Surah Saba >> Currently viewing Surah Saba Ayat 23 (34:23)

Surah Saba Ayat 23 in Arabic Text

وَلَا تَنفَعُ ٱلشَّفَٰعَةُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا لِمَنۡ أَذِنَ لَهُۥۚ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمۡ قَالُواْ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمۡۖ قَالُواْ ٱلۡحَقَّۖ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَلِيُّ ٱلۡكَبِيرُ
Wa laa tanfa’ush shafaa’atu ‘indahooo illaa liman azina lah; hattaaa izaa fuzzi’a ‘an quloobihim qaaloo maazaa qaala Rabbukum; qaalul haqq, wa Huwal ‘Aliyul Kabeer

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 23

Sahih International
And intercession does not benefit with Him except for one whom He permits. [And those wait] until, when terror is removed from their hearts, they will say [to one another], “What has your Lord said?” They will say, “The truth.” And He is the Most High, the Grand.

Yusuf Ali
“No intercession can avail in His Presence, except for those for whom He has granted permission. So far (is this the case) that, when terror is removed from their hearts (at the Day of Judgment, then) will they say, ‘what is it that your Lord commanded?’ they will say, ‘That which is true and just; and He is the Most High Most Great’.”

Abul Ala Maududi
No intercession can avail with Allah except for him whom Allah permits (to intercede). When their hearts are relieved of fright they will ask the intercessors: “What did your Lord say?” They will reply: “(He said) what is right, and He is the High, the Great.”

Muhsin Khan
Intercession with Him profits not, except for him whom He permits. Until when fear is banished from their (angels’) hearts, they (angels) say: “What is it that your Lord has said?” They say: “The truth. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.”

Pickthall
No intercession availeth with Him save for him whom He permitteth. Yet, when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: What was it that your Lord said? They say: The Truth. And He is the Sublime, the Great.

Dr. Ghali
And intercession will not profit in His Reckoning except for him to whom He gives permission; till, when alarm (is lifted) from their hearts, they will say, “What did your Lord say?” They will say, “The Truth; and He is The Ever-Exalted, The Ever-Great.”

Abdel Haleem
Intercession will not work with Him, except by those to whom He gives permission.’ They will be asked, after the terror is lifted from their hearts [on the Day of Judgement], ‘What did your Lord speak?’ and they will answer, ‘The Truth. He is the Most High, the Most Great.’

Muhammad Junagarhi
شفاعت (سفارش) بھی اس کے پاس کچھ نفع نہیں دیتی بجز ان کے جن کے لئے اجازت ہوجائے۔ یہاں تک کہ جب ان کے دلوں سے گھبراہٹ دور کردی جاتی ہے تو پوچھتے ہیں تمہارے پرودگار نے کیا فرمایا؟ جواب دیتے ہیں کہ حق فرمایا اور وه بلند وباﻻ اور بہت بڑا ہے

Quran 34 Verse 23 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Saba ayat 23, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(34:23) No intercession can avail with Allah except for him whom Allah permits (to intercede).[40] When their hearts are relieved of fright they will ask the intercessors: “What did your Lord say?” They will reply: “(He said) what is right, and He is the High, the Great.”[41]


40. That is, not to speak of owning something, or being a partner in the ownership of something, or being a helper of Allah in any way, there exists no one in the universe, who of his own accord, may intercede for someone before Allah. You are involved in the misunderstanding that there are some beloved ones of God, or some such powerful personalities, who can force and press God to accept their intercession, whereas the fact is that no one will dare utter a word of recommendation there without Allah’s permission. Only such a one will be able to make his submissions who is permitted by Allah to do so, and will intercede for him alone for whom permission for intercession is granted. To understand the distinction between the Islamic concept of intercession and the polytheistic concept, see (Surah Yunus, Ayat 3), (Surah Yunus, Ayat 18); (Surah Hud, Ayat 76), (Surah Hud, Ayat 105); (Surah TaHa, Ayat 109); (Surah Al-Anbiya, Ayat 28); (Surah Al-Hajj, Ayat 76).”

41. Here a graphic picture has been drawn of the time when, on the Day of Resurrection, an intercessor will be seeking permission to intercede on behalf of someone. It presents this scene: “After submitting the application for permission, both the intercessor and the person for whom intercession is being provided are awaiting the reply in a state of restlessness and awe. At last, when the permission is granted and the person perceives satisfaction in the face of the intercessor, he feels a little comforted and asks the intercessor: “What has your Lord said?” The intercessor says, “The truth”: permission has been granted. What is meant to be impressed is this: “O foolish people! Such will be the awe of the great court of Allah! How dare you entertain the notion that anybody will have you forgiven by his own power, or dare behave stubbornly and tell Allah: These are my favorites: they will have to be forgiven!”

Ibn-Kathir

The tafsir of Surah Saba verse 23 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Saba ayat 22 which provides the complete commentary from verse 22 through 23.

Quick navigation links

Surah Saba
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

surah saba ayat 23
surah saba ayat 24
surah saba ayat 25
surah saba ayat 26
surah saba ayat 27

skip_previous play_arrow skip_next
0:00/0:00
volume_up