SURAH
34: SABA' (Sheba).
In the name of Allah, the Gracious,
the Merciful
1
Praise be to Allah, to whom belong all things in the heavens and on earth: to
him be praise in the hereafter: and he is full of wisdom, acquainted with all
things.
2
He knows all that goes into the earth, and all that comes out of it; all that
comes down from the sky and all that ascends to it. And he is the most
merciful, the oft-forgiving.
3
The unbelievers say, Never will the Hour come to us. Say: No, but most surely,
by my Lord, it will come upon you; by him who knows the unseen, from whom is
not hidden the least little atom in the heavens or on earth: nor is there
anything less than that, or greater, but is in the record perspicuous:
4
That he may reward those who believe and work deeds of righteousness: for such
is forgiveness and a sustenance most generous.
5
But those who strive against our signs, to frustrate them, for such will be a
penalty, a punishment most humiliating.
6
And those to whom knowledge has come see that what was sent down to you from
your Lord is the truth, and that it guides to the path of the exalted one,
worthy of all praise.
7
The unbelievers say: Shall we point out to you a man that will tell you, when
you are all scattered to pieces in disintegration, that you shall then be
raised in a new creation?
8
Has he invented a falsehood against Allah, or has a spirit seized him? No, it
is those who believe not in the hereafter, that will receive a penalty, and are
in farthest error.
9
Do they not see what is before them and behind them, of the sky and the earth?
If we wished, we could cause the earth to swallow them up, or cause a piece of
the sky to fall upon them. Truly in this is a sign for every devotee that turns
to Allah.
10
We bestowed grace aforetime on Dawud from
ourselves: O you mountains! Sing back the praises of Allah with him and you
birds also! And we made the iron soft for him;
11
Commanding, make coats of mail, balancing well the rings of chain armour, and
work you righteousness; for be sure I see all that you do.
12
And to Sulayman we made the wind obedient: its
early morning stride was a month's journey, and we made a font of molten brass
to flow for him; and there were Jinns that worked in front of him, by the leave
of his Lord, and if any of them turned aside from our command, we made him
taste of the penalty of the blazing fire.
13
They worked for him as he desired, making arches, images, basins as large as
reservoirs, and cooking cauldrons fixed in their places. "Work, sons of Dawud, with thanks." But few of my servants are
grateful.
14
Then, when we decreed Sulayman's death,
nothing showed them his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept
gnawing away at his staff: so when he fell down, the Jinns saw plainly that if
they had known the unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating
penalty.
15
There was for Saba, aforetime, a sign in their homeland two gardens to the
right and to the left. Eat of the sustenance provided by your Lord, and be
grateful to him: a territory fair and happy, and a Lord oft-forgiving.
16
But they turned away from Allah, and we sent against them the flood released
from the dams, and we converted their two garden rows into: gardens producing
bitter fruit, and tamarisks, and some few lote trees.
17
That was the reward we gave them because they ungrateful rejected faith: and
never do we give such reward except to such as are ungrateful rejecters.
18
Between them and cities on which we had poured our blessings, we had placed
cities in prominent positions, and between them we had appointed stages of
journey in due proportion. Travel therein, secure, by night and by day.
19
But they said: Our Lord place longer distances between our journey stages: but
they wronged themselves. At length we made them as a tale, and we dispersed
them all in scattered fragments. Truly in this are signs for everyone constant
and grateful.
20
And on them did Satan prove true his idea, and they followed him, all but a
party that believed.
21
But he had no authority over them, except that we might test the man who
believes in the hereafter from him who is in doubt concerning it: and your Lord
watches over all things.
22
Say: Call upon other gods whom you fancy, besides Allah: they have no power,
not the weight of an atom, in the heavens or on earth: no share have they in
them, nor is any of them a helper to Allah.
23
No intercession can avail in his presence, except for the one[1]
to whom he has granted permission. So far is this the case that, when terror is
removed from their hearts at the day of judgment, then will they say, What is
it that your Lord commanded? They will say, That which is true and just; and he
is the most high, most great.
24
Say: Who gives you sustenance, from the heavens and the earth? Say: It is
Allah; and certain it is that either we or you are on right guidance or in
clear error.
25
Say: You shall not be questioned as to our sins, nor we be questioned as to
what you do.
26
Say: Our Lord will gather us together and will in the end decide the matter
between us in truth and justice: and he is the one to decide, the one who knows
all.
27
Say: Show me those whom you have joined with him as partners: by no means can
you. No, he is Allah, the exalted in power, the wise.
28
We have not sent you but as a universal messenger to men, giving them glad
tidings, and warning them, but most men understand not.
29
They say: When will this promise come to pass if you are telling the truth?
30
Say: The appointment to you is for a day, which you cannot put back for an hour
nor put forward.
31
The unbelievers say: We shall neither believe in this scripture nor in any that
came before it. Could you but see when the wrongdoers will be made to stand
before their Lord, throwing back the word of blame on one another. Those who
had been despised will say to the arrogant ones: Had it not been for you, we
should certainly have been believers.
32
The arrogant ones will say to those who had been despised: Was it we who kept
you back from guidance after it reached you? No, rather, it was you who
transgressed.
33
Those who had been despised will say to the arrogant ones: No, it was a plot of
yours by day and by night: behold you constantly ordered us to be ungrateful to
Allah and to attribute equals to him. They will declare their repentance when
they see the penalty: We shall put yokes on the necks of the unbelievers: it would
only be reward for their deeds.
34
Never did we send a warner to a population, but the wealthy ones among them
said: We believe not in the message with which you have been sent.
35
They said: We have more in wealth and in sons, and we cannot be punished.
36
Say: Truly my Lord enlarges and restricts the provision to whom he pleases, but
most men understand not.
37
It is not your wealth nor your sons, that will bring you nearer to us in
degree: but only those who believe and work righteousness these are the ones
for whom there is a multiplied reward for their deeds, while they live in
secure dwellings on high.
38
Those who strive against our signs, to frustrate them, will be given over into
punishment.
39
Say: Truly my Lord enlarges and restricts the sustenance to such of his
servants as he pleases: and nothing do you spend in the least but he replaces
it: for he is the best of those who grant sustenance.
40
One day he will gather them all together, and say to the angels, Was it you
that these men used to worship?
41
They will say, Glory to you! Our tie is with you as protector, not with them.
No, but they worshipped the Jinns: most of them believed in them.
42
So on that day no power shall they have over each other, for profit or harm:
and we shall say to the wrongdoers, Taste the penalty of the fire, the which
you used to deny!
43
When our clear signs are rehearsed to them, they say, This is only a man who
wishes to hinder you from the worship which your fathers practised. And they
say: This is only a falsehood invented and the unbelievers say of the truth
when it comes to them, This is nothing but evident magic.
44
But we had not given them books which they could study, nor sent messengers to
them before you as warners.
45
And their predecessors rejected the truth; these have not received a tenth of
what we had granted to those: yet when they rejected my messengers, how
terrible was my rejection of them!
46
Say: "I admonish you on one point: to stand up before Allah in pairs, or
singly, and reflect. Your companion is not possessed. He is no less than a
warner to you in the face of a terrible penalty."
47
Say: No reward do I
ask of you: it is all in your interest: my reward is only due from Allah: and
he is witness to all things.
48
Say: Truly my Lord casts the truth. He has full knowledge of all that is
hidden.
49
Say: The truth has arrived, and falsehood neither creates anything new, nor
restores anything.
50
Say: If I
am astray, I
only stray to the loss of my own soul: but if I receive guidance, it is because of the
inspiration of my Lord to me: if is he who hears all things, and is ever near.
51
If you could but see when they will quake with terror; but then there will be
no escape for them, and they will be seized from a position nearby.
52
And they will say, We do believe now in the truth; but how could they receive
faith from a position so far off,
53
Seeing that they rejected faith before, and that they cast slanders on the unseen
from a position far off?
54
And between them and their desires, is placed a barrier, as was done in the
past with their partisans: for they were indeed in suspicious doubt.
[1] Al-Kitab identifies only one person as having the power of intercession--Prophet 'Isa al-Masih. The Taurat says prophetically that 'Isa "bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Shaya 53:12). The Injil plainly teaches that 'Isa "is also able to save completely those who draw near to Allah through him, seeing he lives forever to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).