Sūrah Sabā

Worthy of gratitude is the God to Whom belongs everything in the heavens and the earth. And gratitude will be expressed to Him in the Hereafter also and He alone is All-Wise, All-Knowing. Whatever enters the earth and whatever comes out of it and whatever descends from the sky and whatever ascends in it, He knows about it and He alone is Forgiving and Merciful.

[Your] disbelievers say: “The Day of Judgement is not coming to us.” Say: Why not! By my Lord! Who knows every unknown, it shall definitely come upon you. Not the slightest of things is hidden from Him neither in the heavens nor in the earth neither smaller than a particle nor bigger. In fact, it has been written in an open book. So that He reward those who have embraced faith and have done righteous deeds. It is they for whom there is forgiveness and a sustenance of honour. And those who are busy trying to overwhelm Our revelations, it is they for whom there is an utterly painful torment.

On the other hand, those who are endowed with knowledge think what has been revealed to you from your Lord is the very truth, and it shows the way towards the most powerful and praiseworthy God.

Its disbelievers, however, [make fun of you and] say: “[People!] Should we inform you of a person who tells you that when you are reduced to bits, you will be raised to life again? Has he ascribed falsehood to God or has he gone mad?” Certainly not! In fact, those who do not have conviction in the Hereafter, it is they who are in torment and have strayed far in error.

So, have they not seen the heavens and the earth before and behind them? If We intend, We can thrust them in this earth or drop on them parts of the heavens. In reality, there is a great sign in this for everyone who has insight.

[Servants of God! Precisely these signs are also in the anecdotes that We are narrating to you.] We had blessed David with a special favour from Ourselves. We had directed: “Mountains! You also bring yourself in harmony with him.” And this same directive We had given to the birds also. We had softened iron for him: “Make full and broad loosely fitted coats of mail and give due consideration to proportion in making them and do good deeds all of you. There is no doubt that I am observing whatever you do.”

In a similar way, We subdued the wind for Solomon. The going of the wind [taking along his ships] would be of one month also and the return too would be of one month. And We made a spring of molten brass to flow for him and had also subdued the jinn who would work in front of him at the behest of his Lord and had said: “He among them who shows disobedience to Our directive, We shall make him taste the flavour of Fire. They would make for him whatever he wanted from among arches, statues, basins as large as watering-troughs, and gigantic cauldrons stationed on hearths – “Continue to be grateful [to your Lord]! Family of David.” In reality, few among My servants are grateful.

[It is these jinn who you associate with God thinking that they have knowledge of the Unseen. They remained in the servitude of Solomon.] Then when We implemented on him the decision of death, it was only a worm of the earth that was eating away his staff which informed them of his death. Thus when Solomon fell down, it was only then that the reality of the jinn became evident to themselves too that if they had knowledge of the Unseen, they would not have remained trapped in this humiliating torment.

[People of the Quraysh! Sabā also behaved in the same way as you, even though] for the people of Sabā there was a great sign in their very place of dwelling. Two rows of orchards on the left and right. [All this from its very existence was declaring:] “Eat the sustenance of your Lord and be grateful to Him. The land fertile and lush and the Lord forgiving.” Even then, they showed defiance; so, ultimately We sent on them the flood of the dam and changed their orchards into two such orchards in which there were insipid fruits and shrub trees and some bushes of lote. This is the return We gave them of their ingratitude and We give such a return to ingrates only.

Between them and the cities that We had blessed, We populated roadside settlements and in them measured out intervals of travel [for them]: “Travel in them day and night without any fear.” [But the attitude they adopted was as if] they said [from their existence:] “Lord! Distance [us] far from our destinations.” And in this way they were unjust to themselves; so, ultimately We made them a tale of the ancients and totally routed them. Surely, there are signs in it for every steadfast, thankful person.¹

Undoubtedly, Satan made his thought about them come true. So, they followed him except for a small group of believers. In reality, Satan had no authority over them. We gave this respite to him only to make distinct those who believe in the Hereafter from those who are inflicted by a doubt from it. And your Lord [O Prophet] is a guardian over everything.

Tell them: Call those who you regard as deities besides God. They neither have the slightest authority in the heavens nor in the earth. They neither have any share in creating both of these nor is any of them of any help to God [in governing this universe]. No intercession is of any benefit before Him except that He Himself allows someone. Until when on the Day of Judgement anxiety is banished from their hearts, these very deities of yours will ask one another: “What has your Lord commanded?” They will reply: “He has said the truth and He is Exalted, very Majestic.”²

Ask them: Who provides you with sustenance from the heavens and the earth? Say: God. Now, whether among us and you, someone is guided or in open error [this decision lies with God]. Tell them: Neither will you be accountable for any of our wrongdoings nor will we be asked for what you are doing. Say: Our Lord will gather all of us [one day] in His court; then will judge between us with absolute justice. It is He Who is the greatest of judges and has knowledge of everything.

Tell them: Just show me the partners you have associated with God. Certainly not! In fact, God alone is Powerful and Wise.

[If they do not listen, We shall make others Our addressees.] We have [O Prophet] only sent you as a deliverer of glad tidings and warnings to all mankind, but [alas] most people do not know. They say: “If you are truthful, when will this promise of torment [you are threatening us with] be fulfilled?” Tell them: A time for you has been appointed for a day in which neither will you hold back for a moment nor go forward.

These disbelievers say: “We shall neither believe in this Qur’ān nor what it is informing of regarding the future.” And if only you could have seen when these wrongdoers would stand before their Lord such that one will be blaming the other; then you would have seen the fate they have reached. Those who had been suppressed will at that time say to their arrogant: “But for you people, [the truth had become so apparent after the advent of the messenger that] we would have embraced faith.” In reply, the arrogant will say to the suppressed: “Did we stop you from guidance after it had come to you? Certainly not! In fact you yourselves are wrongdoers.” The suppressed will reply to the arrogant: “In fact, it was your day and night plotting which has brought [us] here, when you would try to convince us that we disbelieve in God and associate partners with Him.” [Then] when they see the torment with their eyes, they will feel remorse in their hearts. [But what benefit would remorse be to them at that time!] We shall put yokes in the necks of these disbelievers. They will get the same return that they had been doing.

[This is not a new thing, O Prophet!] In whichever settlement We have sent a warner, its affluent have always said: “We shall not believe in what you have been sent with.” And said: “We have more wealth and children than yours and also no torment is going to visit us.” Tell them: In reality, it is my Lord Who gives abundantly to whomsoever He intends and sparingly to whomsoever He intends, but most people do not know. [Servants of God!] Your wealth and your children are not things that can make you Our near ones. However, those who accepted faith and did righteous deeds, it is they for whom there is a manifold reward for their deeds and they will sit in contentment in high mansions.

And, in order to overpower, those who are striving to negate Our revelations, they shall be made to enter the torment while being seized.

Say: It is my Lord alone Who gives abundantly to whomsoever He wishes among His servants and sparingly to whomsoever He desires. He will reward you for whatever you spend in His cause and He is the best of providers.

Keep that day in mind when He will gather everyone; then will ask the angels: “Have these people in fact been worshipping you?” They will reply: “Glory be to you. You alone are our guardian instead of them. They in fact had not been worshipping us but the jinn. Most of them had professed faith in them.”

So, [you have seen that] today none of you can benefit or harm one another. We shall tell these wrongdoers: “Taste now the flavour of this fire which you have been denying.”

[Alas!] when Our clear revelations are recited out to them, they say: “He is merely a mortal who wants to stop you from things your forefathers have been worshipping.” And say: “This Qur’ān is only a fabricated falsehood.” [Certainly not! It is the absolute truth] and these disbelievers said about this truth when it came to them: “This is plain magic.” We had not given them books which they read [the way We gave to the Israelites] nor did We send to them any warner before you. [Alas! Even then, they are not giving it due regard.]

Those before them also had similarly denied and they have not even reached a tenth of what We had blessed them with. But when they denied My messengers, observe how was My curse!

Tell them: I counsel you to one thing: For the sake of God! Get up in pairs and singly; then reflect. In reality, your companion has not gone mad. He is only a warner to you before a great torment. Tell them: If I have asked you for a reward, it is only for you. My reward is with God and He is a witness to everything.

Tell them: My Lord shall certainly strike evil by the truth. He is aware of all secrets. Say: Truth has come and evil has vanished and [it had to vanish]. In reality, evil neither begins nor repeats.

Say: If I am in error, its evil consequence shall come to me alone and if I am guided, it is because of the revelation my Lord is sending to Me. [Whatever I have to say now, I shall say it to Him only.] Undoubtedly, He listens and is also near.

If you were able to see, [you would have seen their helplessness, O Prophet] when they will worriedly walk about. Then they will not be able to run anywhere; in fact, they will be seized from nearby. At that time, they will cry out: “We have professed faith in that who We were demanded to profess faith in.” But how will they get hold

of that faith from that far! They have denied it earlier and have been confuting it from afar. A wall will come between them and their desires, the way it came earlier with those similar to them. This is because they too remained similarly afflicted with a perplexing doubt.