Surah 34. Saba

And yet, he had no power at all over them:³⁰ [for if We allow him to tempt man,] it is only to the end that We might make a clear distinction between those who [truly] believe in the life to come and those who are in doubt thereof:³¹ for thy Sustainer watches over all things.

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. a similar phrase placed in the mouth of Iblis in 14:22 ("I had no power at all over you: I but called you - and you responded unto me"), and the corresponding note [31]; also, see note [30] on {15:39-40}. - Although, on the face of it, verses {20-21} of the present surah refer to the people of Sheba, their import is (as the sequence shows) much wider, applying to the human race as such.

See 15:41 and the corresponding note [31].

even though he had no authority over them. It all happened because We wanted to see who among them believed in the hereafter and who is in doubt concerning it. Your Rabb is watching over all things.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And he had no warrant whatsoever against them, save that We would know him who believeth in the Hereafter from him who is in doubt thereof; and thy Lord (O Muhammad) taketh note of all things.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

SAY: "Call upon those [beings] whom you imagine [to be endowed with divine powers] beside God: they have not an atom's weight of power either in the heavens or on earth, nor have they any share in [governing] either, nor does He [choose to] have any helper from among them."³²

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., anybody who would "mediate" between Him and any of His creatures. As is evident from the sequence (as well as from {17:56-57}), this passage relates, in particular, to the attribution of divine or semi-divine qualities to saints and angels and to the problem of their "intercession" with God.

O Prophet, say to the mushrikin: "Call on those deities whom you pray besides Allah - they do not have power over an atom's weight of anything in the heavens or earth, nor have they any share in either, nor is any of them a helper to Allah."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say (O Muhammad): Call upon those whom ye set up beside Allah! They possess not an atom's weight either in the heavens or the earth, nor have they any share either, nor hath He an auxiliary among them.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And, before Him, intercession can be of no avail [to any] save one in whose case He may have granted leave [therefor]:³³ so much so that when the terror [of the Last Hour] is lifted from their hearts, they [who have been resurrected] will ask [one an-other], "What has your Sustainer decreed [for you]?" - [to which] the others will answer, "Whatever is true and deserved³⁴ -for He alone is exalted, great!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding the Qur'anic concept of "intercession", see note [7] on 10:3 . Cf. also 19:87 and 20:109 .

Lit., "the truth" - i.e., whatever God decides regarding His grant or refusal of leave for intercession (which is synonymous with His redemptive acceptance or His rejection of the human being concerned) will conform with the requirements of absolute truth and justice (see note [74] on 19:87 ).

No intercession before Allah can avail anyone except for the one for whom He permits. Until when terror will be removed from their hearts, they shall ask the intercessors: "What has your Rabb ordained?" They will answer: "The Truth," He is the Most High, the Great.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

No intercession availeth with Him save for him whom He permitteth. Yet, when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: What was it that your Lord said? They say: The Truth. And He is the Sublime, the Great.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Who is it that provides for you tenance out of the heavens and the earth?"³⁵ Say: "It is God. And, behold, either we [who believe in Him] or you [who deny His oneness] are on the right path, or have clearly gone astray!"

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [49] on the first sentence of 10:31 .

O Prophet, ask them: "Who provides your sustenance from the heavens and the earth?" If they do not answer, then say: "It is Allah! Certainly one of us; either we or you are rightly guided or in manifest error."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Who giveth you provision from the sky and the earth? Say: Allah. Lo! we or you assuredly are rightly guided or in error manifest.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Neither shall you be called to account for whatever we may have become guilty of, nor shall we be called to account for whatever you are doing."

  - Mohammad Asad

Further, tell them: "You shall not be questioned about our errors nor shall we be questioned about your actions."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Ye will not be asked of what we committed, nor shall we be asked of what ye do.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Our Sustainer will bring us all together [on Judgment Day], and then He will lay open the truth between us, in justice-for He alone is the One who opens all truth, the All-Knowing!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Say: "Our Rabb will bring us all together, then He will rightly judge between us. He is the Judge Who knows everything."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Our Lord will bring us all together, then He will judge between us with truth. He is the All knowing Judge.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Point out to me those [beings] that you have joined with Him [in your minds] as partners [in His divinity]! Nay-nay, but He [alone] is God, the Almighty, the Wise!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Say: "Show me those whom you have made associate gods with Him. Nay! By no means can you do it. Allah Alone is the Almighty, the Wise".

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Show me those whom ye have joined unto Him as partners. Nay (ye dare not)! For He is Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

NOW [as for thee, O Muhammad,] We have not sent thee otherwise than to mankind at large, to be a herald of glad tidings and a warner; but most people do not understand [this],

  - Mohammad Asad

O Prophet, We have sent you to the entire mankind, to give them good news and forewarn them, but most men do not know.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We have not sent thee (O Muhammad) save as a bringer of good tidings and a warner unto all mankind; but most of mankind know not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and so they ask, "When is this promise [of resurrection and judgment] to be fulfilled? [Answer this, O you who believe in it,] if you are men of truth!"³⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

The Qur'anic answer to this ironic question is found in 7:187 .

They ask you: "When will this promise of resurrection be fulfilled, if you are telling the truth?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they say: When is this promise (to be fulfilled) if ye are truthful?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "There has been appointed for you a Day which you can neither delay nor advance by a single moment."³⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

For my rendering of sa'ah (lit., "hour") as "a single moment", see surah {7}, note [26].

Tell them: "For you the appointment of a day is fixed, which you can neither postpone for a moment nor bring it early."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say (O Muhammad): Yours is the promise of a Day which ye cannot postpone nor hasten by an hour.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [yet,] those who are bent on denying the truth do say, "We shall never believe in this Qur'an, and neither in whatever there still remains of earlier revelations!"³⁸ But if thou couldst only see [how it will be on Judgment Day,] when these evildoers shall be made to stand before their Sustainer, hurling reproaches back and forth at one another! Those [of them] who had been weak [on earth] will say unto those who had gloried in their arrogance:³⁹ "Had it not been for you, we would certainly have been believers!"

  - Mohammad Asad

For the rendering of ma bayna yadayhi, in relation to the Qur'an, as "whatever there still remains of earlier revelations", see surah {3}, note [3]. As is evident from the preceding and subsequent verses, the rejection by "those who are bent on denying the truth" of all revelation is motivated by their refusal to believe in resurrection and God's judgment, and, hence, to admit the validity of absolute moral standards as postulated by every higher religion.

I.e., as the "intellectual leaders" of their community.

The disbelievers say: "We shall never believe in this Qur'an, nor in the scriptures which came before it." If you could only see when these wrongdoers will be made to stand before their Rabb, tossing accusing words on one another! Those who had been despised as weaklings will say to the arrogant: "If it were not for you, we would certainly have been believers."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And those who disbelieve say: We believe not in this Qur'an nor in that which was before it; but oh, if thou couldst see, when the wrong doers are brought up before their Lord, how they cast the blame one to another; how those who were despised (in the earth) say unto those who were proud: But for you, we should have been believers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And] those who were wont to glory in their arrogance will say unto those who had been weak: "Why - did we keep you [forcibly] from following the right path after it had become obvious to you?⁴⁰ Nay, it was but you [yourselves] who were guilty!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "did we keep you away from guidance after it had come to you?"

The arrogant will say to those despised weaklings: "Did we block you off from guidance when it came to you? Nay! Rather you yourselves were guilty."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And those who were proud say unto those who were despised: Did we drive you away from the guidance after it had come unto you? Nay, but ye were guilty.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But those who had been weak will say unto those who had gloried in their arrogance: "Nay, [what kept us away was your] devising of false arguments, night and day,⁴¹ [against God's messages - as you did] when you persuaded us to blaspheme against God and to claim that there are powers that could rival Him !⁴² And when they see the suffering [that awaits them], they will [all] be unable to express [the full depth of] their remorse:⁴³ for We shall have put shackles around the necks of those who had been bent on denying the truth:⁴⁴ [and] will this be aught but a [just] requital for what they were doing?

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., always. The term makr (lit., "a scheme" or "scheming") has here the connotation of "devising false arguments" against something that is true: in this case, as is shown in the first paragraph of verse {31} above, against God's messages (cf. a similar use of this term in 10:21 and 35:43 ; see also 86:15 ).

Lit., "[that we should] give God compeers (andad)". For an explanation of this phrase and my rendering of it, see surah {2}, note [13].

For a justification of this rendering of the phrase 'asarru 'n-nadamah, see surah {10}, note [77].

As pointed out by several of the classical commentators (e.g., Zamakhshari, Razi and Baydawi) in their explanations of similar phrases occurring in 13:5 and 36:8 , the "shackles" (aghlal) which these sinners carry, as it were, "around their necks" in life, and will carry on Judgment Day, are a metaphor of the enslavement of their souls to the false values to which they had surrendered, and of the suffering which will be caused by that surrender.

Those despised weaklings will say to the arrogant: "No! It was you who plotted day and night, bidding us to disbelieve in Allah and to set up equals with Him," - They will feel ashamed once they see the punishment, and We shall put yokes on the necks of those disbelievers; can there be any other reward except for what they did?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who were despised say unto those who were proud: Nay but (it was your) scheming night and day, when ye commanded us to disbelieve in Allah and set up rivals unto Him. And they are filled with remorse when they behold the doom; and We place carcans on the necks of those who disbelieved. Are they requited aught save what they did?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For [thus it is:] whenever We sent a warner to any community, those of its people who had lost themselves entirely in the pursuit of pleasures⁴⁵ would declare, "Behold, we deny that there is any truth in [what you claim to be] your message!"-

  - Mohammad Asad

The term mutraf denotes "one who indulges in the pursuit of pleasures", i.e., to the exclusion of all moral considerations: cf. note [147] on 11:116 .

Whenever We have sent a Warner to a town, its wealthy residents have said: "We surely disbelieve in what you are sent with".

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We sent not unto any township a warner, but its pampered ones declared: Lo! we are disbelievers in that which ye bring unto Us.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and they would add, "Richer [than you] are we in wealth and in children, and [so] we are not going to be made to suffer!"⁴⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Implying, firstly, that the only thing that really counts in life is the enjoyment of material benefits; and, secondly, that a materially successful life is, by itself, an evidence of one's being "on the right way".

They say: "We have more wealth and children, which indicates that our gods are happy with us so we shall never be punished."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they say: We are more (than you) in wealth and children. We are not the punished!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall