Surah An-Naml (The Ant) in English

1. فلما جاء سليمان قال أتمدونن بمال فما آتاني الله خير مما آتاكم بل أنتم بهديتكم تفرحون

   36

   So when he came to Solomon, he said, ‘Are you aiding me with wealth? What Allah has given me is better than what He has given you. Indeed, you are proud of your gift!

   fa-lammā jāʾa sulaymāna qāla ʾa-tumiddūnani bi-mālin fa-mā ʾātāniya llāhu khayrun mimmā ʾātākum bal ʾantum bi-hadiyyatikum tafraḥūna

2. ارجع إليهم فلنأتينهم بجنود لا قبل لهم بها ولنخرجنهم منها أذلة وهم صاغرون

   37

   Go back to them, for we will come at them with hosts which they cannot face, and we will expel them from it, abased and degraded.’

   irjiʿ ʾilayhim fa-la-naʾtiyannahum bi-junūdin lā qibala lahum bihā wa-la-nukhrijannahum minhā ʾadhillatan wa-hum ṣāghirūna

3. قال يا أيها الملأ أيكم يأتيني بعرشها قبل أن يأتوني مسلمين

   38

   He said, ‘O [members of the] elite! Which of you will bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?’

   qāla yā-ʾayyuhā l-malaʾu ʾayyukum yaʾtīnī bi-ʿarshihā qabla ʾan yaʾtūnī muslimīna

4. قال عفريت من الجن أنا آتيك به قبل أن تقوم من مقامك وإني عليه لقوي أمين

   39

   An afreet from among the jinn said, ‘I will bring it to you before you rise from your place. I have the power to do it and am trustworthy.’

   qāla ʿifrītun mina l-jinni ʾana ʾātīka bihī qabla ʾan taqūma min maqāmika wa-ʾinnī ʿalayhi la-qawiyyun ʾamīnun

5. قال الذي عنده علم من الكتاب أنا آتيك به قبل أن يرتد إليك طرفك فلما رآه مستقرا عنده قال هذا من فضل ربي ليبلوني أأشكر أم أكفر ومن شكر فإنما يشكر لنفسه ومن كفر فإن ربي غني كريم

   40

   The one who had knowledge of the Book said, ‘I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye.’ So when he saw it set near him, he said, ‘This is by the grace of my Lord, to test me if I will give thanks or be ungrateful. Whoever gives thanks, gives thanks only for his own sake. And whoever is ungrateful [should know that] my Lord is indeed all-sufficient, all-generous.’

   qāla lladhī ʿindahū ʿilmun mina l-kitābi ʾana ʾātīka bihī qabla ʾan yartadda ʾilayka ṭarfuka fa-lammā raʾāhu mustaqirran ʿindahū qāla hādhā min faḍli rabbī li-yabluwanī ʾa-ʾashkuru ʾam ʾakfuru wa-man shakara fa-ʾinnamā yashkuru li-nafsihī wa-man kafara fa-ʾinna rabbī ghaniyyun karīmun

6. قال نكروا لها عرشها ننظر أتهتدي أم تكون من الذين لا يهتدون

   41

   He said, ‘Disguise her throne for her, so that we may see whether she is discerning or if she is one of the undiscerning ones.’

   qāla nakkirū lahā ʿarshahā nanẓur ʾa-tahtadī ʾam takūnu mina lladhīna lā yahtadūna

7. فلما جاءت قيل أهكذا عرشك قالت كأنه هو وأوتينا العلم من قبلها وكنا مسلمين

   42

   So when she came, it was said [to her], ‘Is your throne like this one?’ She said, ‘It seems to be the same, and we were informed before it, and we had submitted.’

   fa-lammā jāʾat qīla ʾa-hākadhā ʿarshuki qālat ka-ʾannahū huwa wa-ʾūtīnā l-ʿilma min qablihā wa-kunnā muslimīna

8. وصدها ما كانت تعبد من دون الله إنها كانت من قوم كافرين

   43

   She had been barred [from the way of Allah] by what she used to worship besides Allah, for she belonged to a faithless people.

   wa-ṣaddahā mā kānat taʿbudu min dūni llāhi ʾinnahā kānat min qawmin kāfirīna

9. قيل لها ادخلي الصرح فلما رأته حسبته لجة وكشفت عن ساقيها قال إنه صرح ممرد من قوارير قالت رب إني ظلمت نفسي وأسلمت مع سليمان لله رب العالمين

   44

   It was said to her, ‘Enter the palace.’ So when she saw it, she supposed it to be a pool of water, and she bared her shanks. He said, ‘It is a palace paved with crystal.’ She said, ‘My Lord! Indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.’

   qīla lahā dkhulī ṣ-ṣarḥa fa-lammā raʾathu ḥasibathu lujjatan wa-kashafat ʿan sāqayhā qāla ʾinnahū ṣarḥun mumarradun min qawārīra qālat rabbi ʾinnī ẓalamtu nafsī wa-ʾaslamtu maʿa sulaymāna li-llāhi rabbi l-ʿālamīna