21. Surah Al Anbiya'

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:



مَا آمَنَتْ قَبْلَهُم مِّن قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَاهَا...  

21: 6.     (As to those) before them, not one of the populations which We destroyed believed:

...أَفَهُمْ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿٦﴾

will these believe?

C2669. 'If such miracles as you read of failed to convince Unbelievers of old, what chance is there that these Unbelievers will believe?

Miracles may come, but they are no cures for Unbelief.

 

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ إِلاَّ رِجَالاً نُّوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ...  

21: 7.     Before thee, also, the Messengers we sent were but men, to whom We granted inspiration:

...فَاسْأَلُواْ أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٧﴾

if ye realize this not, ask of those who possess the Message.

C2670. See 16:43 and n. 2069.

This answers the Unbelievers' taunt, "he is just a man like ourselves!"

True, but all messengers sent by Allah were men, not angels or another kind of beings, who could not understand men or whom men could not understand.

وَمَا جَعَلْنَاهُمْ جَسَدًا لَّا يَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ...  

21: 8.     Nor did We give them bodies that ate no food

...وَمَا كَانُوا خَالِدِينَ ﴿٨﴾

nor were they exempt from death.

C2671. As men they were subject to all the laws governing the physical bodies of men. They ate and drank, and their bodies perished in death.


Other versions:


21:6 Not one of the communities that We destroyed in bygone times 7 would ever believe [their prophets]: wilt these, then, [be more willing to] believe? 8


21:7 [al-Anbiyaa, Mecca 73]


For [even] before thy time, [O Muhammad,] We never sent [as Our apostles] any but [mortal] men, whom We inspired - hence, [tell the deniers of the truth,] "If you do not know this, ask the followers of earlier revelation'"

Wama arsalna qablaka illa rijalan noohee ilayhim fais-aloo ahla alththikri in kuntum la taAAlamoona

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Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning

Muhammad Asad

 

For [even] before thy time, [O Muhammad,] We never sent [as Our apostles] any but [mortal] men, whom We inspired - hence, [tell the deniers of the truth,] “If you do not know this, ask the followers of earlier revelation”

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M. M. Pickthall

 

And We sent not (as Our messengers) before thee other than men, whom We inspired. Ask the followers of the Reminder if ye know not?

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Shakir

 

And We did not send before you any but men to whom We sent revelation, so ask the followers of the reminder if you do not

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Yusuf Ali

 

Before thee, also, the messengers We sent were but men, to whom We granted inspiration: If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.

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Wahiduddin Khan

 

The messengers We sent before you were but men whom We had sent revelations. Ask the People of the Book if you do not know this—

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[Al-Muntakhab]

 

We never sent and inspired before you O Muhammad but men chosen from among the town dwellers whose deeds were natural to man, therefore, you -infidels- may ask those who are well versed in the antecedent Scriptures -Jews and Christians- if indeed you do not know!

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[Progressive Muslims]

 

And We did not send before you except men whom We inspired to. So ask the people of the remembrance if you do not know.

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Abdel Haleem

 

And even before your time [Prophet], all the messengers We sent were only men We inspired–– if you [disbelievers] do not know, ask people who know the Scripture––

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Abdul Majid Daryabadi

 

And We sent not before thee but men unto whom We revealed; so ask the people of the Admonition if ye know not.

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Ahmed Ali

 

And We did not send before you except men, We inspire/transmit to them, so ask/question the reminder's/remembrance's people if you were not knowing.

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Aisha Bewley

 

We have only ever sent before you men who were given Revelation. Ask the People of the Reminder if you do not know.

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Ali Ünal

 

We did not send as Messengers before you (O Muhammad), any but men to whom We revealed. So (O people) ask those who have special knowledge (of the Divine Revelations), if you do not know.

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Ali Quli Qara'i

 

We did not send [any apostles] before you except as men, to whom We revealed. Ask the People of the Reminder if you do not know.

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Amatul Rahman Omar

 

(Prophet!) We sent none (as Messengers) before you but (they were) men to whom We made Our revelations. Therefore (O disbelievers!) ask the followers of the Reminder if you do not know (this).

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Hamid S. Aziz

 

Of those before them not one of the communities which We destroyed believed, how will these believe?

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Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali

 

And in no way did We send before you except men to whom We revealed (the Message). So ask (This is addressed to the disbelievers) the Population of the Remembrance, in case you do not know.

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Muhammad Sarwar

 

The messengers that We had sent before you were only men to whom We had given revelation. Ask the People of the Book if you do not know.

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Muhammad Taqi Usmani

 

And We did not send before you messengers except men whom We inspired with revelation. So, ask the people (having the knowledge) of the Message, if you do not know.

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Shabbir Ahmed

 

(O Prophet) Before you We sent none but men to whom We granted Revelation. (Tell the deniers), "If you do not know this, ask the followers of previous Revelations." (16:43).

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Syed Vickar Ahamed

 

Also before you, the messengers we sent were only men, to whom We granted the Revelation: If you do not know this, ask those, the people of the Remainder [of the Scripture, the Torah and the Gospel)].

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Umm Muhammad (Sahih International)

 

And We sent not before you, [O Muhammad], except men to whom We revealed [the message], so ask the people of the message if you do not know.

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Farook Malik

 

For [even] before thy time, [O Muhammad,] We never sent [as Our apostles] any but [mortal] men, whom We inspired - hence, [tell the deniers of the truth,] "If you do not know this, ask the followers of earlier revelation" -[Lit., "followers of the reminder" - i.e., of the Bible, which in its original, uncorrupted form represented one of Gods "reminders" to man.]

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Controversial, deprecated, or status undetermined works


Bijan Moeinian

 

Before you, I sent many human beings to them as My Messengers to whom I revealed My Revelations. If you do not know about them, ask those who have inherited the Scripture.

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Faridul Haque

 

And We did not send (Prophets) before you except men, to whom We sent divine revelations - therefore, O people, ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.

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Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah

 

We never sent (anyone) before you except men to whom We revealed to them. 'Ask the people of the Remembrance if you do not know. '

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Maulana Muhammad Ali

 

And We sent not before thee any but men to whom We sent revelation; so ask the followers of the Reminder if you know not.

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Muhammad Ahmed - Samira

 

Never did We send a message before you but through a man, whom We inspired. If you do not know, then ask the keepers of the oracles of God.

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Sher Ali

 

And WE sent none as Messengers before thee but men to whom WE sent revelations. So ask the people of the reminder, if you know not;

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Yusuf Ali (org.)

 

Before thee, also, the apostles We sent were but men, to whom We granted inspiration: If ye realise this not, ask of those who possess the Message.

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Rashad Khalifa

 

We did not send before you except men whom we inspired. Ask those who know the scripture, if you do not know.

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Non-Muslim and/or Orientalist works

Arthur John Arberry

 

And We sent none before thee, but men to whom We made revelation -- question the People of the Remembrance, if you do not know --

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Edward Henry Palmer

 

Nor did we send before them any but men whom we inspired? Ask ye the people of the Scriptures if ye do not know.

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George Sale

 

We sent none as our apostles before thee, other than men, unto whom We revealed our will. Ask those who are acquainted with the scripture, if ye know not this.

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John Medows Rodwell

 

And we sent none, previous to thee, but men to whom we had revealed ourselves. Ask ye the people who are warned by Scriptures, if ye know it not.





(21:8) and neither did We endow them with bodies that could dispense with food, 10 nor were they immortal.



[[ Asad’s notes -

6 Lit., "confusing medleys (ad, ghath) of dreams".


7 Lit., "before them".


8 The downfall of those communities of old - frequently referred to in the Qur'an - was invariably due to the fact that they had been resolved to ignore all spiritual truths which militated against their own, materialistic concept of life: is it, then (so the Qur'anic argument goes), reasonable to expect that the opponents of the Prophet Muhammad, who are similarly motivated, would be more willing to consider his message on its merits?


9 Lit., "followers of the reminder" - i.e., of the Bible, which in its original, uncorrupted form represented one of God's "reminders" to man.


10 Lit., "neither did We fashion them [i.e., those apostles] as bodies that ate no food", implying a denial of any supernatural quality in the prophets entrusted with God's message (cf 5:75, 13:38 and 25:20, as well as the corresponding notes). The above is an answer to the unbelievers' objection to Muhammad's prophethood expressed inverse 3 of this surah. ]]



[[Ali’s note - 2670 See xvi. 43 and n. 2069. This answers the Unbelievers' taunt, "he is just a man like ourselves!" True, but all messengers sent by Allah were men, not angels or another kind of beings, who could not understand men or whom men could not understand. (21.7) ]]


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