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Surah Saba, Verse 31

سورة سبإ، الآية ٣١

34:31 Juz 22 Hizb 44 Page 431 of the mushaf Meccan surah

Text of verse 34:31

وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ بِهَٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ وَلَا بِٱلَّذِى بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ مَوْقُوفُونَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يَرْجِعُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ٱلْقَوْلَ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ لَوْلَآ أَنتُمْ لَكُنَّا مُؤْمِنِينَ ۝٣١

Transliteration

waqāla alladhīna kafarū lan nu'mina bihādhā l-qur'āni walā bi-alladhī bayna yadayhi walaw tarā idhi l-ẓālimūna mawqūfūna ʿinda rabbihim yarjiʿu baʿḍuhum ilā baʿḍin l-qawla yaqūlu alladhīna us'tuḍ'ʿifū lilladhīna is'takbarū lawlā antum lakunnā mu'minīna

Translation

And those who disbelieve say, "We will never believe in this Qur’ān nor in that before it." But if you could see when the wrongdoers are made to stand before their Lord, refuting each others' words...1234 Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, "If not for you, we would have been believers."

Notes

[1234] Having been left to the imagination, the conclusion of this sentence is estimated to be "...you would see a dreadful sight."

Translation in another language
Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary Read in the surah

Verse 31 of Surah Saba (34:31), a Meccan surah, is in juz 22, on page 431 of the mushaf. Read it in Arabic with its transliteration, translations and tafsir, and listen to it recited by 73 reciters.

Listen to verse 31 of Surah Saba

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Tafsir of verse 31

Al-Mukhtasar

Those who disbelieved in Allah said: “We will never believe in the Qur’ān which Muhammad claim is revealed to him nor will we ever believe in the previous divine books”. And if you were to see, O Messenger, when the wrongdoers are detained before their Lord on the day of judgment for the reckoning. They will dispute with one another, each one placing the responsibility and blame on the other. The subjects/citizens who were subdued will say to their leaders who oppressed them in this life: “If you had not led us astray, we would have been believers in Allah and His messengers”.

Tafsir of the whole Surah Saba

Other translations of verse 31

Those who disbelieve say, “We will never believe in this Qur’an or in any [Scripture] before it.” If only you could see when the wrongdoers would be made to stand before their Lord, throwing blame at one another! Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, “Had it not been for you, we would have been believers.”

And those who disbelieve say: "We believe not in this Qur’ân nor in that which was before it." But if you could see when the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers) will be made to stand before their Lord, how they will cast the (blaming) word one to another! Those who were deemed weak will say to those who were arrogant: "Had it not been for you, we should certainly have been believers!"

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.

The Unbelievers say: "We shall neither believe in this scripture nor in (any) that (came) before it." Couldst thou but see when the wrong-doers will be made to stand before their Lord, throwing back the word (of blame) on one another! Those who had been despised will say to the arrogant ones: "Had it not been for you, we should certainly have been believers!"

And those who disbelieve say: By no means will we believe in this Quran, nor in that which is before it; and could you see when the unjust shall be made to stand before their Lord, bandying words one with another! Those who were reckoned weak shall say to those who were proud: Had it not been for you we would certainly have been believers.

And (the ones) who have disbelieved have said, "We will never believe in this Qur'an, nor in that before it." (Literally: between its two hands) And if you could see as the unjust ones are being made to stand in the Reckoning of their Lord, bandying argument the one against the other! (Literally: some of them returning the saying to some "others") (The ones) who were deemed weak will say to the ones who waxed proud, "Had it not been for you, we would indeed have been believers."

Verse 31 word by word

  1. وَقَالَ waqāla And say ق و ل
  2. ٱلَّذِينَ alladhīna those who
  3. كَفَرُوا۟ kafarū disbelieve ك ف ر
  4. لَن lan Never will
  5. نُّؤْمِنَ nu'mina we believe أ م ن
  6. بِهَٰذَا bihādhā in this
  7. ٱلْقُرْءَانِ l-qur'āni Quran ق ر أ
  8. وَلَا walā and not
  9. بِٱلَّذِى bi-alladhī in (that) which
  10. بَيْنَ bayna (was) before it ب ي ن
  11. يَدَيْهِ yadayhi (was) before it ي د ي
  12. وَلَوْ walaw But if
  13. تَرَىٰٓ tarā you (could) see ر أ ي
  14. إِذِ idhi when
  15. ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ l-ẓālimūna the wrongdoers ظ ل م
  16. مَوْقُوفُونَ mawqūfūna will be made to stand و ق ف
  17. عِندَ ʿinda before ع ن د
  18. رَبِّهِمْ rabbihim their Lord ر ب ب
  19. يَرْجِعُ yarjiʿu will throw back ر ج ع
  20. بَعْضُهُمْ baʿḍuhum some of them ب ع ض
  21. إِلَىٰ ilā to
  22. بَعْضٍ baʿḍin others ب ع ض
  23. ٱلْقَوْلَ l-qawla the word ق و ل
  24. يَقُولُ yaqūlu Will say ق و ل
  25. ٱلَّذِينَ alladhīna those who
  26. ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ us'tuḍ'ʿifū were oppressed ض ع ف
  27. لِلَّذِينَ lilladhīna to those who
  28. ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ is'takbarū were arrogant ك ب ر
  29. لَوْلَآ lawlā If not
  30. أَنتُمْ antum (for) you
  31. لَكُنَّا lakunnā certainly we (would) have been ك و ن
  32. مُؤْمِنِينَ mu'minīna believers أ م ن

Verses related to verse 31

Cited by Ibn Kathir in his explanation of this verse

  • Ash-Shuraa 42:18

    يَسْتَعْجِلُ بِهَا ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهَا وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مُشْفِقُونَ مِنْهَا وَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهَا ٱلْحَقُّ أَلَآ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُمَارُونَ فِى ٱلسَّاعَةِ لَفِى ضَلَٰلٍۭ بَعِيدٍ

    Those who do not believe in it are impatient for it, but those who believe are fearful of it and know that it is the truth. Unquestionably, those who dispute concerning the Hour are in extreme error.

  • Nuh 71:4

    يَغْفِرْ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرْكُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى إِنَّ أَجَلَ ٱللَّهِ إِذَا جَآءَ لَا يُؤَخَّرُ لَوْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

    He [i.e., Allāh] will forgive you of your sins and delay you for a specified term. Indeed, the time [set by] Allāh, when it comes, will not be delayed, if you only knew."

  • Hud 11:104–105

    وَمَا نُؤَخِّرُهُۥٓ إِلَّا لِأَجَلٍ مَّعْدُودٍ …

    And We do not delay it except for a limited term. …

Verses with similar wording

They share a sequence of words with this verse: useful for telling them apart when memorising.

  • Al-An’am 6:93

    وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ قَالَ أُوحِىَ إِلَىَّ وَلَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ شَىْءٌ وَمَن قَالَ سَأُنزِلُ مِثْلَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ فِى غَمَرَٰتِ ٱلْمَوْتِ وَٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ بَاسِطُوٓا۟ أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمُ ٱلْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ ٱلْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ غَيْرَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَكُنتُمْ عَنْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ

    And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allāh or says, "It has been inspired to me," while nothing has been inspired to him, and one who says, "I will reveal [something] like what Allāh revealed." And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], "Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allāh other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant."

  • Saba 34:33

    وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ بَلْ مَكْرُ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذْ تَأْمُرُونَنَآ أَن نَّكْفُرَ بِٱللَّهِ وَنَجْعَلَ لَهُۥٓ أَندَادًا وَأَسَرُّوا۟ ٱلنَّدَامَةَ لَمَّا رَأَوُا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلْأَغْلَٰلَ فِىٓ أَعْنَاقِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ هَلْ يُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ

    Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, "Rather, [it was your] conspiracy of night and day when you were ordering us to disbelieve in Allāh and attribute to Him equals." But they will [all] confide regret when they see the punishment; and We will put shackles on the necks of those who disbelieved. Will they be recompensed except for what they used to do?

All similar verses of Surah Saba

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