Surah Ash-Shu’ara >> Currently viewing Surah Ash-Shu’ara Ayat 111 (26:111)

Surah Ash-Shu’ara Ayat 111 in Arabic Text

۞قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ لَكَ وَٱتَّبَعَكَ ٱلۡأَرۡذَلُونَ
Qaalooo anu’minu laka wattaba ‘akal arzaloon

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 111

Sahih International
They said, “Should we believe you while you are followed by the lowest [class of people]?”

Yusuf Ali
They said: “Shall we believe in thee when it is the meanest that follow thee?”

Abul Ala Maududi
They answered: “Shall we accept you even though it is the meanest of people who follow you?”

Muhsin Khan
They said: “Shall we believe in you, when the meanest (of the people) follow you?”

Pickthall
They said: Shall we put faith in thee, when the lowest (of the people) follow thee?

Dr. Ghali
They said, “should we believe you, and the most decrepit closely follow you?”

Abdel Haleem
They answered, ‘Why should we believe you when the worst sort of people follow you?’

Muhammad Junagarhi
قوم نے جواب دیا کہ ہم تجھ پر ایمان ﻻئیں! تیری تابعداری تو رذیل لوگوں نے کی ہے

Quran 26 Verse 111 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Ash-Shu’ara ayat 111, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(26:111) They answered: “Shall we accept you even though it is the meanest of people who follow you?”[81]


81. This answer to Prophet Noah’s (peace be upon him) message of truth was given by the chiefs, elders and nobles of his people as mentioned in (Surah Houd, Ayat 27). In answer to this, those chiefs of his people, who had rejected his message: said, We see that you are no more than a mere man like ourselves, and we also see that only the meanest from among us have become your followers without due consideration, and we find nothing in you that might give you superiority over us. This shows that those who believed in Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) were mostly the poor people, and ordinary workmen, or some youth who enjoyed no position in society. As for the influential and rich people, they had become his bitter opponents, and were trying by every trick and allurement to keep the common man behind them. One of the arguments they advanced against Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) was this: Had there been some weight and substance in Noah’s message, the rich people, scholars, religious divines, nobles and wise people of the community should have accepted it, but none of them has believed in him; the only people to follow him are the foolish people belonging to the lowest stratum of society, who have no common-sense. Now how can the noble and high ranking people like us join the company of the common people?

Precisely the same thing was being said by the unbelieving Quraish about the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his followers. Abu Sufyan in reply to the questions asked by Heraclius had said: Muhammad (peace be upon him) has been followed by the poor and weak of our people. What they seemed to be thinking was that truth was that which was considered as truth by the chiefs and elders of the community, for only they had the necessary common-sense and power of judgment. As for the common people, their being common was a proof that they lacked sense and judgment. As such, if a thing was accepted by them but rejected by the chiefs, it meant that the thing itself was without worth and value. The disbelievers of Makkah even went further. They argued that a Prophet could not be a common man. If God had to appoint a Prophet, He would have appointed a great chief to be a Prophet. They say: why has not the Quran been sent down to a prominent man of our two cities (Makkah and Taif)? (Surah Az-Zukhruf, Ayat 31).

Ibn-Kathir

111. They said: “Shall we believe in you, when the inferior follow you” 112. He said: “And what knowledge have I of what they used to do” 113. “Their account is only with my Lord, if you could (but) know.” 114. “And I am not going to drive away the believers.” 115. “I am only a plain warner.”


The Demand of the People of Nuh and His Response

They said: “We do not believe in you, and we will not follow you and become equal to the meanest of the people, who follow you and believe in you, and they are the lowest among us.”

﴿قَالُواْ أَنُؤْمِنُ لَكَ وَاتَّبَعَكَ الاٌّرْذَلُونَ – قَالَ وَمَا عِلْمِى بِمَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴾

(They said: “Shall we believe in you, when the inferior follow you” He said: “And what knowledge have I of what they used to do”) meaning, `what does it have to do with me if they follow me No matter what they used to do before, I do not have to check on them and examine their background; all I have to do is accept it if they believe in me; whatever is in their hearts is for Allah to know.’

﴿إِنْ حِسَابُهُمْ إِلاَّ عَلَى رَبِّى لَوْ تَشْعُرُونَ – وَمَآ أَنَاْ بِطَارِدِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴾

(Their account is only with my Lord, if you could (but) know. And I am not going to drive away the believers.) It seems that they asked him to drive these people away, then they would follow him, but he refused to do that, and said:

﴿وَمَآ أَنَاْ بِطَارِدِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ – إِنْ أَنَا إِلاَّ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ ﴾

(And I am not going to drive away the believers. I am only a plain warner.) meaning, `I have been sent as a warner, and whoever obeys me and follows me and believes in me, then he belongs to me and I to him, whether he is noble or common, upper-class or lower-class.’

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surah ash-shu'ara ayat 111
surah ash-shu'ara ayat 112
surah ash-shu'ara ayat 113
surah ash-shu'ara ayat 114
surah ash-shu'ara ayat 115

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