Surah 40. Al-Mu'min, Ayah 50
| قَالُوا أَوَلَمْ تَكُ تَأْتِيكُمْ رُسُلُكُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ ۚ قَالُوا فَادْعُوا ۗ وَمَا دُعَاءُ الْكَافِرِينَ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ |
| Transliteration | : | qaalo 'a- wa- lam taku(n) ta'te -kum rusul -kum bi- al- bayyinaat qaalo balaa qaalo fa- udco wa- maa ducaa' al- kaafiren 'illaa fe d.alaal |
| Pickthall | : | They say: Came not your messengers unto you with clear proofs? They say: Yea, verily. They say: Then do ye pray, although the prayer of disbelievers is in vain. |
| Asad | : | [But the keepers of hell] will ask, "Is it not [true] that your apostles came unto you with all evidence of the truth?" Those [in the fire] will reply, "Yea, indeed." [And the keepers of hell] will say, "Pray, then!"34 -for the prayer of those who deny the truth cannot lead to aupht but delusion. |
| Malik | : | The Keepers of hell will ask: "Did there not come to you Rasools with clear revelations?" "Yes," they will answer. The Keepers of hell will say: "Then pray yourselves." But vain shall be the prayer of the disbelievers. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | They will say: "Did there not come to you your apostles with Clear Signs?" They will say "Yes." They will reply "Then pray (as ye like) but the Prayer of those without Faith is nothing but (futile wandering) in (mazes of) error!" 4423 |
Note - 34According to the classical commentators, this answer
implies no more than a refusal on the part of the
"keepers of hell" to intercede for the doomed sinners,
telling them, as it were, "Pray yourselves, if you can."
It seems to me, however, that we have here an indirect
allusion to the sinners' erstwhile, blasphemous devotion
to false objects of worship and false values - the
meaning being, "Pray now to those imaginary powers to
which you were wont to ascribe a share in God's divinity,
and see whether they can help you!" This interpretation
finds support in the next sentence, which speaks of the
delusion (dalal) inherent in the prayers of "those who
deny the truth", i.e., during their life on earth - for,
obviously, on the Day of Judgment all such delusions will
have disappeared.
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Note - 4423The answer being in the affirmative, they will have to
tell the dreadful truth: 'This is neither the time nor
the place for prayer, for mercy! And in any case, Prayer
without Faith is Delusion, and must miss its mark.' Cf.
xiii. 14.
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According to the classical commentators, this answer implies no more than a refusal on the part of the "keepers of hell" to intercede for the doomed sinners, telling them, as it were, "Pray yourselves, if you can." It seems to me, however, that we have here an indirect allusion to the sinners' erstwhile, blasphemous devotion to false objects of worship and false values - the meaning being, "Pray now to those imaginary powers to which you were wont to ascribe a share in God's divinity, and see whether they can help you!" This interpretation finds support in the next sentence, which speaks of the delusion (dalal) inherent in the prayers of "those who deny the truth", i.e., during their life on earth - for, obviously, on the Day of Judgment all such delusions will have disappeared. |
