Surah An-Nisa >> Currently viewing Surah An-Nisa Ayat 53 (4:53)

Surah An-Nisa Ayat 53 in Arabic Text

أَمۡ لَهُمۡ نَصِيبٞ مِّنَ ٱلۡمُلۡكِ فَإِذٗا لَّا يُؤۡتُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ نَقِيرًا
Am lahum naseebum minal mulki fa izal laa yu’toonan naasa naqeeraa

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 53

Sahih International
Or have they a share of dominion? Then [if that were so], they would not give the people [even as much as] the speck on a date seed.

Yusuf Ali
Have they a share in dominion or power? Behold, they give not a farthing to their fellow-men?

Abul Ala Maududi
Have they any share in the dominion (of Allah)? Had that been so, they would never have granted people even as much as the speck on a date-stone.

Muhsin Khan
Or have they a share in the dominion? Then in that case they would not give mankind even a Naqira (speck on the back of a date-stone).

Pickthall
Or have they even a share in the Sovereignty? Then in that case, they would not give mankind even the speck on a date-stone.

Dr. Ghali
Or even do they have an assignment in the Kingdom? Then, lo, they do not bring mankind even a groove in a datestone.

Abdul Haleem
Do they have any share of what He possesses? If they did they would not give away so much as the groove of a date stone.

Muhammad Junagarhi
کیا ان کا کوئی حصہ سلطنت میں ہے؟ اگر ایسا ہو تو پھر یہ کسی کو ایک کھجور کی گٹھلی کے شگاف کے برابر بھی کچھ نہ دیں گے

Quran 4 Verse 53 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah An-Nisa ayat 53, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(4:53) Have they any share in the dominion (of Allah)? Had that been so, they would never have granted people even as much as the speck on a date-stone.[84]


84. The Jews, who had judged the Muslims to be in error, are asked if they have some share in God’s authority which entitles them to judge who is rightly guided and who is not. If the Jews really had any share in that authority, no one would receive so much as a penny from them, for their hearts are too small to even acknowledge the truth, let alone credit others with righteousness and goodness. This verse can also be understood somewhat differently so as to pose the following question to the Jews: ‘Is it a matter of your possessing some dominion which you are reluctant to share with others?’ Obviously, the question was merely one of acknowledging the Truth, and they were too grudging to credit others with it.

Ibn-Kathir

53. Or have they a share in the dominion Then in that case they would not give mankind even a Naqir. 54. Or do they envy men for what Allah has given them of His bounty Then, We have already given the family of Ibrahim the Book and Al-Hikmah, and conferred upon them a great kingdom. 55. Of them were (some) who believed in it, and of them were (some) who rejected it; and enough is Hell for burning (them).


The Envy and Miserly Conduct of the Jews

Allah asked the Jews if they have a share in the dominion. That is merely a statement of rebuke, since they do not have any share in the dominion. Allah then described them as misers,

﴿فَإِذاً لاَّ يُؤْتُونَ النَّاسَ نَقِيراً﴾

(Then in that case they would not give mankind even a Naqir.) Meaning, if they had a share in the sovereignty and dominion, they would not give anyone anything, especially Muhammad , even if it was the speck on the back of a date-stone, which is the meaning of Naqir according to Ibn `Abbas and the majority of the scholars. This Ayah is similar to another of Allah’s statements,

﴿قُل لَّوْ أَنتُمْ تَمْلِكُونَ خَزَآئِنَ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّى إِذًا لأمْسَكْتُمْ خَشْيَةَ الإِنفَاقِ﴾

(Say: “If you possessed the treasure of the mercy of my Lord, then you would surely withold it out of fear of spending it.) meaning, for fear that what you have might end, although there is no such possibility here. This only demonstrates their greedy and stingy nature. This is why Allah said,

﴿وَكَانَ الإنْسَـنُ قَتُورًا﴾

(And man is ever Qatur) meaning Bakhil (stingy). Allah then said,

﴿أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَآ ءَاتَـهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ﴾

(Or do they envy men for what Allah has given them of His Bounty) referring to their envy of the Prophet for the great prophethood that Allah entrusted him with. Their envy made them reject him, because he was an Arab and not from the Children of Israel. At-Tabarani recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that,

﴿أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ﴾

(Or do they envy men) means, “We are the worthy people, rather than the rest of the people.” Allah said,

﴿فَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَآ ءَالَ إِبْرَهِيمَ الْكِتَـبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَءَاتَيْنَـهُمْ مُّلْكاً عَظِيماً﴾

(Then, We have already given the family of Ibrahim the Book and Al-Hikmah, and conferred upon them a great kingdom.) meaning, We gave the prophethood to the tribes of the Children of Israel, who are among the offspring of Ibrahim and sent down the Books to them. These Prophets ruled the Jews with the prophetic tradition, and We made kings among them. Yet,

﴿فَمِنْهُمْ مَّنْ ءَامَنَ بِهِ﴾

(Of them were (some) who believed in it;) referring to Allah’s favor and bounty (Prophets, Books, kingship),

﴿وَمِنْهُمْ مَّن صَدَّ عَنْهُ﴾

(and of them were (some) who rejected it) by disbelieving in it, ignoring it, and hindering the people from its path, although this bounty was from and for them, the Children of Israel. They disputed with their own Prophets; so what about you, O Muhammad , especially since you are not from the Children of Israel Mujahid said,

﴿فَمِنْهُمْ مَّنْ ءَامَنَ بِهِ﴾

(Of them were (some) who believed in ﴿him﴾,) “Muhammad ,

﴿وَمِنْهُمْ مَّن صَدَّ عَنْهُ﴾

(and of them were (some) who rejected ﴿him﴾.)” Therefore, O Muhammad, the rejection of you because of their disbelief is even more severe and they are even further from the truth that you brought them. This is why Allah threatened them,

﴿وَكَفَى بِجَهَنَّمَ سَعِيراً﴾

(and enough is Hell for burning (them).), meaning, the Fire is a just punishment for them because of their disbelief, rebellion and defiance of Allah’s Books and Messengers.

Quick navigation links

Surah An-Nisa
1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 . 17 . 18 . 19 . 20 . 21 . 22 . 23 . 24 . 25 . 26 . 27 . 28 . 29 . 30 . 31 . 32 . 33 . 34 . 35 . 36 . 37 . 38 . 39 . 40 . 41 . 42 . 43 . 44 . 45 . 46 . 47 . 48 . 49 . 50 . 51 . 52 . 53 . 54 . 55 . 56 . 57 . 58 . 59 . 60 . 61 . 62 . 63 . 64 . 65 . 66 . 67 . 68 . 69 . 70 . 71 . 72 . 73 . 74 . 75 . 76 . 77 . 78 . 79 . 80 . 81 . 82 . 83 . 84 . 85 . 86 . 87 . 88 . 89 . 90 . 91 . 92 . 93 . 94 . 95 . 96 . 97 . 98 . 99 . 100 . 101 . 102 . 103 . 104 . 105 . 106 . 107 . 108 . 109 . 110 . 111 . 112 . 113 . 114 . 115 . 116 . 117 . 118 . 119 . 120 . 121 . 122 . 123 . 124 . 125 . 126 . 127 . 128 . 129 . 130 . 131 . 132 . 133 . 134 . 135 . 136 . 137 . 138 . 139 . 140 . 141 . 142 . 143 . 144 . 145 . 146 . 147 . 148 . 149 . 150 . 151 . 152 . 153 . 154 . 155 . 156 . 157 . 158 . 159 . 160 . 161 . 162 . 163 . 164 . 165 . 166 . 167 . 168 . 169 . 170 . 171 . 172 . 173 . 174 . 175 . 176

surah al-anam ayat 53
surah al-anam ayat 54
surah al-anam ayat 55
surah al-anam ayat 56
surah al-anam ayat 57

skip_previous play_arrow skip_next
0:00/0:00
volume_up