Surah 14. Ibrahim

with hell awaiting him;²¹ and he shall be made to drink of the water of most bitter distress,²²

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "[with] hell beyond him", i.e., as his destiny. For my rendering of jabbar, in this context, as "enemy of the truth", see the first part of note [58] on 26:130 .

The word sadid is an infinitive noun of sadda, which in its primary meaning denotes "he turned away" or "was averse [from something]"; also - as noted in the Qamus and the Asas - "he cried out loudly" (i.e., by reason of his aversion to something). Since sadid signifies anything that is repulsive, it is also used tropically to describe the pus that flows from wounds or the viscous liquid that oozes from corpses. In his commentary on this verse, Razi suggests that the expression ma' sadid is here purely metaphorical, and should be understood as "water like [what is described as] sadid". It is in pursuance of this interpretation that I have rendered the above expression as "waters of most bitter distress" - a metaphor of the boundless suffering and bitter frustration which, in the life to come, awaits those who during their life in this world were bent on denying all spiritual truths. (Cf. the expression sharab min hamim -rendered by me as "a draught of burning despair" - occurring in several places and elucidated in note [62] on 6:70 .)

Hell is next for him wherein he will be given festering water to drink;

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Awaiting them is Hell, and they will be left to drink oozing pus,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Hell is before him, and he is made to drink a festering water,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

In front of such a one is Hell and he is given for drink boiling fetid water.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

gulping it [unceasingly,] little by little, and yet hardly able to swallow it.²³ And death will beset him from every quarter - but he shall not die: for [yet more] severe suffering lies ahead of him.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., to reconcile himself to this suffering.

he will sip, but never will be able to swallow. Death will surround him from all sides, yet he will not die; beyond that there will be horrible punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

which they will sip with difficulty, and can hardly swallow. Death will overwhelm them from every side, yet they will not 'be able to' die. Awaiting them still is harsher torment.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Which he sippeth but can hardly swallow, and death cometh unto him from every side while yet he cannot die, and before him is a harsh doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

In gulps will he sip it but never well he be near swallowing it down his throat: Death will come to him from every quarter yet will he not die: and in front of him will be a chastisement unrelenting. ¹⁸⁹¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

A graphic and deterrent picture, from the preaching of the earlier Prophets, of unrelieved horror of the torments of Hell. The door of escape by annihilation is also closed to them.

[This, then, is] the parable of those who are bent on denying their Sustainer: all their works²⁴ are as ashes which the wind blows about fiercely on a stormy day: [in the life to come,] they cannot achieve any benefit whatever from all [the good] that they may have wrought: for this [denial of God] is indeed the farthest one can go astray.²⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., even the good ones (Razi).

Lit., "this, this is the straying far-away". The definite article in the expression ad-dalal al-ba'id, preceded by the pronouns dhalika huwa, is meant to stress the extreme degree of this "straying far-away" or "going astray": a construction that can be rendered in English only by a paraphrase, as above. It is to be noted that this phrase occurs in the Qur'an only twice - namely, in the above passage and in 22:12 - and refers in both cases to a denial, conscious or implied, of God's oneness and uniqueness.

The parable of the deeds of those who deny their Rabb is that their deeds are like ashes which the wind scatters on a stormy day; they will gain nothing from their deeds, and this is to stray far away from the goal of getting back to Paradise.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The parable of the deeds of those who disbelieve in their Lord is that of ashes fiercely blown away by wind on a stormy day. They will gain nothing from what they have earned. That is 'truly' the farthest one can stray.

  - Mustafa Khattab

A similitude of those who disbelieve in their Lord: Their works are as ashes which the wind bloweth hard upon a stormy day. They have no control of aught that they have earned. That is the extreme failure.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

The parable of those who reject their Lord is that their works are as ashes on which the wind blows furiously on a tempestuous day: No power have they over aught that they have earned: That is the straying far far (from the goal). ¹⁸⁹²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Note the fullness of the parable. The works of the ungodly are in themselves light and unsubstantial like ashes; they are the useless rubbish that remains out of the faculties and opportunities which they have misused by burning them up. Further, the ashes are blown about hither and thither by the wind: the ungodly have no compass, direction, or purpose that can stand. The wind, too, which blows on them is no ordinary wind, nor the day on which they seek to enjoy the fruits of their labours an ordinary tranquil day: a furious gale is blowing, for such is the Wrath of Allah. They have neither internal peace nor external gain. In the scattering of the ashes they lose control even of such things as they might have earned but for their misdeeds. Their whole nature is contaminated. All their wishes go astray. They are carried so far, far away from what was in their minds. What did they aim at, and what did they achieve?

ART THOU NOT aware that God has created the heavens and the earth in accordance with [an inner] truth?²⁶ He can, if He so wills, do away with you and bring forth a new mankind [in your stead]:²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [11] on 10:5 .

Lit., "bring forth a new creation" or "new people", for it should be remembered that the term khalq denotes not merely "creation" or "act of creation" but also "people" or "mankind", which seems to be its meaning here (Ibn 'Abbas, as quoted by Razi).

Do you not see that Allah has based the creation of the heavens and the earth on Truth? That He can destroy you if He wills and bring into being a new creation?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have you not seen that Allah created the heavens and the earth for a reason? If He wills, He can eliminate you and produce a new creation.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Hast thou not seen that Allah hath created the heavens and the earth with truth? If He will, He can remove you and bring (in) some new creation.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Seest thou not that Allah created the Heavens and the earth in Truth? If He so will He can remove you and put (in your place) a new Creation? ¹⁸⁹³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Haqq: Truth, Right, Righteousness, True proportions, Reality. Allah's creation is not to be trifled with. It is built on righteousness, and those who do not obey its laws must give place to others who do. This warning is repeated again and again in history and in revelation. Cf. vi. 73.

nor is this difficult for God.

  - Mohammad Asad

That is not at all difficult for Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And that is not difficult for Allah 'at all'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And that is no great matter for Allah.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Nor is that for Allah any great matter. ¹⁸⁹⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

'Aziz: great, mighty, excellent, powerful, rare, precious.

And all [mankind] will appear before God [on the Day of Judement]; and then the weak²⁸ will say unto those who had gloried in their arrogance: "Behold, We were but your followers: can you, then, relieve us of something of God's chastisement?" [And the others] will answer: "If God would but show us the way [to salvation], we would indeed guide you [towards it].²⁹ It is [now] all one, as far as we are concerned, whether we grieve impatiently or endure [our lot] with patience: there is no escape for us!"

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., those who had sinned out of moral weakness and self-indulgence, relying on the supposedly superior wisdom of the so-called "leaders of thought", who are described in the sequence as having "gloried in their arrogance" (astakbaru) inasmuch as they refused to pay heed to God's messages (Tabari, on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas).

Sc., "but now it is too late for repentance". According to Tabari and Razi, this is the meaning of the above passage. Zamakhshari, however, prefers another interpretation, implying a reference not to the present but to the past, thus: "If God had guided us aright, we would have guided you [too] aright": in other words, he understands the phrase as an attempt on the part of the doomed to divest themselves of all responsibility, and to attribute their past sinning to God's "not having willed" to guide them aright. To my mind, the interpretation offered by Tabari and Razi is preferable because - all other considerations apart - it provides a logical connection between the request of "the weak" (see preceding note) and the reply of those who in their earthly life had "gloried in their arrogance", as well as with the latters' subsequent, despairing utterance, which can be summed up in the words, "too late!"

When all people appear before Allah, those who were weak in the world will say to those who thought themselves mighty: "We were your followers. Now! Can you do anything to relieve us from the punishment of Allah?" They will reply: "Had Allah given us guidance, we would have guided you. Now it makes no difference whether we panic or bear it with patience, for there is no escape for us."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They will all appear before Allah, and the lowly 'followers' will appeal to the arrogant 'leaders', 'We were your 'dedicated' followers, so will you 'then' protect us from Allah's torment in any way?' They will reply, 'Had Allah guided us, we would have guided you. 'Now' it is all the same for us whether we suffer patiently or impatiently, there is no escape for us.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

They all come forth unto their Lord. Then those who were despised say unto those who were scornful: We were unto you a following, can ye then avert from us aught of Allah's doom? They say: Had Allah guided us, we should have guided you. Whether we rage or patiently endure is (now) all one for us: we have no place of refuge.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They will all be marshalled before Allah together: then will the weak say to those who were arrogant "For us we but followed you; can ye then avail us at all against the wrath of Allah?" They will reply "If we had received the guidance of Allah we should have given it to you: to us it makes no difference (now) whether we rage or bear (these torments) with patience: for ourselves there is no way of escape." ^{1895 1896}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

When the time for judgment comes, there are two kinds of disillusionment waiting for the ungodly: (1) Those who were misled and failed to see that each soul bears its own personal responsibility (ii. 134) and cannot shift it on to others, will turn to those who misled them, in the hope that they might intercede for them or do something to help them. They receive a plain answer as in the latter part of this verse. (2) Those who relied on Satan, His answer (in xiv. 22 below) is frank, cynical and brutal.

Those whose power or specious intelligence or influence misled them-such as false priests or leaders-will find themselves in a parlous state. How can they help others? They themselves failed to profit from Allah's guidance, and they can with some justice retort that they put them in the wrong path as they followed it themselves!

And when everything will have been decided, Satan will say: "Behold, God promised you something that was bound to come true!³⁰ I, too, held out [all manner of] promises to you - but I deceived you. Yet I had no power at all over you: I but called you - and you responded unto me. Hence, blame not me, but blame yourselves.³¹ It is not for me to respond to your cries, nor for you to respond to mine:³² for, behold, I have [always] refused to admit that there was any truth in your erstwhile belief that I had a share in God's divinity."³³ Verily, for all evildoers³⁴ there is grievous suffering in store.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "God promised you a promise of truth" - i.e., the promise of resurrection and last judgment.

In his commentary on this passage, Razi remarks: "This verse shows that the real Satan (ash-shaytan al-asli) is [man's own] complex of desires (an-nafs): for, Satan makes it clear [in the above] that it was only by means of insinuations (waswasah) that he was able to reach [the sinner's soul]; and had it not been for an already-existing [evil] disposition due to lusts, anger, superstition or fanciful ideas, these [satanic] insinuations would have had no effect whatsoever."

I.e., "I cannot respond to your call for help, just as you should not have, in your lifetime, responded to my call." The above sentence is often interpreted in another sense, namely, "I cannot succour you, just as you cannot succour me". However, in view of Satan's allegorical reference - in the preceding passages as well as in the next sentence - to the sinners' earthly past, the rendering adopted by me seems to be more suitable; moreover, it is closer to the primary meaning of the verb sarakha ("he cried out"), from which the form musrikh ("one who responds to a cry") is derived (Jawhari).

This is, to my mind, the meaning of the highly elliptical phrase kafartu bi-ma ashraktumuni min qabl, which could be literally - but most inadequately - translated thus: "I have refused to admit the truth of that whereby you associated me aforetime [with God]." The implication is that Satan, while endeavouring to lead men astray, never claims to be God's "equal" (cf. 7:20 , where he speaks of God, to Adam and Eve, as "your Sustainer", or 15:36 and {39}, where he addresses Him as "my Sustainer", or 8:48 and 59:16 , where he says, "behold, I fear God") but, rather, tries to make men's sinful doings "seem goodly to them" (cf. 6:43 , 8:48 , 16:63 , 27:24 , 29:38 ), i.e., persuades them that it is morally justifiable to follow one's fancies and selfish desires without any restraint. But while Satan himself does not make any claim to equality with God, the sinner who submits to Satan's blandishments attributes to him thereby, as it were, "a share in God's divinity". - It must be stressed, in this connection, that the Qur'anic expression shaytan is often used as a metaphor for every human impulse that is intrinsically immoral and, therefore, contrary to man's best - i.e., spiritual - interests.

I.e., all those who had consciously - either from intellectual arrogance or from moral weakness - responded to "Satan's call".

Once the matter has been decided, Shaitan will say: "In fact, the promises which Allah made to you were all true; I too made some promises to you but failed to keep any of them. However, I had no power over you. I just invited you, and you accepted my invitation. Now! Do not blame me, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor you can help me. I reject what you did before; that you associated me with Allah. Certainly such wrongdoers will have painful punishment."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And Satan will say 'to his followers' after the judgment has been passed, 'Indeed, Allah has made you a true promise. I too made you a promise, but I failed you. I did not have any authority over you. I only called you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; blame yourselves. I cannot save you, nor can you save me. Indeed, I denounce your previous association of me with Allah 'in loyalty'. Surely the wrongdoers will suffer a painful punishment.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And Satan saith, when the matter hath been decided: Lo! Allah promised you a promise of truth; and I promised you, then failed you. And I had no power over you save that I called unto you and ye obeyed me. So blame me not, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can ye help me. Lo! I disbelieved in that which ye before ascribed to me. Lo! for wrong-doers is a painful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And Satan will say when the matter is decided: "It was Allah Who gave you a promise of truth: I too promised but I failed in my promise to you. I had no authority over you except to call you but ye listened to me: then reproach not me but reproach your own souls. I cannot listen to your cries nor can ye listen to mine. I reject your former act in associating me with Allah. For wrongdoers there must be a Grievous Penalty." ^{1897 1898}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

After the Judgment, Evil declares itself in its true colours. Frankly it says: 'I deceived you. The promise of Allah was true, but you believed me rather than Allah. I had no power to force you. I had but to call you, and you came running after me. You must blame yourselves. Did you think I was equal with Allah? I know too well that I was not and never could be. If you did wrong, you must suffer the Penalty.'

See the last note. An alternative interpretation of this sentence may be: "I had already beforehand rebelled against Allah with Whom ye associated me."

But those who shall have attained to faith and done righteous deeds will be brought into gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide by their Sustainer's leave, and will be welcomed with the greeting, "Peace!"³⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

As in 10:10 , this phrase reads literally, "their greeting therein [will be], 'Peace!' (salam)" - a term which has been explained in surah {5}, note [29].

Those who believe and do good deeds will be admitted to Paradise, beneath which rivers flow, to live therein forever with the permission of their Rabb, and their greetings therein will be: "Peace!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who believe and do good will be admitted into Gardens, under which rivers flow- to stay there forever by the Will of their Lord- where they will be greeted with 'Peace!'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And those who believed and did good works are made to enter Gardens underneath which rivers flow, therein abiding by permission of their Lord, their greeting therein: Peace!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But those who believe and work righteousness will be admitted to Gardens beneath which rivers flow to dwell therein for aye with the leave of their Lord: their greeting therein will be: "Peace!" ¹⁸⁹⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

How this contrasts with the misery and the mutual self-recriminations of the ungodly!

ART THOU NOT aware how God sets forth the parable of a good word?³⁶ [It is] like a good tree, firmly rooted, [reaching out] with its branches towards the sky,

  - Mohammad Asad

In its wider meaning, the term kalimah ("word") denotes any conceptual statement or proposition. Thus, a "good word" circumscribes any proposition (or idea) that is intrinsically true and - because it implies a call to what is good in the moral sense - is ultimately beneficent and enduring; and since a call to moral righteousness is the innermost purport of every one of God's messages, the term "good word" applies to them as well. Similarly, the "corrupt word" mentioned in verse {26} applies to the opposite of what a divine message aims at: namely, to every idea that is intrinsically false or morally evil and, therefore, spiritually harmful.

Do you not see how Allah gave the example of comparing a good word with a good tree, whose roots are firm and its branches are in the sky?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Do you not see how Allah compares a good word to a good tree? Its root is firm and its branches reach the sky,

  - Mustafa Khattab

Seest thou not how Allah coineth a similitude: A goodly saying, as a goodly tree, its root set firm, its branches reaching into heaven,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Seest thou not how Allah sets forth a parable? a goodly Word like a goodly tree whose root is firmly fixed and its branches (reach) to the heavens ¹⁹⁰⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Goodly word" is usually interpreted as the Divine Word, the Divine Message, the True Religion. It may also be interpreted in a more general sense as a word of truth, a word of goodness or kindness, which follows from a true appreciation of Religion. For Religion includes our duty to Allah and our duty to man. The "evil word" is opposite to this: false religion, blasphemy, false speech, or preaching or teaching unkindness and wrong-doing.

yielding its fruit at all times by its Sustainer's leave. And [thus it is that] God propounds parables unto men, so that they might bethink themselves [of the truth].³⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [33] on the first clause of 39:27 .

It yields its fruits in every season by Allah's leave. Allah cites these examples for men so that they may learn a lesson from them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'always' yielding its fruit in every season by the Will of its Lord. This is how Allah sets forth parables for the people, so perhaps they will be mindful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Giving its fruit at every season by permission of its Lord? Allah coineth the similitudes for mankind in order that they may reflect.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

It brings forth its fruit at all times by the leave of its Lord. So Allah sets forth parables for men in order that they may receive admonition. ¹⁹⁰¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The goodly tree is known for: (1) its beauty; it gives pleasure to all who see it; (2) its stability; it remains firm and unshaken in storms, because its roots are firmly fixed in the earth; (3) its wide compass; its branches reach high, and it catches all the sunshine from heaven, and gives shade to countless birds in its branches and men and animals beneath it, and (4) its abundant fruit, which it yields at all times. So is the Good Word. It is as beautiful as it is true. It abides in all the changes and chances of this life, and even beyond (see verse 27 below); it is never shaken by sorrow or what seems to us calamity; its roots are deep down in the bed-rock facts of life. Its reach is universal, above, around, below: it is illuminated by the divine light from heaven, and its consolation reaches countless beings of all grades of life. Its fruit-the enjoyment of its blessings-is not confined to one season or one set of circumstances; furthermore the fortunate man who is the vehicle of that word has no self-pride; he attributes all its goodness, and his act in spreading it, to the Will and Leave of Allah. Cf. the New Testament Parable of the Sower (Matt. iv. 14-20) or of the Mustard-seed (Matt. iv. 30- 32). In this Parable of the Qur-an there are fewer words and more spiritual meaning, and the emphasis is on more essential things.

And the parable of a corrupt word is that of a corrupt tree, torn up [from its roots] onto the face of the earth, wholly unable to endure.³⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "having no permanence (qarar) whatever": i.e., the "corrupt word" (see note [36] above) is ephemeral in its effect, however strong its original impact on the minds of people who fall prey to it.

But the example of an evil word is that of an evil tree, which is torn out from the earth and has no stability.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And the parable of an evil word is that of an evil tree, uprooted from the earth, having no stability.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And the similitude of a bad saying is as a bad tree, uprooted from upon the earth, possessing no stability.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the parable of an evil Word is that of an evil tree. It is torn up by the root from the surface of the earth: it has no stability. ¹⁹⁰²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The evil tree is the opposite of the goodly tree. The parallelism of contrast can be followed out in all the details of the last note.

[Thus,] God grants firmness unto those who have attained to faith through the word that is unshakably true³⁹ in the life of this world as well as in the life to come; but the wrongdoers He lets go astray:⁴⁰ for God does whatever He wills.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "firm" (thabit). The term qawl - similar to the term kalimah (see note [36] above) - denote, beyond its primary meaning of "saying" or "utterance", also anything that can be defined as a statement of belief or opinion, namely, "concept", "tenet", "assertion of faith", and so on. In this context it expresses the concept that there is no deity save God, and that Muhammad is His Apostle: which is an interpretation of the above phrase given by the Prophet himself, as quoted by Bukhari in a Tradition on the authority of Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib (Kitab at-Tafsir), and by other Traditionists, including Muslim, on the authority of Shu'bah. The adjective thabit connotes the "firmness" - that is, the unshakable truth-of the "word" (or "concept") which it qualifies, thus connecting it with the preceding parable of the "good word" and the "good tree".

See note [4] on verse {4} of this surah.

With firm words, Allah makes the believers steadfast in the life of this world and in the hereafter; but Allah lets the wrongdoers go astray. Allah does what He pleases.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah makes the believers steadfast with the firm Word 'of faith'¹ in this worldly life and the Hereafter. And Allah leaves the wrongdoers to stray. For Allah does what He wills.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 That there is only one God worthy of worship.

Allah confirmeth those who believe by a firm saying in the life of the world and in the Hereafter, and Allah sendeth wrongdoers astray. And Allah doeth what He will.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Allah will establish in strength those who believe with the Word that stands firm in this world and in the Hereafter; but Allah will leave to stray those who do wrong: Allah doeth what He willeth. ¹⁹⁰³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

His Will and Plan may be above comprehension, but will prevail over all things. It is not like the will of man, who may plan good things but is not necessarily able to carry them out.

ART THOU NOT aware of those who have preferred a denial of the truth to God's blessings,⁴¹ and [thereby] invited their people to alight in that abode of utter desolation

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "who have exchanged God's blessings for a denial of the truth". The expression "God's blessings (ni'mah)" obviously refers here to the messages revealed through His apostles.

Have you not seen those people who have responded to the favors of Allah with ingratitude and drive their people into the House of Perdition?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have you not seen those 'disbelievers' who meet Allah's favours with ingratitude and lead their own people to their doom?

  - Mustafa Khattab

Hast thou not seen those who gave the grace of Allah in exchange for thanklessness and led their people down to the Abode of Loss,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hast thou not turned thy vision to those who have changed the favor of Allah into blasphemy and caused their people to descend to the House of Perdition? ¹⁹⁰⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

There is a particular and a general meaning. The particular meaning is understood to be a reference to the Makkan Pagans who turned the House of Allah into a place for the worship of horrible idols and the practice of unseemly rites and cults. There is no real difficulty in accepting this as part of a late Makkan Sura even without supposing it to be a prophecy. The Makkan Pagans had turned Religion into a blasphemous superstition, and were misguiding their people, persecuting the true Messenger of Allah and all who followed his teaching. Their cup of iniquity seemed about full, and they seemed to be heading to perdition, as later events indeed showed to be the case. The general meaning is also clear. Selfish men, when they seize power, want worship for themselves or their Phantasies, in derogation of the true God. Power, which should have been an instrument of good, becomes in their hands an instrument of evil. They and their people rush headlong to perdition. "These be thy gods, 0 Israel!" has been a cry repeated again and again in history, in the face, or at the back, of men of God!

- hell - which they [themselves] will have to endure?⁴² And how vile a state to settle in!

  - Mohammad Asad

This is evidently an allusion to the relationship between the arrogant leaders of thought and their weak followers spoken of in verse {21} above.

Which is hell! Wherein they shall burn, an evil place to live.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

In Hell they will burn. What an evil place for settlement.

  - Mustafa Khattab

(Even to) hell? They are exposed thereto. A hapless end!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Into Hell? They will burn therein an evil place to stay in!

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

For, they claimed that there are powers that could rival God,⁴³ and so they strayed from His path. Say: "Enjoy yourselves [in this world], but, verily, the fire will be your journey's end!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "they gave God compeers (andad)". For an explanation of my paraphrase of this sentence (fully justified by Razi), see surah {2}, note [13]. - The particle li prefixed to the subsequent verb li-yudillu does not denote intent but is a so-called lam al-'aqibah, i.e., "the [letter] lam indicating a consequence" or "a result" (Razi), and is in this case suitably rendered as "and so".

They set up equals with Allah to mislead people from His Way. Tell them: "Well, you may enjoy yourself for a while, but your final destination is going to be hellfire."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They set up equals to Allah to mislead 'others' from His Way. Say, 'O Prophet,' 'Enjoy yourselves! Surely your destination is the Fire.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And they set up rivals to Allah that they may mislead (men) from His way. Say: Enjoy life (while ye may) for lo! your journey's end will be the Fire.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And they set up (idols) as equal to Allah to mislead (men) from the Path! Say: "Enjoy (your brief power)! But verily ye are making straightway for Hell!"

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali