Surah Saba Ayat 19 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 19
But [insolently] they said, “Our Lord, lengthen the distance between our journeys,” and wronged themselves, so We made them narrations and dispersed them in total dispersion. Indeed in that are signs for everyone patient and grateful.
But they said: “Our Lord! Place longer distances between our journey-stages”: but they wronged themselves (therein). At length We made them as a tale (that is told), and We dispersed them all in scattered fragments. Verily in this are Signs for every (soul that is) patiently constant and grateful.
But they said: “Lord, make the stages of our journeys longer.” They wronged their own selves so We reduced them to bygone tales, and utterly tore them to pieces. Verily there are Signs in this for everyone who is steadfast and thankful.
But they said: “Our Lord! Make the stages between our journey longer,” and they wronged themselves, so We made them as tales (in the land), and We dispersed them all, totally. Verily, in this are indeed signs for every steadfast grateful (person).
But they said: Our Lord! Make the stage between our journeys longer. And they wronged themselves, therefore We made them bywords (in the land) and scattered them abroad, a total scattering. Lo! herein verily are portents for each steadfast, grateful (heart).
Yet they said, “Our Lord, prolong (the stages) between our journeys.” And they did injustice to themselves, so We made them (as only) discourses, and we tore them utterly to pieces. Surely in that are indeed signs for every (person) most patient, (and) constantly thankful.
but [still] they complained, ‘Our Lord has made the distance between our staging posts so long!’They wronged themselves and, in the end, We made their fate a byword, and scattered them in countless fragments. There truly are signs in this for every patient, thankful person.
لیکن انہوں نے پھر کہا کہ اے ہمارے پروردگار! ہمارے سفر دور دراز کردے چونکہ خود انہوں نے اپنے ہاتھوں اپنا برا کیا اس لئے ہم نے انہیں (گزشتہ) فسانوں کی صورت میں کردیا اور ان کے ٹکڑے ٹکڑے اڑا دیئے۔ بلاشبہ ہر ایک صبروشکر کرنے والے کے لئے اس (ماجرے) میں بہت سی عبرتیں ہیں
Quran 34 Verse 19 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Saba ayat 19, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(34:19) But they said: “Lord, make the stages of our journeys longer.”[32] They wronged their own selves so We reduced them to bygone tales, and utterly tore them to pieces.[33] Verily there are Signs in this for everyone who is steadfast and thankful.[34]
32. They may not have prayed thus in so many words. As a matter of fact, whoever is ungrateful to Allah for His blessings, tells Allah, as if to say that he is not worthy of those blessings. Likewise, the nation which abuses the bounties of Allah, in fact, prays to Him, as if to say, “Our Lord, withdraw Your blessings from us, we are not worthy of these.” Moreover, the words in the text also seem to suggest that the Sabaeans perhaps regarded their large population as a calamity for themselves, and they also wanted like the other foolish people that their population should fall.
33. That is, the people of Saba were so dispersed in all directions that their dispersion became proverbial. Even today when the Arabs have to mention the complete dispersion of any people they refer to the people of Saba as an example. When Allah caused His blessings to be withdrawn from them, the different tribes of the Sabaeans started leaving their homes and migrating to other parts of Arabia. The Banu Ghassan went to settle in Jordan and Syria, the Aus and Khazraj in Yathrib, and the Khuzaah in Tihamah near Jeddah. The Azd left for Uman and the Bani Lakhm and Judham and Kindah were also forced to give up their homes for other places. Thus, the Sabaeans ceased to exist as a nation and became a mere legend.
34. In this context the “steadfast and grateful” implies every such person (or persons) who does not lose his balance after he has received blessings from Allah, nor exults at prosperity, nor becomes heedless of God Who has blessed him with these. Such a person can learn great lessons from the history of those people who adopted the way of disobedience after attaining opportunities for progress and prosperity and ultimately met with their doom.
Ibn-Kathir
The tafsir of Surah Saba verse 19 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Saba ayat 18 which provides the complete commentary from verse 18 through 19.
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