Surah 26. Ash-Shuara

for, neither does it suit their ends, nor is it in their power [to impart it to man]:

  - Mohammad Asad

it is neither in their interest nor in their power to produce such a masterpiece.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

It is not meet for them, nor is it in their power,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

verily, [even] from hearing it are they utterly debarred!

  - Mohammad Asad

They are kept too far off to even hear it.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! verily they are banished from the hearing.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hence, [O man,] do not invoke any other deity side by side with God, lest thou find thyself among those who are made to suffer [on Judgment Day].⁹²

  - Mohammad Asad

The conjunctive particle fa at the beginning of this sentence (rendered here as "hence") evidently connects with verse {208} above. As shown in note [94] below, the whole of the present passage is addressed to man in general.

So do not call on other gods besides Allah, lest you become one of those who incur His punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Therefor invoke not with Allah another god, lest thou be one of the doomed.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And warn [whomever thou canst reach, beginning with] thy kinsfolk,⁹³

  - Mohammad Asad

A believer is morally obliged to preach the truth to all whom he can reach, but obviously he must begin with those who are nearest to him, and especially those who recognize his authority.

Admonish your close relatives

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And warn thy tribe of near kindred,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and spread the wings of thy tenderness over all of the believers who may follow thee;⁹⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of the metaphorical expression "lower thy wing"-rendered by me as "spread the wings of thy tenderness" - see 17:24 and the corresponding note [28]. The phrase "all of the believers who follow thee" shows that (contrary to the assumption of most of the commentators) the above passage is not addressed to the Prophet - since all who believe in him are, by definition, his followers, and vice versa - but to everyone who chooses to be guided by the Qur'an, and who is herewith called upon to extend his loving kindness and care to all believers who may "follow" him, i.e., who may regard him as spiritually or intellectually superior or more experienced. This interpretation also explains verse {213} above: for whereas the exhortation contained in that verse is meaningful with regard to all who may listen to or read the Qur'an, it would be meaningless with reference to its Prophet, for whom the principle of God's oneness and uniqueness was the unquestionable beginning and end of all truth.

and lower your wing of kindness to those of the believers who follow you,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And lower thy wing (in kindness) unto those believers who follow thee.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

but if they disobey thee, say, "I am free of responsibility for aught that you may do!"

  - Mohammad Asad

but if they disobey, tell them: "I am not accountable for what you do."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And if they (thy kinsfolk) disobey thee, say: Lo! I am innocent of what they do.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and place thy trust in the Almighty, the Dispenser of Grace,

  - Mohammad Asad

Put your trust in the All-Mighty, the Merciful,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And put thy trust in the Mighty, the Merciful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

who sees thee when thou standest [alone] ,⁹⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

According to Mujahid (as quoted by Tabari), this means "wherever thou mayest be". Other commentators take it to mean "when thou standest up for prayer", but this seems to be too narrow an interpretation.

Who observes you when you get up

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Who seeth thee when thou standest up (to pray)

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and [sees] thy behaviour among those who prostrate themselves [before Him]:⁹⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., among the believers, as contrasted with those who "disobey thee" (see verse {216} above).

and when you walk among those who prostrate themselves in worship.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And (seeth) thine abasement among those who fall prostrate (in worship).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for, verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing!

  - Mohammad Asad

He is the One Who hears all and knows all.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! He, only He, is the Hearer, the Knower.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And] shall I tell you upon whom it is that those evil spirits descend?

  - Mohammad Asad

Shall I tell you, O people, on whom the shaitans descend?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They descend upon all sinful self-deceivers⁹⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

The term affak, which literally denotes "a great [or "habitual"] liar", has here the meaning of "one who lies to himself": this is brought out in the next verse, which stresses the psychological fact that most of such self-deceivers readily lie to others as well.

They descend on every slandering sinner.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They descend on every sinful, false one.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

who readily lend ear [to every falsehood], and most of whom lie to others as well.⁹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "most of them are lying".

Those who listen to hearsay - and most of them are liars

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They listen eagerly, but most of them are liars.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And as for the poets⁹⁹ - [they, too, are prone to deceive themselves: and so, only] those who are lost in grievous error would follow them.

  - Mohammad Asad

An allusion to the fact that some of the pagan Arabs regarded the Qur'an as a product of Muhammad's supposedly poetic mind. (See also 36:69 and the corresponding notes [38] and [39].)

- and those poets who are followed by those who go astray.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

As for poets, the erring follow them.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Art thou not aware that they roam confusedly through all the valleys [of words and thoughts],¹⁰⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

The idiomatic phrase hama fi widyan (lit., "he wandered [or "roamed"] through valleys") is used, as most of the commentators point out, to describe a confused or aimless - and often self-contradictory - play with words and thoughts. In this context it is meant to stress the difference between the precision of the Qur'an, which is free from all inner contradictions (cf. note [97] on 4:82 ), and the vagueness often inherent in poetry.

Do you not see, how aimlessly they wander in every valley,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Hast thou not seen how they stray in every valley,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall