Surah 21. Al-Anbiya

1.

'The time of' people's judgment has drawn near, yet they are heedlessly turning away.

2.

Whatever new reminder comes to them from their Lord, they only listen to it jokingly,

3.

with their hearts 'totally' distracted. The evildoers would converse secretly, 'saying,' 'Is this 'one' not human like yourselves? Would you fall for 'this' witchcraft, even though you can 'clearly' see?'

4.

The Prophet responded, 'My Lord 'fully' knows every word spoken in the heavens and the earth. For He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.'

5.

Yet they say, 'This 'Quran' is a set of confused dreams! No, he has fabricated it! No, he must be a poet! So let him bring us a 'tangible' sign like those 'prophets' sent before.'

6.

Not a 'single' society We destroyed before them ever believed 'after receiving the signs'. Will these 'pagans' then believe?

7.

We did not send 'messengers' before you 'O Prophet' except mere men inspired by Us. If you 'polytheists' do not know 'this already', then ask those who have knowledge 'of the Scriptures'.

8.

We did not give those messengers 'supernatural' bodies that did not need food, nor were they immortal.

9.

Then We fulfilled Our promise to them, saving them along with whoever We willed and destroying the transgressors.

10.

We have surely revealed to you a Book, in which there is glory for you. Will you not then understand?

11.

'Imagine' how many societies of wrongdoers We have destroyed, raising up other people after them!

12.

When the wrongdoers sensed 'the arrival of' Our torment, they started to run away from their cities.

13.

'They were told,' 'Do not run away! Return to your luxuries and your homes, so you may be questioned 'about your fate'.'

14.

They cried, 'Woe to us! We have surely been wrongdoers.'

15.

They kept repeating their cry until We mowed them down, 'leaving them' lifeless.¹

 lit., extinguished like ashes.

16.

We did not create the heavens and the earth and everything in between for sport.

17.

Had We intended to take 'some' amusement, We could have found it in Our presence, if that had been Our Will.

18.

In fact, We hurl the truth against falsehood, leaving it crushed, and it quickly vanishes. And woe be to you for what you claim!¹

 That Allah has a partner and children.

19.

To Him belong all those in the heavens and the earth. And those nearest to Him are not too proud to worship Him, nor do they tire.

20.

They glorify 'Him' day and night, never wavering.

21.

Or have they taken gods from the earth, who can raise the dead?

22.

Had there been other gods besides Allah in the heavens or the earth, both 'realms' would have surely been corrupted. So Glorified is Allah, Lord of the Throne, far above what they claim.

23.

He cannot be questioned about what He does, but they will 'all' be questioned.

24.

Or have they taken other gods besides Him? Say, 'O Prophet,' 'Show 'me' your proof. Here is 'the Quran,' the Reminder for those with me; along with 'earlier Scriptures,' the Reminder for those before me.'¹ But most of them do not know the truth, so they turn away.

 The Prophet (ﷺ) is ordered to challenge the pagans to produce logical and scriptural proofs for the existence of other gods beside Allah. The verses then argue that if there is more than one god, the different gods would have fought among themselves for domination, and the whole universe would have been ruined. The Quran, the Torah, and the Gospel are all in agreement that there is only One God.

25.

We never sent a messenger before you 'O Prophet' without revealing to him: 'There is no god 'worthy of worship' except Me, so worship Me 'alone'.'

26.

And they say, 'The Most Compassionate has offspring!'¹ Glory be to Him! In fact, those 'angels' are only 'His' honoured servants,

 Some pagans claimed that the angels are Allah’s daughters.

27.

who do not speak until He has spoken, 'only' acting at His command.

28.

He 'fully' knows what is ahead of them and what is behind them. They do not intercede except for whom He approves, and they tremble in awe of Him.

29.

Whoever of them were to say, 'I am a god besides Him,' they would be rewarded with Hell by Us. This is how We reward the wrongdoers.

30.

Do the disbelievers not realize that the heavens and earth were 'once' one mass then We split them apart?¹ And We created from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?

 This probably refers to the event commonly known as the Big Bang.

31.

And We have placed firm mountains upon the earth so it does not shake with them, and made in it broad pathways so they may find their way.

32.

And We have made the sky a well-protected canopy, still they turn away from its signs.¹

 The signs of the heaven include the galaxies, planets, stars, etc., all of which have an orbit. Our planet orbits the sun, the sun orbits the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Milky Way Galaxy orbits the Virgo Supercluster, etc.

33.

And He is the One Who created the day and the night, the sun and the moon- each travelling in an orbit.

34.

We have not granted immortality to any human before you 'O Prophet': so if you die, will they live forever?

35.

Every soul will taste death. And We test you 'O humanity' with good and evil as a trial, then to Us you will 'all' be returned.

36.

When the disbelievers see you 'O Prophet', they only make fun of you, 'saying,' 'Is this the one who speaks 'ill' of your gods?' while they disbelieve at the mention of the Most Compassionate.

37.

Humankind is made of haste. I will soon show you My signs, so do not ask Me to hasten them.

38.

They ask 'the believers', 'When will this threat come to pass if what you say is true?'

39.

If only the disbelievers knew that a time will come when they will not be able to keep the Fire off their faces or backs, nor will they be helped.

40.

In fact, the Hour will take them by surprise, leaving them stunned. So they will not be able to avert it, nor will it be delayed from them.

41.

'Other' messengers had already been ridiculed before you 'O Prophet', but those who mocked them were overtaken by what they used to ridicule.

42.

Ask 'them, O Prophet,' 'Who can defend you by day or by night against the Most Compassionate?' Still they turn away from the remembrance of their Lord.

43.

Or do they have gods- other than Us- that can protect them? They cannot 'even' protect themselves, nor will they be aided against Us.

44.

In fact, We have allowed enjoyment for these 'Meccans' and their forefathers for such a long time 'that they took it for granted'. Do they not see that We gradually reduce 'their' land from its borders? Is it they who will then prevail?

45.

Say, 'O Prophet,' 'I warn you only by revelation.' But the deaf cannot hear the call when they are warned!

46.

If they were touched by even a breath of your Lord's torment, they would certainly cry, 'Woe to us! We have really been wrongdoers.'

47.

We will set up the scales of justice on the Day of Judgment, so no soul will be wronged in the least. And 'even' if a deed is the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as a 'vigilant' Reckoner.

48.

Indeed, We granted Moses and Aaron the standard 'to distinguish between right and wrong'- a light and a reminder for the righteous,

49.

who are in awe of their Lord without seeing Him,¹ and are fearful of the Hour.

 This can also mean that they are in awe of their Lord as much in private as they are in public.

50.

And this 'Quran' is a blessed reminder which We have revealed. Will you 'pagans' then deny it?

51.

And indeed, We had granted Abraham sound judgment early on, for We knew him well 'to be worthy of it'.

52.

'Remember' when he questioned his father and his people, 'What are these statues to which you are so devoted?'

53.

They replied, 'We found our forefathers worshipping them.'

54.

He responded, 'Indeed, you and your forefathers have been clearly astray.'

55.

They asked, 'Have you come to us with the truth, or is this a joke?'

56.

He replied, 'In fact, your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Who created them 'both'. And to that I bear witness.'

57.

'Then he said to himself,' 'By Allah! I will surely plot against your idols after you have turned your backs and gone away.'

58.

So he smashed them into pieces, except the biggest of them, so they might turn to it 'for answers'.

59.

They protested, 'Who dared do this to our gods? It must be an evildoer!'

60.

Some said, 'We heard a young man, called Abraham, speaking 'ill' of them.'

61.

They demanded, 'Bring him before the eyes of the people, so that they may witness 'his trial'.'

62.

They asked, 'Was it you who did this to our gods, O Abraham?'

63.

He replied 'sarcastically', 'No, this one- the biggest of them- did it! So ask them, if they can talk!'

64.

So they came back to their senses, saying 'to one another', 'You yourselves are truly the wrongdoers!'

65.

Then they 'quickly' regressed to their 'original' mind-set, 'arguing,' 'You already know that those 'idols' cannot talk.'

66.

He rebuked 'them', 'Do you then worship- instead of Allah- what can neither benefit nor harm you in any way?

67.

Shame on you and whatever you worship instead of Allah! Do you not have any sense?'

68.

They concluded, 'Burn him up to avenge your gods, if you must act.'

69.

We ordered, 'O fire! Be cool and safe for Abraham!'¹

 It is reported in a ḥadîth collected by Bukhâri that Abraham (ﷺ) said, while being thrown into the fire, “Allah ˹alone˺ is sufficient ˹as an aid˺ for us and ˹He˺ is the best Protector.”

70.

They had sought to harm him, but We made them the worst losers.

71.

Then We delivered him, along with Lot, to the land We had showered with blessings for all people.¹

 Abraham and his nephew, Lot, migrated from Babel, Iraq to Jerusalem.

72.

And We blessed him with Isaac 'as a son' and Jacob 'as a grandson', as an additional favour- making all of them righteous.

73.

We 'also' made them leaders, guiding by Our command, and inspired them to do good deeds, establish prayer, and pay alms-tax. And they were devoted to Our worship.

74.

And to Lot We gave wisdom and knowledge, and delivered him from the society engrossed in shameful practices. They were certainly an evil, rebellious people.

75.

And We admitted him into Our mercy, 'for' he was truly one of the righteous.

76.

And 'remember' when Noah had cried out to Us earlier, so We responded to him and delivered him and his family¹ from the great distress.

 i.e., the believers in his family.

77.

And We made him prevail over those who had rejected Our signs. They were truly an evil people, so We drowned them all.

78.

And 'remember' when David and Solomon passed judgment regarding the crops ruined 'at night' by someone's sheep, and We were witness to their judgments.

79.

We guided 'young' Solomon to a fairer settlement,¹ and granted each of them wisdom and knowledge. We subjected the mountains as well as the birds to hymn 'Our praises' along with David. It is We Who did 'it all'.

 A man’s flock of sheep strayed into another man’s vineyard, eating and destroying all his produce. When the two men came to David for judgment, he ruled that the shepherd must give his animals to the vineyard owner in compensation for the damage. On their way out, the two men met young Solomon and the shepherd complained to him. Solomon discussed the case with his father, and suggested that the sheep should be kept with the man who lost his produce so he may benefit from their milk and wool, while the shepherd worked on the farm to restore it to its original state. Eventually the famer would take back his farm in perfect condition, and the sheep would be returned to the shepherd. David was impressed by his son’s insight and approved his fair judgment immediately.

80.

We taught him the art of making body armour to protect you in battle. Will you then be grateful?

81.

And to Solomon We subjected the raging winds, blowing by his command to the land We had showered with blessings. It is We Who know everything.

82.

And 'We subjected' some jinn¹ that dived for him,² and performed other duties. It is We Who kept them in check.

 lit., devils.

 The jinn dived to bring him pearls.

83.

And 'remember' when Job cried out to his Lord, 'I have been touched with adversity,¹ and You are the Most Merciful of the merciful.'

 This refers to his loss of health, wealth, and children.

84.

So We answered his prayer and removed his adversity, and gave him back his family, twice as many, as a mercy from Us and a lesson for the 'devoted' worshippers.

85.

And 'remember' Ishmael, Enoch, and Ⱬul-Kifl.¹ They were all steadfast.

 Scholars are in disagreement as to whether Ⱬul-Kifl was a prophet or just a righteous man. Those who maintain that he was a prophet identify him with various Biblical prophets such as Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Obadiah.

86.

We admitted them into Our mercy, for they were truly of the righteous.

87.

And 'remember' when the Man of the Whale stormed off 'from his city' in a rage, thinking We would not restrain him.¹ Then in the 'veils of' darkness² he cried out, 'There is no god 'worthy of worship' except You. Glory be to You! I have certainly done wrong.'

 Or “thinking We will let him get away with it.” Jonah (ﷺ) had been met with denial for many years. When he sensed the coming of Allah’s torment, he abandoned his city without Allah’s permission. Eventually, his people repented before the coming of the torment, and Allah accepted their repentance (see 10:98), whereas Jonah ended up in the belly of the whale (see 37:140-148).

 The darkness of the night, the sea, and the belly of the whale.

88.

So We answered his prayer and rescued him from anguish. And so do We save the 'true' believers.

89.

And 'remember' when Zachariah cried out to his Lord, 'My Lord! Do not leave me childless, though You are the Best of Successors.'¹

 Meaning, “You will be there for eternity after all pass away.”

90.

So We answered his prayer, granted him John, and made his wife fertile. Indeed, they used to race in doing good, and call upon Us with hope and fear, totally humbling themselves before Us.

91.

And 'remember' the one who guarded her chastity, so We breathed into her through Our angel, 'Gabriel,'¹ making her and her son a sign for all peoples.

 Gabriel breathed into the sleeves of Mary’s garment so she conceived Jesus.

92.

'O prophets!' Indeed, this religion of yours is 'only' one, and I am your Lord, so worship Me 'alone'.

93.

Yet the people have divided it into sects. But to Us they will all return.

94.

So whoever does good and is a believer will never be denied 'the reward for' their striving, for We are recording it all.

95.

It is impossible for a society which We have destroyed to ever rise again,

96.

until 'after' Gog and Magog have broken loose 'from the barrier',¹ swarming down from every hill,

 See 18:93-99.

97.

ushering in the True Promise.¹ Then- behold!- the disbelievers will stare 'in horror, crying,' 'Oh, woe to us! We have truly been heedless of this. In fact, we have been wrongdoers.'

 i.e., the Final Hour.

98.

Certainly you 'disbelievers' and whatever you worship instead of Allah will be the fuel of Hell.¹ You are 'all' bound to enter it.

 See footnote for 43:57-58.

99.

Had those idols been 'true' gods, they would not have entered it. And they will be there forever.

100.

In it they will groan, and will not be able to hear.

101.

Surely those for whom We have destined the finest reward will be kept far away from Hell,

102.

not even hearing the slightest hissing from it. And they will delight forever in what their souls desire.

103.

The Supreme Horror 'of that Day' will not disturb them, and the angels will greet them, 'saying,' 'This is your Day, which you have been promised.'

104.

On that Day We will roll up the heavens like a scroll of writings. Just as We produced the first creation, 'so' shall We reproduce it. That is a promise binding on Us. We truly uphold 'Our promises'!

105.

Surely, following the 'heavenly' Record, We decreed in the Scriptures: 'My righteous servants shall inherit the land.'¹

 This refers to Psalm 37:29: “The righteous shall inherit the land.” See footnote for 39:47.

106.

Surely this 'Quran' is sufficient 'as a reminder' for those devoted to worship.

107.

We have sent you 'O Prophet' only as a mercy for the whole world.

108.

Say, 'What has been revealed to me is this: 'Your God is only One God.' Will you then submit?'

109.

If they turn away, then say, 'I have warned you all equally. I do not know if what you are threatened with is near or far.

110.

Allah surely knows what you say openly and whatever you hide.

111.

I do not know if this 'delay' is possibly a test for you and an enjoyment for a while.'

112.

'In the end,' the Prophet said, 'My Lord! Judge 'between us' in truth. And our Lord is the Most Compassionate, Whose help is sought against what you claim.'¹

 Meaning, “We seek Allah’s help against your claims that He has partners ˹in worship˺.”