِينَ
﴿١٨٧﴾
26: 187. "Now cause a piece of the sky to fall on us, if thou art truthful!"
C3218. 'If you really claim any real contact with Allah, let us see if you can bring down a piece of the sky to fall on us!'
Asad’s Version:
26:141 [AND the tribe of) Thamud gave the lie to [one of God's) message-bearers (26:142) when
their brother Salih 62 said unto them: "Will you not be conscious of God? (26: 143) Behold, I am an apostle [sent by Him] to you, [and therefore) worthy of your trust: (26:144) be, then, conscious of God, and pay heed unto me!
26:145 "And no reward whatever do I ask of you for it: my reward rests with none but the Sustainer of all the worlds.
(26: 146) "Do you think that you will be left secure [forever] in the midst of what you have here and now?" –
(26:147) amidst [these] gardens and springs
(26:148) and fields, and [these] palm-trees with slender spathes? –
(26:149) and that you will [always be able to] hew dwellings out of the mountains with [the same] great skill?"
26:150 "Be, then, conscious of God, and pay heed unto me, (26:151) and pay no heed to the counsel of those who are given to excesses –
(26:152) those who spread corruption on earth instead of setting things to rights!"
26:176 [AND] the dwellers of the wooded dales [of Madyan] gave the lie to [one of God's] message- bearers
(26:177) when their brother Shu'ayb 74 said unto them: "Will you not be conscious of God?
(26:178) Behold, I am an apostle [sent by Him] to you, [and therefore] worthy of your
trust:
(26:179) be, then, conscious of God, and pay heed unto me! (26:180) "And no reward whatever do I ask of you for it: my reward rests with none but the Sustainer of all the worlds.
26:181 "[Always] give full measure, and be not among those who [unjustly] cause loss [to others];
(26:182) and [in all your dealings] weigh with a true balance, (26:183) and do not deprive people of what is rightfully theirs; 75 and do not act wickedly on earth by spreading corruption,
(26:184) but be conscious of Him who has created you just as [He created] those countless generations of old!" 76
26:185 Said they: "Thou art but one of the bewitched, (26:186) for thou art nothing but a mortal like ourselves! And, behold, we think that thou art a consummate liar!" (26:187) Cause, then, fragments of the sky to fall down upon us, if thou art a man of truth! "
[[ Asad’s note - 71 As is evident from 7:83, 11:81, 27:57 and 29:32-33, the old woman was Lots' wife - a native of Sodom - who chose to remain with her own people instead of accompanying her husband, whom she thus betrayed (cf also 66:10).
72 See 1 1 :82 and the corresponding note 114.
73 Or, in the past tense: "dire was the rain upon those who had been warned" - in which case this sentence would refer specifically to the sinful people of Sodom and Gomorrah. However, it is much more probable that its purport is general (see note 1 1 5 on the last sentence of 1 1 :83). Zamakhshari's interpretation of the above sentence is analogous to mine.
74 See note 67 on the first sentence of 7:85. The story of Shu'ayb and the people of Madyan (the 'wooded dales") is given in greater detail in 1 1 :84-95.
75 Cf. surah 7, note 68.
76 An allusion to the ephemeral character of man's life on earth and by implication to God's judgment. ]]
26:188 Answered [Shu%yb]: "My Sustainer knows fully well what you are doing." (26:189) But they gave him the lie. And thereupon suffering overtook them on a day dark with shadows: 78 and, verily, it was the suffering of an awesome day! (26:190) In this [story), behold, there is a message [unto men], even though most of them will not believe [in it). (26:191) But, verily, thy Sustainer - He alone - is almighty, a dispenser of grace!"