Surah Al-'Anbyā (The Prophets) in English

1. وكم قصمنا من قرية كانت ظالمة وأنشأنا بعدها قوما آخرين

   11

   How many a town We have smashed that had been wrongdoing, and We brought forth another people after it.

   wa-kam qaṣamnā min qaryatin kānat ẓālimatan wa-ʾanshaʾnā baʿdahā qawman ʾākharīna

2. فلما أحسوا بأسنا إذا هم منها يركضون

   12

   So when they sighted Our punishment, behold, they ran away from it.

   fa-lammā ʾaḥassū baʾsanā ʾidhā hum minhā yarkuḍūna

3. لا تركضوا وارجعوا إلى ما أترفتم فيه ومساكنكم لعلكم تسألون

   13

   ‘Do not run away! Return to the opulence you were given to enjoy and to your dwellings so that you may be questioned!’

   lā tarkuḍū wa-rjiʿū ʾilā mā ʾutriftum fīhi wa-masākinikum laʿallakum tusʾalūna

4. قالوا يا ويلنا إنا كنا ظالمين

   14

   They said, ‘Woe to us! We have indeed been wrongdoers!’

   qālū yā-waylanā ʾinnā kunnā ẓālimīna

5. فما زالت تلك دعواهم حتى جعلناهم حصيدا خامدين

   15

   That remained their cry until We turned them into a mown field, stilled [like burnt ashes].

   fa-mā zālat tilka daʿwāhum ḥattā jaʿalnāhum ḥaṣīdan khāmidīna

6. وما خلقنا السماء والأرض وما بينهما لاعبين

   16

   We did not create the sky and the earth and whatever is between them for play.

   wa-mā khalaqnā s-samāʾa wa-l-ʾarḍa wa-mā baynahumā lāʿibīna

7. لو أردنا أن نتخذ لهوا لاتخذناه من لدنا إن كنا فاعلين

   17

   Had We desired to take up some diversion We would have taken it up with Ourselves, were We to do [so].

   law ʾaradnā ʾan nattakhidha lahwan la-ttakhadhnāhu min ladunnā ʾin kunnā fāʿilīna

8. بل نقذف بالحق على الباطل فيدمغه فإذا هو زاهق ولكم الويل مما تصفون

   18

   Indeed, We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes its head, and behold, falsehood vanishes! And woe to you for what you allege [about Allah].

   bal naqdhifu bi-l-ḥaqqi ʿalā l-bāṭili fa-yadmaghuhū fa-ʾidhā huwa zāhiqun wa-lakumu l-waylu mimmā taṣifūna

9. وله من في السماوات والأرض ومن عنده لا يستكبرون عن عبادته ولا يستحسرون

   19

   To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and those who are near Him do not disdain to worship Him, nor do they become weary.

   wa-lahū man fī s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi wa-man ʿindahū lā yastakbirūna ʿan ʿibādatihī wa-lā yastaḥsirūna

10. يسبحون الليل والنهار لا يفترون

    20

    They glorify [Him] night and day, and they do not flag.

    yusabbiḥūna l-layla wa-n-nahāra lā yafturūna

11. أم اتخذوا آلهة من الأرض هم ينشرون

    21

    Have they taken gods from the earth who raise [the dead]?

    ʾami ttakhadhū ʾālihatan mina l-ʾarḍi hum yunshirūna

12. لو كان فيهما آلهة إلا الله لفسدتا فسبحان الله رب العرش عما يصفون

    22

    Had there been any gods in them other than Allah, they would surely have fallen apart. Clear is Allah, the Lord of the Throne, of what they allege [concerning Him].

    law kāna fīhimā ʾālihatun ʾillā llāhu la-fasadatā fa-subḥāna llāhi rabbi l-ʿarshi ʿammā yaṣifūna

13. لا يسأل عما يفعل وهم يسألون

    23

    He is not questioned concerning what He does, but they are questioned.

    lā yusʾalu ʿammā yafʿalu wa-hum yusʾalūna

14. أم اتخذوا من دونه آلهة قل هاتوا برهانكم هذا ذكر من معي وذكر من قبلي بل أكثرهم لا يعلمون الحق فهم معرضون

    24

    Have they taken gods besides Him? Say, ‘Produce your evidence! This is a precept of those who are with me, and a precept of those [who went] before me.’ But most of them do not know the truth, and so they are disregardful.

    ʾami ttakhadhū min dūnihī ʾālihatan qul hātū burhānakum hādhā dhikru man maʿiya wa-dhikru man qablī bal ʾaktharuhum lā yaʿlamūna l-ḥaqqa fa-hum muʿriḍūna