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Surah 37. As-Saffat

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37:1
وَٱلصَّـٰٓفَّـٰتِ صَفًّا Wa al ssa ff a ti s aff a n
CONSIDER these [messages] ranged in serried ranks,1
  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding the adjurative particle wa and my rendering it as "Consider", see first half of note [23] on 74:32 . - Most of the classical commentators assume that verses {1-3} refer to angels - an assumption which Abu Muslim al-Isfahani (as quoted by Razi) rejects, stating that the passage refers to the true believers among human beings. However, Razi advances yet another (and, to my mind, most convincing) interpretation, suggesting that what is meant here are the messages (ayat) of the Qur'an, which - in the commentator's words - "deal with various subjects, some speaking of the evidence of God's oneness or of the evidence of His omniscience, omnipotence and wisdom, and some setting forth the evidence of [the truth of] prophetic revelation or of resurrection, while some deal with man's duties and the laws [relating thereto], and yet others are devoted to the teaching of high moral principles; and these messages are arranged in accordance with a coherent system above all [need of] change or alteration, so that they resemble beings or things standing 'in serried ranks'."

I swear by those who range themselves in ranks
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
By those 'angels' lined up in ranks,
  - Mustafa Khattab
By those who set the ranks in battle order
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
By those who range themselves in ranks. 4030 4031
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

At a later stage, we shall study the general meaning of the adjurations in the Qur-an indicated by the particle wa. See app. xi. Here we may note that the last Sura (Ya-Sin) practically began with the adjuration "by the Qur-an, full of wisdom", emphasising the fact that Revelation was the evidence by which we could learn the highest wisdom of the spiritual world. Here our attention is called in three verses or clauses, to three definite attitudes which illustrate the triumph of Good and the frustration of Evil. See the notes following.

Two questions arise: (1) are the doers of the three things noted in verses 1-3 the same persons, whose actions or qualities are differently described, or are they three distinct sets of persons? (2) in either case, who are they? As to (1) the most authoritative view is that the three clauses describe the same set of persons in different aspects. As to (2) some take them to refer to angels, and others understand by them the good men, the men of God, who strive and range themselves in Allah's service. The words are perfectly general, and I interpret them to refer to both classes. The feminine form is grammatically used in Arabic idiom for the indefinite plural. In xxxvii. 165 below, the word saffan is used in the definite plural, and seems to be spoken by these beings, angels or men of God or both, according to how we interpret this verse.

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37:2
فَٱلزَّٰجِرَٰتِ زَجْرًا Fa al zz a jir a ti zajr a n
and restraining [from evil] by a call to restraint,
  - Mohammad Asad
and by those who cast out demons,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and those who diligently drive 'the clouds',
  - Mustafa Khattab
And those who drive away (the wicked) with reproof
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And so are strong in repelling (evil) 4032
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The three acts in verses 1-3 are consecutive, as shown by the particle fa. I understand them to mean that angels and good men (1) are ever ready to range themselves in ranks in the service of Allah and work in perfect discipline and accord at all times; (2) that they check and frustrate evil wherever they find it and they are strengthened in doing so by their discipline and their ranging themselves in ranks; and (3) that this service furthers the Kingdom of Allah and proclaims His Message and His glory to all creation.

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37:3
فَٱلتَّـٰلِيَـٰتِ ذِكْرًا Fa al tt a liy a ti th ikr a n
and conveying [to all the world] a reminder:
  - Mohammad Asad
and by those who proclaim the message of Allah
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and those who recite the Reminder!
  - Mustafa Khattab
And those who read (the Word) for a reminder,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And thus proclaim the message (of Allah)!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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37:4
إِنَّ إِلَـٰهَكُمْ لَوَٰحِدٌ Inna il a hakum law ah id un
Verily, most surely, your God is One
  - Mohammad Asad
that surely your God is One,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Surely your God is One!
  - Mustafa Khattab
Lo! thy Lord is surely One.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Verily verily your Allah is One! 4033
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

That divine Message is summed up in the gospel of Divine Unity, on which the greatest emphasis is laid: "verily, verily your God is One". It is a fact intimately connected with our own life and destiny. 'Your Lord is one Who cares for you and cherishes you; you are dear to Him. And He is One: it is only He that you have to look to, the source of all goodness, love, and power. You are not the sport of many contending forces or blind chances. There is complete harmony and unity in heaven and you have to put yourselves into unison with it-by discipline in ranks, by unity of plan and purpose in repelling evil, and by concerted action in promoting the Kingdom of Allah. Here is the mystery of the manifold variety of creation pointing to the absolute Unity of the Creator.

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37:5
رَّبُّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَرَبُّ ٱلْمَشَـٰرِقِ Rabbu a l ssam a w a ti wa a lar d i wam a baynahum a warabbu almash a riq i
the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and of all that is between them, and the Sustainer of all the points of sunrise! 2
  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., "and of sunset" (cf. 55:17 and the corresponding note [7]). The stress on the various "points of sunrise" (al-mashariq) brings out the endless variety of all created phenomena as contrasted with the oneness and uniqueness of their Creator. The mention of "the points of sunrise" and omission of "the points of sunset" in the wording (though not in the meaning) of the above phrase alludes, I believe, to the light-giving quality of the Qur'an spoken of in verses {1-3}.

the Rabb of the heavens and of the earth and all that lies between them, and the Rabb of the easts (every point and place at the rising of the sun).
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'He is' the Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything in between, and the Lord of all points of sunrise.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Lord of the heavens and of the earth and all that is between them, and Lord of the sun's risings.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Lord of the heavens and of the earth and all between them and Lord of every point at the rising of the sun! 4034
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Allah is the Lord of everything that exists-'the heavens and the earth, and all between them'. He is the Lord of the Mashariq,-of every point at the rising of the sun. As the Commentators tell us, there are in the solar year only two equinoctial days, when the sun rises due east: on every other the sun rises at a shifting point either north or south of due east. In vii. 137 we have Mashariq al ardhi wa magaribaha, where the plural of the words for East and West is negligible, as the conjunction of the two embraces all points. The same may be said of lxx. 40, where Allah is called "Lord of all points in the East and the West". If we are speaking of longitudes, they may embrace all latitudes. In lv. 17 Allah is called "Lord of the two Easts and the two Wests", referring to the extreme points in either case. A cursory reader may ask, why is only the East referred to here? The reply is that it is not so much the East as the rising of the sun, on which stress is laid. The Arabic mashriq or mashariq is close enough to the root-word sharaqa, to suggest, not so much the East as the rising of the sun, especially when the plural form is used. The glorious sun rises from different points, as seen by us, but it illuminates the whole heaven and earth. It is an emblem of Unity.

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37:6
إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ Inn a zayyann a a l ssam a a a l dduny a bizeenatin alkaw a kib i
Behold, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with the beauty of stars,
  - Mohammad Asad
We have indeed decked the worldly heaven with beautiful stars
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Indeed, We have adorned the lowest heaven with the stars for decoration
  - Mustafa Khattab
Lo! We have adorned the lowest heaven with an ornament, the planets:
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
We have indeed decked the lower heaven with beauty (in) the stars 4035 4036
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. lxvii. 5, lxxii. 8-9.

'Stars' may be taken here in the popular sense, as referring to fixed stars, planets, comets, shooting stars, etc. On a clear night the beauty of the starry heavens is proverbial. Here they are meant to illustrate two points: (1) their marvellous beauty and their groupings and motions (apparent or real) manifest and typify the Design and Harmony of the One true Creator: and (2) the power and glory behind them typify that there is a guard against the assaults of Evil (see verse 7 below).

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37:7
وَحِفْظًا مِّن كُلِّ شَيْطَـٰنٍ مَّارِدٍ Wa h if th an min kulli shay ta nin m a rid in
and have made them secure against every rebellious, satanic force,3
  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of this passage, see note [16] on 15:17 .

and have secured it against all obstinate rebellious shaitans.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
and 'for' protection from every rebellious devil.
  - Mustafa Khattab
With security from every froward devil.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
(For beauty) and for guard against all obstinate rebellious evil spirits. 4037
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Verses 7-11 seem to refer to shooting stars, Cf. xv, 17-18, and notes 1951-53. The 'heavens typify not only beauty but power. The Good in Allah's world is guarded and protected against every assault of Evil. The Evil is not part of the heavenly system: it is a thing in outlawry, merely a self-willed rebellion,-"cast away on every side, repulsed under a perpetual penalty" (verses 8-9).

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37:8
لَّا يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى ٱلْمَلَإِ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ وَيُقْذَفُونَ مِن كُلِّ جَانِبٍ L a yassammaAAoona il a almalai alaAAl a wayuq th afoona min kulli j a nib in
[so that] they [who seek to learn the unknowable] should not be able to overhear the host on high,4 but shall be repelled from all sides,
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the angelic forces, whose "speech" is a metonym for God's decrees.

They cannot even hear the words of the exalted assembly of angels and they are darted at from every side if they try to get closer,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
They cannot listen to the highest assembly 'of angels' for they are pelted from every side,
  - Mustafa Khattab
They cannot listen to the Highest Chiefs for they are pelted from every side,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
(So) they should not strain their ears in the direction of the Exalted Assembly but be cast away from every side. 4038
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

We can form a mental picture of the Court of the Most High, in the highest heaven, conforming to the highest idea we can form of goodness, beauty, purity, and grandeur. The Exalted Assembly of angels is given some knowledge of the Plan and Will of Allah. Evil is altogether foreign to such an atmosphere, but is actuated by feelings of jealousy and curiosity. It tries to approach by stealth and overhear something from the august Assembly. It is repulsed and pursued by a flaming fire, of which we can form some idea in our physical world by the piercing trail of a shooting star.

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37:9
دُحُورًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ Du h ooran walahum AAa tha bun w as ib un
cast out [from all grace], with lasting suffering in store for them [in the life to come];
  - Mohammad Asad
they are repulsed and are under a constant chastisement.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
'fiercely' driven away. And they will suffer an everlasting torment.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Outcast, and theirs is a perpetual torment;
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Repulsed for they are under a perpetual penalty.
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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37:10
إِلَّا مَنْ خَطِفَ ٱلْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُۥ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ Ill a man kha t ifa alkha t fata faatbaAAahu shih a bun th a qib un
but if anyone5 does succeed in snatching a glimpse [of such knowledge], he is [henceforth! Dursued bv a piercing flame.6
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "excepting [or "except that"] anyone who ...", etc. However, as pointed out by some authorities (e.g., Mughni), the particle illa is occasionally synonymous with the simple conjunction wa, which in this case has the significance of "but".

For the meaning of this phrase, see note [17] on 15:18 . After the stress on God's oneness in verses {4-5}, the passage comprising verses {6-10} points to the fact that human beings are precluded from really grasping the variety and depth of the universe created by Him. We have here an echo of 34:9 - "Are they, then, not aware of how little of the sky and the earth lies open before them, and how much is hidden from them?" - and, thus, a new, oblique approach to the theme of resurrection, which is taken up in the sequence in the form of an indirect question.

Eavesdroppers are persuaded by a flaming fire of piercing brightness.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
But whoever manages to stealthily eavesdrop is 'instantly' pursued by a piercing flare.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Save him who snatcheth a fragment, and there pursueth him a piercing flame.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Except such as snatch away something by stealth and they are pursued by a flaming fire of piercing brightness. 4039
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See last note and Cf. xv. 18 and notes 1953-54.

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37:11
فَٱسْتَفْتِهِمْ أَهُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَم مَّنْ خَلَقْنَآ ۚ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰهُم مِّن طِينٍ لَّازِبٍۭ Fa i staftihim ahum ashaddu khalqan am man khalaqn a inn a khalaqn a hum min t eenin l a zib in
AND NOW ask those [who deny the truth] to enlight-en thee: Were they more difficult to create than all those [untold marvels] that We have created?-for, behold, them have We created out of [mere] clay commingled with water!7
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., out of primitive substances existing in their elementary forms in and on the earth (see surah {23}, note [4]) - substances which are as nothing when compared with the complexity of "the heavens and the earth and all that is between them": hence, man's individual resurrection is as nothing when compared with the creation of the multiform universe.

Ask them: "What is more difficult - their creation or the rest of Our creation? - Them We have created out of a sticky clay.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
So ask them 'O Prophet', which is harder to create: them or other marvels of Our creation?1 Indeed, We created them from a sticky clay.2
  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., the angels, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the mountains.

 Their father Adam (ﷺ).

Then ask them (O Muhammad): Are they stronger as a creation, or those (others) whom We have created? Lo! We created them of plastic clay.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Just ask their opinion: are they the more difficult to create or the (other) beings We have created? Them have We created out of a sticky clay! 4040 4041
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Their": "they" are the doubters, the evil ones, the deniers of Allah's grace and mercy, who laugh at Revelation and disbelieve in a Hereafter. Are they more important or more difficult to create than the wonderful variety of beings in Allah's spacious Creation? Do they forget their own lowly state, as having been created from muddy clay?

Cf. vi. 2; vii. 12; xxxii. 7; etc.

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37:12
بَلْ عَجِبْتَ وَيَسْخَرُونَ Bal AAajibta wayaskharoon a
Nay, but whereas thou cost marvel,8 they [only] scoff;
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., at God's creative power as well as at the blind arrogance of those who deny it.

You marvel at the wonders of Allah's creation, while they ridicule at it.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
In fact, you are astonished 'by their denial', while they ridicule 'you'.
  - Mustafa Khattab
Nay, but thou dost marvel when they mock
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Truly dost thou marvel while they ridicule 4042
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is indeed strange that unregenerate man should forget, on the one hand, his lowly-origin, and on the other hand, his high Destiny, as conferred upon him by the grace and mercy of Allah. The indictment of him here comprises four counts: (1) they ridicule the teaching of Truth; (2) instead of profiting by admonition, they pay no heed; (3) when Allah's Signs are brought home to them, they ridicule them as much as they ridiculed the teaching of Truth: and (4) when they have to acknowledge incontestable facts, they give them false names like "sorcery", which imply fraud or something which has no relation to their life, although the facts touch the inner springs of their life intimately.

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37:13
وَإِذَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ لَا يَذْكُرُونَ Wai tha th ukkiroo l a ya th kuroon a
and when they are reminded [of the truth], they refuse to take it to heart;
  - Mohammad Asad
When they are admonished, they pay no heed,
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
When they are reminded, they are never mindful.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And heed not when they are reminded,
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And when they are admonished pay no heed
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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37:14
وَإِذَا رَأَوْا۟ ءَايَةً يَسْتَسْخِرُونَ Wai tha raaw a yatan yastaskhiroon a
and when they become aware of a [divine] message, they turn it to ridicule
  - Mohammad Asad
and when they see a sign, they mock at it
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
And whenever they see a sign, they make fun of it,
  - Mustafa Khattab
And seek to scoff when they behold a portent
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And when they see a Sign turn it to mockery
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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37:15
وَقَالُوٓا۟ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ Waq a loo in h atha ill a si h run mubeen un
and say: "This is clearly nothing but [a mortal's] spellbinding eloquence!
  - Mohammad Asad
and say: "This is nothing but plain sorcery.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
saying, 'This is nothing but pure magic.
  - Mustafa Khattab
And they say: lo! this is mere magic;
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
And say "This is nothing but evident sorcery!
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

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