Surah Yusuf Ayat 109 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 109
And We sent not before you [as messengers] except men to whom We revealed from among the people of cities. So have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those before them? And the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah; then will you not reason?
Nor did We send before thee (as messengers) any but men, whom we did inspire,- (men) living in human habitations. Do they not travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those before them? But the home of the hereafter is best, for those who do right. Will ye not then understand?
The Messengers whom We raised before you, (O Muhammad), and to whom We sent down revelations, were only human beings, and were from among those living in earthly habitations. Have these people not travelled in the earth that they may observe the end of their predecessors? Certainly the abode of the Hereafter is much better for those (who accepted the call of the Messengers and) acted in a God-fearing manner. Will you still not act with good sense?
And We sent not before you (as Messengers) any but men, whom We inspired from among the people of townships. Have they not travelled through the earth and seen what was the end of those who were before them? And verily, the home of the Hereafter is the best for those who fear Allah and obey Him (by abstaining from sins and evil deeds, and by performing righteous good deeds). Do you not then understand?
We sent not before thee (any messengers) save men whom We inspired from among the folk of the townships – Have they not travelled in the land and seen the nature of the consequence for those who were before them? And verily the abode of the Hereafter, for those who ward off (evil), is best. Have ye then no sense? –
And in no way did We send (any Messengers) even before you, except men whom We revealed to of the population of the towns. Have they then not traveled in the earth (and) so have looked into how was the end of (the ones) who were (there) even before them? And indeed the Residence of the Hereafter is most charitable (i.e., better) for the ones who are pious. Do you then not consider?
All the messengers We sent before you [Muhammad] were men to whom We made revelations, men chosen from the people of their towns. Have the [disbelievers] not travelled through the land and seen the end of those who went before them? For those who are mindful of God, the Home in the Hereafter is better. Do you [people] not use your reason?
آپ سے پہلے ہم نے بستی والوں میں جتنے رسول بھیجے ہیں سب مرد ہی تھے جن کی طرف ہم وحی نازل فرماتے گئے۔ کیا زمین میں چل پھر کر انہوں نے دیکھا نہیں کہ ان سے پہلے کے لوگوں کا کیسا کچھ انجام ہوا؟ یقیناً آخرت کا گھر پرہیزگاروں کے لئے بہت ہی بہتر ہے، کیا پھر بھی تم نہیں سمجھتے
Quran 12 Verse 109 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Yusuf ayat 109, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(12:109) The Messengers whom We raised before you, (O Muhammad), and to whom We sent down revelations, were only human beings, and were from among those living in earthly habitations. Have these people not travelled in the earth that they may observe the end of their predecessors? Certainly the abode of the Hereafter is much better for those (who accepted the call of the Messengers and) acted in a God-fearing manner. Will you still not act with good sense?[79]
79. A very comprehensive subject has been condensed here into a couple of sentences, which may be expanded like this: “O Muhammad! these people do not listen to you because it is not an easy thing for them to believe you to be a Messenger of Allah just because you are a mere human being who was born in their own city among them and brought up like other people. But there is nothing strange in this. For this is not the first instance of its kind. All the Prophets, whom We sent before you, were also human beings and lived in the same habitations to which they were sent. It never happened that a stranger came to a town and declared, “I have been sent as a Messenger to you. On the other hand, all the Prophets, Jesus, Moses, Abraham and Noah (peace be upon them all), who were raised for the reform of the people, were human beings who were born and brought up in their own habitations. Then it addresses the disbelievers directly, as if to say: Now it is for you to judge and decide whether you should accept the Messenger or reject him on such flimsy grounds as these. You have traveled abroad and seen the end of those people who rejected the message of their Prophets and followed their own desires. You have seen, on your journeys, the ruined habitations of the people of Aad, Thamud, Midian, Lot, and others. Have you not observed these as object lessons, for these warn you that they would meet with far worse consequences in the Hereafter, and that conversely, those who are pious and God fearing will have a very happy life?
Ibn-Kathir
109. And We sent not before you (as Messengers) any but men unto whom We revealed, from among the people of townships. Have they not traveled in the land and seen what was the end of those who were before them And verily, the home of the Hereafter is the best for those who have Taqwa. Do you not then understand
Allah states that He only sent Prophets and Messengers from among men and not from among women, as this Ayah clearly states. Allah did not reveal religious and legislative laws to any woman from among the daughters of Adam. This is the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah. Shaykh Abu Al-Hasan, `Ali bin Isma`il Al-Ash`ari mentioned that it is the view of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah, that there were no female Prophets, but there were truthful believers from among women. Allah mentions the most honorable of the truthful female believers, Maryam, the daughter of `Imran, when He said,
(The Messiah ﴿’Isa﴾, son of Maryam (Mary), was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah ﴿truthful believer﴾. They both used to eat food.) ﴿5:75﴾ Therefore, the best description Allah gave her is Siddiqah. Had she been a Prophet, Allah would have mentioned this fact when He was praising her qualities and honor. Therefore, Mary was a truthful believer according to the words of the Qur’an.
Ad-Dahhak reported that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah’s statement,
(And We sent not before you (as Messengers) any but men) “They were not from among the residents of the heaven (angels), as you claimed.” This statement of Ibn `Abbas is supported by Allah’s statements,
(And We never sent before you any of the Messengers, but verily, they ate food and walked in the markets), ﴿25:20﴾
(And We did not create them with bodies that ate not food, nor were they immortals. Then We fulfilled to them the promise. So We saved them and those whom We willed, but We destroyed extravagants), ﴿21:8-9﴾ and,
(Say: “I am not a new thing among the Messengers.”) ﴿46:9﴾ Allah said next,
(from among the people of townships), meaning, from among the people of cities, not that they were sent among the bedouins who are some of the harshest and roughest of all people.
Allah said next,
(Have they not traveled in the land), meaning, `Have not these people who rejected you, O Muhammad, traveled in the land,’
(and seen what was the end of those who were before them) that is, the earlier nations that rejected the Messengers, and how Allah destroyed them. A similar end is awaiting all disbelievers. Allah said in another Ayah,
(Have they not traveled through the land, and have they hearts wherewith to understand) ﴿22:46﴾ When they hear this statement, they should realize that Allah destroyed the disbelievers and saved the believers, and this is His way with His creation. This is why Allah said,
(And verily, the home of the Hereafter is the best for those who have Taqwa.) Allah says, `Just as We saved the faithful in this life, We also wrote safety for them in the Hereafter, which is far better for them than the life of the present world.’ Allah said in another Ayah,
(Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe in this world’s life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth (i.e. Day of Resurrection). The Day when their excuses will be of no profit to the wrongdoers. Theirs will be the curse, and theirs will be the evil abode (in Hellfire).) 40:51-52)
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