Surah Al-An’am Ayat 35 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 35
And if their evasion is difficult for you, then if you are able to seek a tunnel into the earth or a stairway into the sky to bring them a sign, [then do so]. But if Allah had willed, He would have united them upon guidance. So never be of the ignorant.
If their spurning is hard on thy mind, yet if thou wert able to seek a tunnel in the ground or a ladder to the skies and bring them a sign,- (what good?). If it were Allah’s will, He could gather them together unto true guidance: so be not thou amongst those who are swayed by ignorance (and impatience)!
Nevertheless, if their turning away grieves you, then seek – if you can – either a way down into the earth or a ladder to the heavens, and try to bring to them some sign. Had Allah so willed, He would have gathered them all to the true guidance. Do not, then, be among the ignorant.
If their aversion (from you, O Muhammad SAW and from that with which you have been sent) is hard on you, (and you cannot be patient from their harm to you), then if you were able to seek a tunnel in the ground or a ladder to the sky, so that you may bring them a sign (and you cannot do it, so be patient). And had Allah willed, He could have gathered them together (all) unto true guidance, so be not you one of those who are Al-Jahilun (the ignorant).
And if their aversion is grievous unto thee, then, if thou canst, seek a way down into the earth or a ladder unto the sky that thou mayst bring unto them a portent (to convince them all)! – If Allah willed, He could have brought them all together to the guidance – So be not thou among the foolish ones.
And in case their veering away from you is greatly (annoying) to you, so in case you are able to seek out a tunnel in the earth, or a ladder in the heaven, then you would come up to them with a sign. And if Allah had so decided, He would indeed have gathered them to the guidance. So definitely do not be one of the ignorant.
If you find rejection by the disbelievers so hard to bear, then seek a tunnel into the ground or a ladder into the sky, if you can, and bring them a sign: God could bring them all to guidance if it were His will, so do not join the ignorant.
اور اگر آپ کو ان کا اعراض گراں گزرتا ہے تو اگر آپ کو یہ قدرت ہے کہ زمین میں کوئی سرنگ یا آسمان میں کوئی سیڑھی ڈھونڈ لو پھر کوئی معجزه لے آؤ تو کرو اور اگر اللہ کو منظور ہوتا تو ان سب کو راه راست پر جمع کر دیتا سو آپ نادانوں میں سے نہ ہوجائیے
Quran 6 Verse 35 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Al-An’am ayat 35, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(6:35) Nevertheless, if their turning away grieves you, then seek – if you can – either a way down into the earth or a ladder to the heavens, and try to bring to them some sign.[23] Had Allah so willed, He would have gathered them all to the true guidance. Do not, then, be among the ignorant.[24]
23. The Prophet (peace be on him) saw that even though he had spent a long time admonishing his people, they did not seem inclined to heed his call. As a result he sometimes wished for the appearance of some extraordinary sign of God that would undermine the stubbornness of his people and lead them to accept his guidance. This verse embodies God’s response to the Prophet’s desire. He is told not to be impatient. He must persist in his striving and continue to work. in conformity with God’s directive. Had it been God’s purpose to work miracles, He would have done so. But God did not consider that to be either the appropriate method for bringing to a successful completion the required intellectual and moral revolution or for the evolution of a sound, healthy civilization. Well, then, if the Prophet (peace be on him) could not bear patiently with the attitude of stubbornness and rejection prevalent among his people, and if he thought it necessary to make them witness a tangible sign of God, let him muster all his strength and try to cleave the earth, or climb a ladder to the heaven and bring forth a miracle powerful enough to change the unbelief of the unbelievers into belief. He is told, however, that in this regard he should not expect God to fulfil his wish, for such things have no place in God’s scheme.
24. Had it been required that all people should be driven to the Truth, there would have been no need to send Prophets, to reveal heavenly Books, to direct believers to engage in struggles against unbelievers, and to make the message of Truth pass through the necessary stages until fulfilment is reached. The result could have been achieved by a single sign of God’s creative will. God, however, did not want things to happen that way. He preferred the Truth to be set before people with its supporting arguments so that by a proper exercise of their rational judgement, they should recognize it for what it was and thereafter freely choose to embrace it as their faith. By moulding their lives in conformity with this Truth such people should demonstrate their moral superiority over the devotees of falsehood. They should continually attract men of sound morals by the force of their arguments, by the loftiness of their ideals, by the excellence of their principles and by the purity of their lives. They should thus reach their goal – the establishment of the hegemony of the true faith – by the natural and gradual escalation of strife against falsehood. God will guide them in the performance of this task and will provide them with whatever help they merit during the various stages of their struggle. But if anyone wishes to evade this natural course and wants God to obliterate corrupt ideas and to spread healthy ones in their stead, to root out a corrupt civilization and put a healthy one in its place by exercising His omnipotent will, let him know that this will not come about. The reason is that such is contrary to the scheme according to which God has created man as a responsible being, bestowed upon him a degree of power which he may exercise, granted him the freedom to choose between obedience and disobedience to God, awarded him a certain term of life in order to demonstrate his worth, and determined that at an appointed hour He will judge him for either reward or punishment in the light of his deeds.
Ibn-Kathir
The tafsir of Surah Al-Anam verse 35 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Anam ayat 33 which provides the complete commentary from verse 33 through 36.
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