Surah Zukhruf Ayat 48 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 48
And We showed them not a sign except that it was greater than its sister, and We seized them with affliction that perhaps they might return [to faith].
We showed them Sign after Sign, each greater than its fellow, and We seized them with Punishment, in order that they might turn (to Us).
Every Sign that We showed them was greater than its predecessor; and then We seized them with Our chastisement so that they may return (to the Right Way).
And not an Ayah (sign, etc.) We showed them but it was greater than its fellow, and We seized them with torment, in order that they might turn [from their polytheism to Allah’s Religion (Islamic Monotheism)].
And every token that We showed them was greater than its sister (token), and We grasped them with the torment, that haply they might turn again.
And in no way did We show them any sign except that it was greater than its sister sign; and We took (hold) of them with the torment, that possibly they would return.
even though each sign We showed them was greater than the previous one. We inflicted torment on them so that they might return to the right path.
اور ہم انہیں جو نشانی دکھاتے تھے وه دوسری سے بڑھی چڑھی ہوتی تھی اور ہم نے انہیں عذاب میں پکڑا تاکہ وه باز آجائیں
Quran 43 Verse 48 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Zukhruf ayat 48, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(43:48) Every Sign that We showed them was greater than its predecessor; and then We seized them with Our chastisement so that they may return (to the Right Way).[43]
43. This implies the signs which Allah showed them through the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) afterwards, and these were the following:
(1) A public encounter of Allah’s Prophet with the magicians, who believed after their defeat. For details, see (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 112-126); (Surah TaHa, Ayat 68-73); (Surah Ash Shuara, Ayat 37-51).
(2) A severe famine which hit the land of Egypt according to Prophet Moses’ (peace be upon him) announcement and which left the country only by his prayer.
(3) Dreadful rain and hail-storms accompanied by lightning and thunder struck the country even as Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) had announced, which destroyed the crops and dwellings and which also was removed only by his prayer.
(4) The sudden appearance of locusts in the land. This calamity was also not removed when Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) prayed to Allah.
(5) Lice and weevils spread throughout the country according to the announcement made by Moses (peace be upon him), which afflicted men and animals on the one hand, and destroyed granaries on the other. This torment was also averted when Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) was requested to pray for its removal.
(6) Frogs appeared everywhere in the country according to the warning given by Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), which put the whole population to great distress. This calamity did not also retreat until Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) prayed for it.
(7) The torment of blood appeared precisely as foretold by Moses (peace be upon him), which turned the water of all canals, wells, springs, pools and cisterns into blood. The fish died and the water smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink from it for a full week. This evil was also averted when the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) was asked to pray for its removal. For details, see (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 130-136). (Surah An-Naml, Ayat 12) and (Surah Al-Mumin, ayat 24) note 37.
Chapters 7 to 10 of Exodus also contain the details of these calamities, but it is a combination of gossip and truth. It says that when the calamity of blood appeared, the magicians also worked a similar miracle, but when the calamity of the lice came, the magicians could not produce lice in response, and they said that it was God’s work. Even more strange than this is that when the storm of the frogs came, the magicians also brought about frogs, but in spite of that Pharaoh requested only the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) to pray to God to take away the frogs. The question is when the magicians could produce frogs, why didn’t Pharaoh get the frogs taken away through them? And how did it become known which of the frogs were Allah’s work and which of the magicians’ work? The same question arises about the blood. When according to the warning of Moses (peace be upon him) water became blood everywhere, which water did the magicians turn into blood? And how was it known that the water of a particular place had turned blood by the power of the magicians? Such are the things which show that the Bible does not consist of purely divine revelation, but the people who wrote it mixed up many things in it from their own imagination. The pity, however, is that the authors also were people of ordinary intelligence, who did not even know how to invent a story.
Ibn-Kathir
The tafsir of Surah Zukhruf verse 48 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Zukhruf ayat 46 which provides the complete commentary from verse 46 through 50.
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