34. Surah Saba, English Translation

He knows whatever goes into the earth and whatever comes out of it, and whatever descends from the sky and whatever ascends into it. And He is the Most Merciful, All-Forgiving.

The disbelievers say, “The Hour will never come to us.” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Yes—by my Lord, the Knower of the unseen—it will certainly come to you!” Not ˹even˺ an atom’s weight is hidden from Him in the heavens or the earth; nor anything smaller or larger than that, but is ˹written˺ in a perfect Record.¹

So He may reward those who believe and do good. It is they who will have forgiveness and an honourable provision.

As for those who strive to discredit Our revelations, it is they who will suffer the ˹worst˺ torment of agonizing pain.

Those gifted with knowledge ˹clearly˺ see that what has been revealed to you from your Lord ˹O Prophet˺ is the truth, and that it guides to the Path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy.

The disbelievers say ˹mockingly to one another˺, “Shall we show you a man who claims that when you have been utterly disintegrated you will be raised as a new creation?

Has he fabricated a lie against Allah or is he insane?” In fact, those who do not believe in the Hereafter are bound for torment and have strayed farthest ˹from the truth˺.

Have they not then seen all that surrounds them of the heavens and the earth? If We willed, We could cause the earth to swallow them up, or cause ˹deadly˺ pieces of the sky to fall upon them. Surely in this is a sign for every servant who turns ˹to Allah˺.

Indeed, We granted David a ˹great˺ privilege from Us, ˹commanding:˺ “O mountains! Echo his hymns! And the birds as well.” We made iron mouldable for him,

instructing: “Make full-length armour, ˹perfectly˺ balancing the links. And work righteousness ˹O family of David!˺. Indeed, I am All-Seeing of what you do.”

And to Solomon ˹We subjected˺ the wind: its morning stride was a month’s journey and so was its evening stride. And We caused a stream of molten copper to flow for him, and ˹We subjected˺ some of the jinn to work under him by his Lord’s Will. And whoever of them deviated from Our command, We made them taste the torment of the blaze.

They made for him whatever he desired of sanctuaries, statues,¹ basins as large as reservoirs, and cooking pots fixed ˹into the ground˺. ˹We ordered:˺ “Work gratefully, O  family of David!” ˹Only˺ a few of My servants are ˹truly˺ grateful.

When We decreed Solomon’s death, nothing indicated to the ˹subjected˺ jinn that he was dead except the termites eating away his staff.¹ So when he collapsed, the jinn realized that if they had ˹really˺ known the unseen, they would not have remained in ˹such˺ humiliating servitude.

Indeed, there was a sign for ˹the tribe of˺ Sheba in their homeland: two orchards—one to the right and the other to the left. ˹They were told:˺ “Eat from the provision of your Lord, and be grateful to Him. ˹Yours is˺ a good land and a forgiving Lord.”

But they turned away. So We sent against them a devastating flood, and replaced their orchards with two others producing bitter fruit, fruitless bushes,¹ and a few ˹sparse˺ thorny trees.²

This is how We rewarded them for their ingratitude. Would We ever punish ˹anyone in such a way˺ except the ungrateful?

We had also placed between them and the cities¹ We showered with blessings ˹many small˺ towns within sight of one another. And We set moderate travel distances in between, ˹saying,˺ “Travel between them by day and night safely.”

But they said, “Our Lord! Make ˹the distances of˺ our journeys longer,” wronging themselves.¹ So We reduced them to ˹cautionary˺ tales, and scattered them utterly. Surely in this are lessons for whoever is steadfast, grateful.

Indeed, Iblîs’ assumption about them has come true,¹ so they ˹all˺ follow him, except a group of ˹true˺ believers.

He does not have any authority over them, but ˹Our Will is˺ only to distinguish those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are in doubt about it. And your Lord is a ˹vigilant˺ Keeper over all things.

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Call upon those you claim ˹to be divine˺ besides Allah. They do not possess ˹even˺ an atom’s weight either in the heavens or the earth, nor do they have any share in ˹governing˺ them. Nor is any of them a helper to Him.”

No intercession will be of any benefit with Him, except by those granted permission by Him. ˹At last,˺ when the dread ˹of Judgment Day˺ is relieved from their hearts ˹because they are permitted to intercede˺, they will ˹excitedly˺ ask ˹the angels˺, “What has your Lord ˹just˺ said?” The angels will reply, “The truth! And He is the Most High, All-Great.”

Ask ˹them, O  Prophet˺, “Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?” Say, “Allah! Now, certainly one of our two groups¹ is ˹rightly˺ guided; the other is clearly astray.”

Say, “You will not be accountable for our misdeeds, nor will we be accountable for your deeds.”

Say, “Our Lord will gather us together, then He will judge between us with the truth. For He is the All-Knowing Judge.”

Say, “Show me those ˹idols˺ you have joined with Him as partners. No! In fact, He ˹alone˺ is Allah—the Almighty, All-Wise.”

We have sent you ˹O Prophet˺ only as a deliverer of good news and a warner to all of humanity, but most people do not know.

And they ask ˹the believers˺, “When will this threat come to pass, if what you say is true?”

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “A Day has ˹already˺ been appointed for you, which you can neither delay nor advance by a ˹single˺ moment.”

The disbelievers vow, “We will never believe in this Quran, nor in those ˹Scriptures˺ before it.” If only you could see when the wrongdoers will be detained before their Lord, throwing blame at each other! The lowly ˹followers˺ will say to the arrogant ˹leaders˺, “Had it not been for you, we would certainly have been believers.”

The arrogant will respond to the lowly, “Did we ever hinder you from guidance after it came to you? In fact, you were wicked ˹on your own˺.”

The lowly will say to the arrogant, “No! It was your plotting by day and night—when you ordered us to disbelieve in Allah and to set up equals with Him.” They will ˹all˺ hide ˹their˺ remorse when they see the torment. And We will put shackles around the necks of the disbelievers. Will they be rewarded except for what they used to do?

Whenever We sent a warner to a society, its elite would say, “We truly reject what you have been sent with.”

Adding, “We are far superior ˹to the believers˺ in wealth and children, and we will never be punished.”

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Surely ˹it is˺ my Lord ˹Who˺ gives abundant or limited provisions to whoever He wills. But most people do not know.”

It is not your wealth or children that bring you closer to Us. But those who believe and do good—it is they who will have a multiplied reward for what they did, and they will be secure in ˹elevated˺ mansions.

As for those who strive to discredit Our revelations, it is they who will be confined in punishment.