Surah An-Naml 27:45-58 - Quran Translation Commentary

(27:46) He said, ‘O my people! Why do you seek to hasten on the evil before good?⁶⁸ If only you sought Allah’s forgiveness; haply so you may be shown mercy.’

(27:47) They said, ‘We augur ill omen of you and those that are with you.’⁶⁹ He said, ‘Your ill omen is with Allah.⁷⁰ But rather you are a people who will be tested.’⁷¹

(27:48) And in the city there was a group of nine⁷² who spread corruption all over the land⁷³ and would not reform.⁷⁴

(27:49) They said, ‘Swear to each other by Allah that we shall attack him and his family by night and then say to his heir, ‘We did not witness the destruction of his family and that we are truthful.’⁷⁵

(27:50) Thus they plotted a plot and We plotted a plot, but they perceived not.

(27:51) See then how was the end of their plot - that We destroyed them and their nation, all together.

(27:52) Yonder there are their homes in ruin,⁷⁶ because they (indulged in) wrongdoing. Surely, in that is a sign for a people who know.

(27:53) And We delivered those who believed and were fearful (of Allah).

(27:54) And Lut, when he said to his people, ‘Do you commit the indecent while you are seeing?⁷⁷

(27:55) What, do you approach men lustfully rather than women? Nay, but you are a people behaving ignorantly.’⁷⁸

(27:56) His people had no answer except to say, ‘Drive out Lut’s family from your town. They are indeed men who make themselves out to be pure.’⁷⁹

(27:57) His people had no answer except to say, ‘Drive out Lut’s family from your town. They are indeed men who make themselves out to be pure.’

(27:58) And We rained down on them a rain. So evil was the rain for those who were warned.⁸⁰

Commentary

65. The story of Bilqis – of the south – that portrayed her humbleness before the truth and submission to it when it dawned upon her, is now contrasted with two stiff-necked nations of the north (with a point from Asad).

66. “Saleh’s mission is summarized at this point in a few words. This is the message that has been the central part of any message that was ever sent down from the heavens to the earth: a single message, sent to every nation, in every epoch, and through every Messenger. This, despite the fact that everything that there is around man in this universe, and everything that their selves conceal within themselves, cries loudly this, one reality. Humanity has moved on, generations after generations, through epochs after epochs, encountering this reality, but has been rejecting it, denying it, if not sometimes mocking it. It remains evading this eternal truth to this day, inclined to any other path, except the path of its Lord, One God” (Sayyid).

67. That is, Mujahid said, they divided themselves into believers and unbelievers (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

68. That is, Mujahid said, ‘Why do you ask chastisement to be brought down instead of seeking Allah’s mercy?’ (Ibn Jarir).

Zamakhshari explains what it means to ask for evil before good. Saleh’s people used to say, in their ignorance, that ‘we shall repent to God if the chastisement that Saleh promises comes to pass. We shall seek forgiveness as it arrives and shall be forgiven.’ They assumed that repentance at such a time would ward off the punishment. They also thought that, ‘if the chastisement does not come, we shall remain on what we are.’ So, Saleh spoke to them following their suppositions and ended by suggesting that they should seek forgiveness before evil comes: “haply you will be shown mercy.”

69. That is, “Your luck, your future, and your destiny” are all in Allah’s hands” (Sayyid).

It seems that any problem or calamity Saleh’s people faced after his advent, was attributed to him and his mission. He became to them a symbol of bad omen (Au.).

For explanation of “tiyarah” see al-A`raf, n. 180-1##82. Sayyid adds here, “To this day we can observe among such people as who reject belief in Allah and refuse to place their trust in Him, falling into the same foolish error, despite their advancement in every discipline of knowledge. You will see them drawing ill omen from number 13, or from a black cat cutting across their path, and so on.”

70. Saleh’s people alleged that the troubles that they faced in life, or were likely to face, were because of him and his followers. He reminded them that their real troubles were with Allah. Chastisement could descend upon them if they did not mend their ways (Au.).

71. The words, “But rather you are a people being tested” could also mean, writes Zamakhshari, that seeking of omen are of those acts by means of which Satan puts them to troubles and tribulations.

72. Raht is for a group of men numbering between three and ten (Zamakhshari) without a woman in it (Jawhari).

73. That is, their corruption was not limited to their own land Hijr, but spilled beyond it into other lands (Alusi).

Apart from other things, one of their corrupt practices was to chip off silver and gold from Dirham and Dinar coins (Qurtubi), which our own Prophet has also prohibited (Ibn Kathir).

74. That is, totally corrupt, without any good coming out of them, in contrast to those who are less corrupt through whom some good works flow out at some time or the other (Zamakhshari).

75. Ibn `Abbas said that thes allusion is to the nine who later hamstrung the camel. According to a report in Ibn abi Hatim, when they were promised chastisement within three days, they said they’d rather finish off Saleh before the expiry of the time promised. But, as they arrived to attack him by night, they were overtaken by Allah’s chastisement and they all lay dead. By morning their nation too was destroyed (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

76. “Yonder there” because, when the Makkans traveled to the Syrian regions, they passed by Wadi al-Qura’ which has the remains of their habitations (Shabbir).

77. That is, you can see with the inner eye that these practices are abominable (Kashshaf). They could also see with their physical eyes that propagation of every biological species depends on the male going into the female. Could they see any practice among any biological organism contrary to this? Weren’t they the only pervert exception? (Sayyid)

As these lines are being written – April 2004 – the situation in the West is that due to homosexual practices and pedophilic activities spreading wide and deep in the society, marriage between homosexuals (both between male and male, as well as between female and female) has been legalized in the United Stated of America. Across the continent, in Britain, the dominant Christian sect is allowing homosexuals to enter into priesthood (Au.).

78. Jahalah is not merely ignorance, but rather, in the extreme sense, a state of mind that reflects the qualities of ‘knowing very well but refusing to acknowledge,’ ‘deliberately acting against what is right,’ combined with intransigence, argumentativeness, insolence, and total disregard for people’s censure (Au.).

79. It was a derisive, sarcastic statement.

80. Shah `Abdul Qadir commented on the three episodes here: Sulayman had promised that he would bring a force which they would not be able to resist. This came true for our own Prophet, who brought a force to Makkah that the unbelievers could not resist. The gang of nine promised each other that they would attack Saleh by night; but he was rescued by Allah. Similarly, the Quraysh surrounded the Prophet’s house by night in an attempt to do away with him by morning. But Allah (swt) rescued His Messenger. And Lut’s people threatened him with expulsion, but instead, he was ordered to leave, after which they met with their destruction. Similarly, the Makkans had threatened the Prophet (saws) with expulsion. But he left the place on his own (and their chiefs were destroyed at Badr: Au.) – Shabbir.