Sūrah Sabaʾ

āyāt 1–6

This passage begins by declaring that all praise belongs to God, who owns everything in the heavens and on earth, and to Him also belongs all praise in the life to come. He is full of wisdom and fully aware of all things. He knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it, what descends from the sky and what rises up into it, and He is the Most Merciful, the Forgiving. Yet, those who refuse to believe say that the Day of Judgement will never come to them; tell them that it will surely come, by your Lord, who knows all that is hidden. Nothing the weight of an atom, whether in the heavens or on earth, nor anything smaller or larger, is hidden from Him; it is all recorded in a clear record. This is so He can reward those who believe and do good deeds with forgiveness and a generous provision, while those who try to obstruct His messages will face a painful and dreadful punishment. And those who have true knowledge recognize that what has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth, guiding to the path of the All-Mighty, the Praiseworthy.

āyāt 7–9

Those who disbelieve mockingly ask if they should follow someone who claims that after their bodies have completely disintegrated, they will be brought back into a new creation. They then question if this man has invented a lie about Allah or if he is mad, but in reality, it is those who do not believe in the Hereafter who will face punishment and are in profound error. Do they not consider the heavens and the earth around them? If Allah willed, He could cause the earth to swallow them or let fragments fall upon them from the sky, and indeed, in this is a sign for every servant who turns back to Allah.

āyāt 10–12

Allah certainly bestowed great blessings upon Dāwūd عليه السلام, enabling the mountains and birds to join him in glorifying Allah, and making iron soft for him. He was commanded to fashion full coats of mail, carefully measuring their links, and to work righteousness, for Allah sees all that is done. To Sulaymān عليه السلام, Allah subjected the wind, allowing him to travel a month's journey in a single morning or afternoon, and caused a spring of molten copper to flow for him. Jinn also worked for him by Allah's permission, and any who defied His command would taste a painful punishment.

āyāt 14

When God decreed the death of Sulaymān عليه السلام, his workers, the jinn, did not realize he had passed away. They continued their arduous work because they saw him standing, leaning on his staff. It was only when a small creature ate through his staff, causing him to fall, that the jinn understood he had died. This event made it clear that if the jinn had known the unseen, they would not have continued enduring such difficult and humiliating labor.

āyāt 16–21

After a people turned away, God sent a devastating flood that destroyed their gardens, replacing them with bitter fruit, tamarisks, and thorny lote trees. This was a consequence for their disbelief, and God only punishes those who are ungrateful. God had placed visible cities along their trade routes and made travel between them safe, whether by day or night. But this people insolently asked God to lengthen their journeys, thereby wronging themselves. So, God made them into stories and dispersed them widely, which contains lessons for everyone who is patient and grateful. Iblees then proved his assumptions about them, and they followed him, except for a small group of believers. Iblees had no true authority over them, but God allowed this to happen to distinguish those who believe in the Hereafter from those who doubt it, because God is the Guardian over all things.

āyāt 22–27

The Prophet ﷺ is told to challenge people to call upon those they claim as deities besides Allah. These deities have no power, not even an atom's weight, in the heavens or on earth, nor do they share in Allah's dominion, nor can they assist Him. Intercession is of no benefit with Allah unless He permits it. When terror is removed from hearts, they will ask what their Lord has said, and the answer will be, 'The truth,' because He is the Most High, the Grand. The Prophet ﷺ is also to ask who provides sustenance from the heavens and the earth, and then state that Allah is the provider, and that either the Prophet's ﷺ followers or their opponents are on guidance or in clear error. He ﷺ should also declare that each group is only accountable for their own deeds. He ﷺ is further commanded to say that Allah will gather everyone and then judge between them in truth, for He is the Knowing Judge. Finally, the Prophet ﷺ is to ask them to show who they have associated with Allah as partners, affirming that He alone is Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

āyāt 29–34

People ask when the promise of the Day of Judgement will occur if the Prophet ﷺ is truthful. The Prophet ﷺ is told to tell them that there is an appointed Day when they will not be able to delay or advance it by even an hour. The disbelievers declare they will never believe in the Qur'an or previous scriptures. If you could see the wrongdoers standing before their Lord, arguing amongst themselves, you would witness the oppressed blaming the arrogant for their disbelief. The arrogant, in turn, will deny having turned the oppressed away from guidance, accusing them of being criminals themselves. The oppressed will then counter that it was the arrogant ones' constant plotting, day and night, that made them disbelieve in Allah and associate partners with Him. At that moment, they will all conceal their regret when they see the punishment, and Allah will place shackles on the necks of the disbelievers, questioning if they are being repaid for anything other than their deeds. Furthermore, whenever Allah sent a warner to a city, its wealthy inhabitants would always say they disbelieved in what the warner was sent with.

āyāt 35–36

Some people boasted about their abundance of wealth and children, believing that this meant they would not face any punishment. In response, the Prophet ﷺ is told to say that it is Allah, his Lord, who expands and restricts provision for whomever He wills, but most people do not understand this reality.

āyāt 38–43

These āyāt speak about those who actively work against God's messages, saying they will face a lasting punishment. They then explain that God grants abundance or limits provision to whomever He wills among His servants, and anything spent for His cause will be compensated by Him, as He is the best provider. The sūrah then describes the Day of Judgement, when God will gather everyone and ask the angels if people worshipped them. The angels will deny this, declaring God to be their sole Guardian, and clarify that the people worshipped jinn instead, and most believed in them. On that Day, people will have no power to benefit or harm one another, and God will tell the wrongdoers to taste the punishment of the Fire they once denied. Finally, when God's clear messages are recited to these people, they dismiss them, claiming that the Prophet ﷺ is just a man trying to turn them away from their ancestors' worship, calling it a fabricated lie, and referring to the truth as clear magic when it comes to them.

āyāt 44–49

Allāh states that He had not given the people any scriptures to study, nor had He sent any warner to them before the Prophet ﷺ. He then reminds them that previous nations before them denied His truth, and the current people have not even achieved a tenth of what those earlier nations had been granted. Yet, those earlier nations denied His messengers, and as a result, His rebuke against them was terrible. Allāh instructs the Prophet ﷺ to tell them that he advises them of only one thing: to stand for Allāh, either in pairs or individually, and then to reflect. He assures them that their companion, the Prophet ﷺ, is not mad; rather, he is only a warner to them before a severe punishment. The Prophet ﷺ is also told to say that any payment he might have asked for is for them to keep, as his true payment comes only from Allāh, Who is a Witness over all things. He is further commanded to declare that his Lord projects the truth, and He is the Knower of the unseen. Finally, the Prophet ﷺ is to announce that the truth has arrived, and falsehood is now powerless to initiate or repeat anything.

āyāt 50–54

The Prophet ﷺ is instructed to declare that if he errs, it is against himself, but if he is guided, it is by what his Lord reveals to him, for He is All-Hearing and near. If only one could see the disbelievers when they are terrified, with no escape, seized from a nearby place. They will then claim to believe, but it will be too late for faith when they are so far removed from that chance. They had previously rejected it and guessed about the unseen from afar, so a barrier will be placed between them and their desires, just as it was done with others like them before, because they were in unsettling doubt.