Surah Hud Ayat 88 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 88
He said, “O my people, have you considered: if I am upon clear evidence from my Lord and He has provided me with a good provision from Him…? And I do not intend to differ from you in that which I have forbidden you; I only intend reform as much as I am able. And my success is not but through Allah. Upon him I have relied, and to Him I return.
He said: “O my people! see ye whether I have a Clear (Sign) from my Lord, and He hath given me sustenance (pure and) good as from Himself? I wish not, in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to do. I only desire (your) betterment to the best of my power; and my success (in my task) can only come from Allah. In Him I trust, and unto Him I look.
Shu’ayb said: ‘My people! What do you think? If I stand on clear evidence from my Lord, and He has also provided me a handsome provision from Himself -(should I be ungrateful to Him and share your error and iniquity?) Nor do I desire to act contrary to what I admonish you. I desire nothing but to set things right as far as I can. My succour is only with Allah. In Him have I put my trust, and to Him do I always turn.
He said: “O my people! Tell me, if I have a clear evidence from my Lord, and He has given me a good sustenance from Himself (shall I corrupt it by mixing it with the unlawfully earned money). I wish not, in contradiction to you, to do that which I forbid you. I only desire reform so far as I am able, to the best of my power. And my guidance cannot come except from Allah, in Him I trust and unto Him I repent.
He said: O my people! Bethink you: if I am (acting) on a clear proof from my Lord and He sustaineth me with fair sustenance from Him (how can I concede aught to you)? I desire not to do behind your backs that which I ask you not to do. I desire naught save reform so far as I am able. My welfare is only in Allah. In Him I trust and unto Him I turn (repentant).
He said, “O my people, have you seen (that) in case I (rely) on Supreme evidence from my Lord and He has provided me with fair provision from Him (should i corrupt it)? And in no way would I like to differ from you (and do) whatever I forbid you (to do). Decidedly I would (do) nothing except reformation, (i.e., acting righteously) so far as I am able to. And in no way is my success with anyone except with Allah; in Him I have put my trust, and to Him I turn penitent.
He answered, ‘My people, can you not see? What if I am acting on clear evidence from my Lord? He Himself has given me good provision: I do not want to do what I am forbidding you to do, I only want to put things right as far as I can. I cannot succeed without God’s help: I trust in Him, and always turn to Him.
کہا اے میری قوم! دیکھو تو اگر میں اپنے رب کی طرف سے روشن دلیل لئے ہوئے ہوں اور اس نے مجھے اپنے پاس سے بہترین روزی دے رکھی ہے، میرا یہ اراده بالکل نہیں کہ تمہارا خلاف کر کے خود اس چیز کی طرف جھک جاؤں جس سے تمہیں روک رہا ہوں، میرا اراده تو اپنی طاقت بھر اصلاح کرنے کا ہی ہے۔ میری توفیق اللہ ہی کی مدد سے ہے، اسی پر میرا بھروسہ ہے اور اسی کی طرف میں رجوع کرتا ہوں
Quran 11 Verse 88 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Hud ayat 88, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(11:88) Shu’ayb said: ‘My people! What do you think? If I stand on clear evidence from my Lord, and He has also provided me a handsome provision from Himself[98] -(should I be ungrateful to Him and share your error and iniquity?) Nor do I desire to act contrary to what I admonish you.[99] I desire nothing but to set things right as far as I can. My succour is only with Allah. In Him have I put my trust, and to Him do I always turn.
98. Here rizq implies two things: provision of the knowledge of the truth and provision of the necessities of life from Allah. In the first sense, it refers to the same thing that has been declared in this Surah by Prophets Muhammad, Noah and Salih (peace be upon them all), that is, Allah bestowed on me by revelation that knowledge of the truth, which I already had gained by making keen observations of my own self and of the phenomena of nature. Therefore I cannot be a party to your evil creeds and unlawful practices. In the second sense, it is the answer to this taunt of theirs: Indeed you are the only generous and righteous person left in the land! It meant, so to say, this: When my Lord has bestowed on me both the knowledge of the truth and the good and lawful provisions of life, your taunts cannot turn this favor into disfavor. Therefore I cannot be so ungrateful to Him as to declare your deviations to be the truth and your unlawful practices lawful.
99. That is, It is a proof of the truth of my claim that I myself practice what I preach to you. For instance, if I had forbidden you to visit the shrines of gods and goddesses but had myself become the guardian of some such shrine, you would have been justified in bringing this charge against me that I was preaching the doctrine of Tauhid merely for the sake of ruining the business of others in order to make room for my own trade. Likewise, if I had prohibited the use of unlawful means for you but had myself applied the same in my own trade, you would have been justified in charging me with preaching honesty merely for winning good reputation for the prosperity of my own trade. But you yourselves are a witness to this that I myself abstain from those evils which I forbid you to practice and I keep myself pure from those blemishes of which I desire to cleanse you and I follow the way to which I invite you. All this is a clear proof that I believe in the truth of the message I am conveying to you.
Ibn-Kathir
88. He said: “O my people! Tell me if I have a clear evidence from my Lord and He has given me a good sustenance from Himself (shall I corrupt it by mixing it with the unlawfully earned money). I wish not, in contradiction to you, to do that which I forbid you. I only desire reform to the best of my power. And my guidance cannot come except from Allah, in Him I put my trust and unto Him I repent.”
He said to them: Do you see O my people, that if I
(have a clear evidence from my Lord) meaning, upon clear guidance in that which I am calling to.
(and He has given me a good sustenance from Himself.) It has been said that he meant the prophethood. It has also been said that he meant the lawful provisions. It seems that the verse carries both meanings. Ath-Thawri said,
(I wish not, in contradiction to you, to do that which I forbid you.) meaning, `do not forbid you from something and at the same time I contradict my prohibitions in secret behind your backs, doing what I have forbidden.’ This is similar to what Qatadah said concerning Allah’s statement,
(I wish not, in contradiction to you, to do that which I forbid you.) “He is saying, `I do not forbid you all from something while I do it myself.”’
(I only desire reform to the best of my power.) This means, “In that which I command and forbid you, I only want to correct your affair as much as I am able.”
(And my guidance cannot come) This means, “In whatever I intend that agrees with the truth.”
(except from Allah, in Him I put my trust) This means in all of my affairs.
(and unto Him I repent.) meaning; “I return.” This has been said by Mujahid and others.
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