Saad

صٓ ۚ وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ذِى ٱلذِّكْرِ 1

{ ص } الله أعلم بمراده به { والقرءان ذى الذكر } أي البيان أو الشرف، وجواب هذا القسم محذوف أي ما الأمر كما قال كفار مكة من تعدد الآلهة.

Sād: God knows best what He means by this [letter]. By the Qur’ān bearing the Remembrance, that is, [bearing] the Pronouncement; or [what is meant is that the Qur’ān is a Book] of renown (the response to this oath has been omitted, in other words: ‘It is not as the Meccan disbelievers say, that there are many gods’).

بَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فِى عِزَّةٍ وَشِقَاقٍ 2

{ بل الذين كفروا } من أهل مكة { فى عزة } حمية وتكبر عن الإيمان { وشقاق } خلاف وعداوة للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Nay, but those who disbelieve, from among the people of Mecca, dwell in conceit, in self-glory and [in] disdain of faith, and defiance, disagreement with, and enmity towards, the Prophet (s).

كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْنٍ فَنَادَوا۟ وَّلَاتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ 3

{ كم } أي كثيرا { أهلكنا من قبلهم من قرن } أي أمة من الأمم الماضية { فنادوا } حين نزول العذاب بهم { ولات حين مناص } أي ليس الحين حين فرار، والتاء زائدة، والجملة حال من فاعل «نادوا» أي استغاثوا والحال أن لا مهرب ولا منجى، وما اعتبر بهم كفار مكة.

How many — in other words, many — a generation, a community of past communities, We have destroyed before them, and they cried out, when the chastisement was sent down on them, when it was no longer the time for escape, that is to say, the time was not one for fleeing (the [suffixed] tā’ [of wa-lāta] is extra; the sentence is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject of [the verb] nādaw, ‘they cried out’) in other words, they called for help but the situation was such that there could be no escape or deliverance; but still the Meccan disbelievers have not taken heed from their example.

وَعَجِبُوٓا۟ أَن جَآءَهُم مُّنذِرٌ مِّنْهُمْ ۖ وَقَالَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ هَـٰذَا سَـٰحِرٌ كَذَّابٌ 4

{ وعجبوا أن جآءهم منذر منهم } رسول من أنفسهم ينذرهم ويخوفهم النار بعد البعث وهو النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم { وقال الكفرون } فيه وضع الظاهر موضع المضمر { هذا سحر كذاب }.

And they marvel that a warner has come to them from among themselves, a messenger from among their number, to warn them and to threaten them with [the punishment of] the Fire after resurrection — and this [warner] is the Prophet (s). And those who disbelieve (the overt noun [al-kāfirūnā] has replaced the [third person] pronominalisation) say, ‘This is a sorcerer, a liar.

أَجَعَلَ ٱلْـَٔالِهَةَ إِلَـٰهًا وَٰحِدًا ۖ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَشَىْءٌ عُجَابٌ 5

{ أجعل الألهة إلها وحدا } حيث قال لهم قولوا (لا إله إلا الله) أي كيف يسع الخلق كلهم إله واحد { إن هذا لشىء عجاب } أي عجيب.

Has he made the gods One God? — for he had said to them, ‘Say: there is no god except God’ — in other words [they objected]: how could one god suffice for all of creation? Lo! that is indeed a curious thing’.

وَٱنطَلَقَ ٱلْمَلَأُ مِنْهُمْ أَنِ ٱمْشُوا۟ وَٱصْبِرُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ ءَالِهَتِكُمْ ۖ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَشَىْءٌ يُرَادُ 6

{ وانطلق الملأ منهم } من مجلس اجتماعهم عند أبي طالب وسماعهم فيه من النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قولوا: لا إله إلا الله { أن امشوا } أي يقول بعضهم لبعض: امشوا { واصبروا على ءالهتكم } اثبتوا على عبادتها { إن هذا } المذكور من التوحيد { لشىء يراد } منا.

And the council from among them go about, from the place of their assembly at the house of Abū Tālib and [the place] where they heard the Prophet (s) say, ‘Say: there is no god except God’, saying, ‘Go!, they say to one another, go, and stand by your gods, adhere firmly to worship of them; lo! this, that has been mentioned concerning the Oneness of God, is indeed a thing sought, from us.

مَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَـٰذَا فِى ٱلْمِلَّةِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا ٱخْتِلَـٰقٌ 7

{ ما سمعنا بهذا فى الملة الأخرة } أي ملة عيسى { إن } ما { هذآ إلا اختلاق } كذب.

We never heard of this in the latter-day creed, namely, the creed of Jesus. This is surely [nothing] but an invention, [mere] lies.

أَءُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ ٱلذِّكْرُ مِنۢ بَيْنِنَا ۚ بَلْ هُمْ فِى شَكٍّ مِّن ذِكْرِى ۖ بَل لَّمَّا يَذُوقُوا۟ عَذَابِ 8

{ أءنزل } بتحقيق الهمزتين وتسهيل الثانية وإدخال ألف بينهما على الوجهين وتركه { عليه } على محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم { الذكر } القرآن { من بيننا } وليس بأكبرنا ولا أشرفنا؟ أي لم ينزل عليه؟ قال تعالى { بل هم فى شك من ذكرى } وحيي: أي القرآن، حيث كذبوا الجائي به { بل لما } لم { يذوقوا عذاب } ولو ذاقوه لصدقوا النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فيما جاء به ولا ينفعهم التصديق حينئذ.

Has the Remembrance, the Qur’ān, been revealed to him, Muhammad (s), out of [all of] us’, when he is neither the elder nor the noblest among us? In other words, it could not have been revealed to him (read a-unzila pronouncing both hamzas, or not pronouncing the second one, but in both cases inserting an intervening alif or without [this insertion]). God, exalted be He, says: Nay, but they are in doubt concerning My Remembrance, My revelation, that is, the Qur’ān, for they deny the one who has brought it. Nay, but they have not yet tasted My chastisement, and if they were to taste it, they would certainly believe the Prophet (s) in what he has brought — but then [in such a case] their belief [in the Prophet] would be of no benefit to them.

أَمْ عِندَهُمْ خَزَآئِنُ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّكَ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْوَهَّابِ 9

{ أم عندهم خزآئن رحمة ربك العزيز } الغالب { الوهاب } من النبوة وغيرها فيعطونها من شاؤوا.

Or do they possess the treasuries of your Lord’s mercy, the Mighty, the Victor, the Bestower?, [treasuries] such as prophethood and otherwise, so that they might give it to whomever they want?

أَمْ لَهُم مُّلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ۖ فَلْيَرْتَقُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَسْبَـٰبِ 10

{ أم لهم ملك السموات والأرض وما بينهما } إن زعموا ذلك { فليرتقوا فى الأسباب } الموصلة إلى السماء فيأتوا بالوحي فيخصوا به من شاؤوا. وأم في الموضعين بمعنى همزة الإنكار.

Or do they possess the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them? If this is what they claim: Then let them ascend by the means, [of ascension] that lead to the heaven and bring [down] some revelation (wahy) and then assign it exclusively to whomever they wish (am in both verses represents the [rhetorical] hamza of denial).

جُندٌ مَّا هُنَالِكَ مَهْزُومٌ مِّنَ ٱلْأَحْزَابِ 11

{ جند ما } أي جندهم حقير جند { هنالك } أي في تكذيبهم لك { مهزوم } صفة جند» { من الاحزاب } صفة «جند» أيضا: أي كالأجناد من جنس الأحزاب المتحزبين على الأنبياء قبلك، وأولئك قد قهروا وأهلكوا، فكذا نهلك هؤلاء.

A routed (mahzūmun is an adjectival qualification of jundun, ‘host’) host [is all that they are], in other words, they are [nothing but] a despicable host, nothing more — in their denial of you — from among the factions (mina’l-ahzābi, also an adjectival qualification of jundun) in other words, [they are] like those hosts of factions who were in confederation against prophets before you: these were defeated and destroyed, and likewise We shall destroy these [people].

كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَعَادٌ وَفِرْعَوْنُ ذُو ٱلْأَوْتَادِ 12

{ كذبت قبلهم قوم نوح } تأنيث قوم باعتبار المعنى { وعاد وفرعون ذو الأوتاد } كان يتد لكل من يغضب عليه أربعة أوتاد يشد إليها يديه ورجليه ويعذبه.

Before them the people of Noah denied (the inflection of [the verb kadhdabat, ‘denied’, that is governed by] qawmu, ‘people’, is in the feminine person because of the [implicit] sense), and [so did those of] ‘Ād and Pharaoh, he of the stakes — he used to fix four stakes for the person who incurred his wrath and tie to these [stakes] that person’s hands and feet and then torture him —