Sura-52 [At-Tur Mecca 76]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
أَمْ
يَقُولُونَ
شَاعِرٌ نَّتَرَبَّصُ
بِهِ رَيْبَ
الْمَنُونِ
﴿٣٠﴾
52:30. Or do they say -- "A Poet! we await for him some calamity (hatched) by Time!"
C5064. If a spiteful poet foretells evil calamities for men, men can afford to laugh at him, hoping that time will bring about its revenge, and spite will come to an evil end.
For the various meanings of Raib, see n. 1884 to 14:9.
Some Commentators suggest Death' as the Calamity hatched by Time.
قُلْ
تَرَبَّصُوا
فَإِنِّي مَعَكُم
مِّنَ الْمُتَرَبِّصِينَ
﴿٣١﴾
31. Say thou: "Await ye! I too will wait along with you!"
C5065. Cf. 9:52.
If the wicked wait or look for some calamity to befall the Prophet, the Prophet can with far more justice await the decision of the issue between him and his persecutors. For he stands for right, and Allah will support the right.
أَمْ
تَأْمُرُهُمْ
أَحْلَامُهُم
بِهَذَا ...
52:32. Is it that their faculties of understanding urge them to this,
C5066. It may be that the persecutors of Truth are ignorant, and their deficient faculties of understanding mislead them, but it is more often the case that they are perverse rebels against the law of Allah, defending their own selfish interests, and preventing those whom they oppress, from getting justice,
... أَمْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ طَاغُونَ ﴿٣٢﴾
or are they but a people transgressing beyond bounds?
C5067. Cf. 51:53.
أَمْ
يَقُولُونَ
تَقَوَّلَهُ
...
52:33. Or do they say, "He fabricated the (Message)"?
C5068. As an alternative to the charges of being a soothsayer or a madman or a disgruntled poet, there is the charge of a forger or fabricator applied to the prophet of Allah when he produces his Message.
This implies that there can be no revelation or inspiration from Allah. Such an attitude negatives Faith altogether. But if this is so, can they produce a work of man that can compare with the inspired Word of Allah? They cannot.
... بَل لَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿٣٣﴾
Nay, they have no faith!
Asad’s Version:
(52:30) Or do they say, "[He is but] a poet - let us await what time will do unto him"? 17 (52:31) Say thou: "Wait, [then,] hopefully; behold, I, too, shall hopefully wait with you!" 18
(52:32) Is it their minds that bid them [to take] this [attitude] - or are they [simply] people filled with overweening arrogance? 19 Or do they say, "He himself has composed this {message]'": Nay, but they are not willing to believe