Surah 51. Az-Zariyat

Then he turned quietly to his household, and brought forth a fat [roasted] calf,

  - Mohammad Asad

he went quietly to his family, brought a roasted calf

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then he slipped off to his family and brought a fat 'roasted' calf,¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Abraham (ﷺ) did not want his guests to know that he was going to prepare a meal for them so they would not ask him not to.

Then he went apart unto his housefolk so that they brought a fatted calf;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then he turned quickly to his household brought out a fatted calf. ⁵⁰⁰⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They seemed unusual strangers, but he said nothing and quietly proceeded to perform the rites of hospitality. He brought a roast fatted calf and placed it before them to eat. But the strangers did not eat (xi. 70). This disconcerted him. According to the laws of hospitality, a stranger under your roof is under your protection, but if he refuses to eat, he refuses your hospitality and keeps himself free from any ties of guest and host. "What were their designs?" thought Abraham, and he felt some distrust. But they were angels and could not eat. They declared themselves, and announced the birth to Abraham of a son endowed with wisdom,-in other words that Abraham was to be the head of a long line of Prophets! (xv. 53).

and placed it before them, saying, "Will you not eat?"

  - Mohammad Asad

and placed it before them saying: "Will you not eat?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and placed it before them, asking, 'Will you not eat?'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And he set it before them, saying: Will ye not eat?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And placed it before them... He said "Will ye not eat?"

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

[And when he saw that the guests would not eat,] he became apprehensive of them;¹⁸ [but] they said, "Fear not" - and gave him the glad tiding of [the birth of] a son who would be endowed with deep knowledge.¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [101] on 11:70 .

I.e., with prophethood (cf. 15:53 ).

When he saw them not eating, he became afraid of them. They said: "Have no fear," and they gave him good news of a son endowed with knowledge.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'They did not eat,' so he grew fearful of them.¹ They reassured 'him', 'Do not be afraid,' and gave him good news of a knowledgeable son.²

  - Mustafa Khattab

 As mentioned in 11:69-70, the angels came to Abraham in the form of men and when he offered them food, they did not eat. In ancient Middle Eastern culture, if a guest refused to eat the food provided by their host, it was a sign of ill-will.

 Prophet Isaac (ﷺ).

Then he conceived a fear of them. They said: Fear not! and gave him tidings of (the birth of) a wise son.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(When they did not eat) He conceived a fear of them. They said "Fear not" and they gave him glad tidings of a son endowed with knowledge.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Thereupon his wife approached [the guests] with a loud cry, and struck her face [in astonishment] and exclaimed: "A barren old woman [like me]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Hearing this his wife came forward, with astonishment she smote her forehead and said: "A son to a barren old woman!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then his wife came forward with a cry, clasping her forehead 'in astonishment', exclaiming, ''A baby from' a barren, old woman!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then his wife came forward, making moan, and smote her face, and cried: A barren old woman!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But his wife came forward (laughing) aloud: she smote her forehead and said: "a barren old woman!" ⁵⁰⁰⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Abraham's wife Sarah was old and barren. This news seemed to her too good to be true. She came forward, clamoured (xi. 71), struck her forehead with her hands, indicative of her amusement and incredulity as "a barren old woman": xi. 72.

They answered: "Thus has thy Sustainer decreed; and, verily, He alone is truly wise, all-knowing!"

  - Mohammad Asad

They replied: "Thus has said your Rabb: surely He is the Wise, the Knowledgeable."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They replied, 'Such has your Lord decreed. He is truly the All-Wise, All-Knowing.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

They said: Even so saith thy Lord. Lo! He is the Wise, the Knower.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They said "Even so has thy Lord spoken: and He is full of Wisdom and Knowledge." ⁵⁰¹⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The angels said: "What may sound improbable to human beings will yet come to pass if Allah commands. And Allah thy Lord has spoken. So shall it be. For all His promises are full of wisdom and knowledge." So the angels on that occasion. But the application is for all time and to all human affairs. Never despair. However much Truth may be in the shade, it will shine with full splendour. And the Judgment will come, when good will come to its own!

Said [Abraham]: "And what [else] may you have in view, O you [heavenly] messengers?"

  - Mohammad Asad

JUZ (PART): 27 Ibrahim (Abraham) asked: "O Divine Messengers, what is your errand?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'Later,' Abraham asked, 'What is your mission, O messengers?'

  - Mustafa Khattab

(Abraham) said: And (afterward) what is your errand, O ye sent (from Allah)?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(Abraham) said: "And what O ye Messengers is your errand (now)?"

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They answered: "Behold, we have been sent unto a people lost in sin,²⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., Lot's people.

They replied: "We have been sent to a guilty nation (people of Lot, who were homosexuals),

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They replied, 'We have actually been sent to a wicked people,

  - Mustafa Khattab

They said: Lo! we are sent unto a guilty folk,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They said "We have been sent to a people (deep) in sin

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

to let loose upon them stone-hard blows of chastisement,²¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "stones of clay" - the noun "clay" (tin) is, according to Zamakhshari, identical with the term sijjil mentioned in 11:82 and tentatively explained in the corresponding note [114] as signifiying "chastisement pre-ordained".

to shower upon them brimstone,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

to send upon them stones of 'baked' clay,

  - Mustafa Khattab

That we may send upon them stones of clay,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"To bring on on them (a shower of) stones of clay (brimstone) ⁵⁰¹¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xi. 82, and n. 1052 to vii. 84. The angels' errand of mercy to Abraham (to announce the succession of godly men in his line) was coupled with their errand of justice and punishment to the people of Lut, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, who were deep in the most abominable and unnatural sins. So Allah's Mercy and Justice go hand in hand in all human affairs. Faith has nothing to fear, and wickedness has only to turn and repent, to obtain Allah's Mercy.

marked out in thy Sustainer's sight for [the punishment of] such as have wasted their own selves."²²

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of this rendering of the term musrifin, see note [21] on 10:12 .

marked by your Rabb for the transgressors."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

marked by your Lord for the transgressors.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Marked by thy Lord for (the destruction of) the wanton.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"Marked as from thy Lord for those who trespass beyond bounds." ⁵⁰¹²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xi. 83, and n. 1580. Every crime has its due punishment as marked out in the decrees of Allah.

And in the course of time²³ We brought out [of Lot's city] such [few] believers as were there:

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "And then", i.e., after the events described in 11:77 ff. and 15:61 ff.

Then We saved all those who were believers in the town

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then 'before the torment' We evacuated the believers from the city.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Thee We brought forth such believers as were there.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then We evacuated those of the Believers who were there. ⁵⁰¹³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The only just or righteous persons found in Sodom and Gomorrah (Cities of the Plain by the Dead Sea) were in the house of Lut, who was the Prophet sent to call them to repentance. He and his believing family and adherents were told to leave in due time, and the wicked were destroyed in a shower of brimstone.

for apart from one [single] house²⁴ We did not find there any who had surrendered themselves to Us.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., Lot's family.

- We found none but one household of true Muslims

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But We only found one family that had submitted 'to Allah'.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Lot (ﷺ) and his two daughters.

But We found there but one house of those surrendered (to Allah).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But We found not there any just (Muslim) persons except in one house: ⁵⁰¹⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

That was the house of Lut; and even there, his wife had no faith: she disobeyed the Command and perished: xi. 81, n. 1577.

And so We left therein²⁵ a message for those who fear the grievous suffering [which awaits all evildoers].

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in the utter destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

- We left therein a sign for those who fear the painful punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We have left a sign there¹ 'as a lesson' for those who fear the painful punishment.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The ruins of Sodom.

And We left behind therein a portent for those who fear a painful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And We left there a Signs for such as fear the Grievous Penalty. ⁵⁰¹⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Grievous Chastisement: that is, the Final Judgment. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in this life is taken as the type of the Final Judgment. The vestiges can be seen-as a Sign and a Warning-in the sulphury plain round the Dead Sea: Cf. xv. 79.

AND IN [the story of Pharaoh and] Moses, too, [We left the same message:²⁶ for] when We sent him unto Pharaoh with [Our] manifest authority,

  - Mohammad Asad

The above interpolations are based on the consensus of most of the classical commentators regarding the phrase "And in Moses, too".

There is also a sign for you in the story of Musa (Moses): when We sent him to Fir'on (Pharaoh) with clear authority,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And in 'the story of' Moses 'was another lesson,' when We sent him to Pharaoh with compelling proof,

  - Mustafa Khattab

And in Moses (too, there is a portent) when We sent him unto Pharaoh with clear warrant,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And in Moses (was another Sign): Behold We sent him to Pharaoh with authority manifest. ⁵⁰¹⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. xliv. 17-31. The story of Moses and Pharaoh is here just referred to. The points emphasized here are: (1) that Moses had manifest authority, yet Pharaoh doubted; (2) that Pharaoh's reliance was on his Chiefs and his forces, but they could not help when his doom came; and (3) that in the most extraordinary and incredible ways (judged by ordinary human standards), his arrogance and his reliance on his Chiefs and forces was his undoing.

and he turned away in [the pride of] his power and said, "A sorcerer [is this Moses], or a madman!" -

  - Mohammad Asad

but he turned his back along with his chiefs, saying: "He (Moses) is a sorcerer or a madman."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

but Pharaoh was carried away by his power, saying 'of Moses', 'A magician or a madman!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

But he withdrew (confiding) in his might, and said: A wizard or a madman.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But (Pharaoh) turned back with his Chiefs and said "A sorcerer or one possessed!"

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

We seized him and his hosts, and cast them all into the sea: and [none but Pharaoh] himself was to blame [for what happened].²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

This is an illustration of the Qur'anic doctrine that the suffering which is bound to befall an evildoer in this world or in the life to come, or in both, is but a consequence of his own doings.

Consequently, We seized him and his warriors, and cast them into the sea. Indeed he deserved much blame.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So We seized him and his soldiers, casting them into the sea while he was blameworthy.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Because of his arrogance and disbelief.

So We seized him and his hosts and flung them in the sea, for he was reprobate

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

So We took him and his forces and threw them into the sea: and his was the blame. ⁵⁰¹⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The ungodly Egyptians were all destroyed, but the chief blame lay on Pharaoh for misleading them. Pharaoh's punishment was just. He could not blame any one else. And certainly no one can blame the course of Allah's Justice, for Allah was patient, and gave him many chances to repent.