SURAH SABA

Sheba

(Maccie, Surah # 34, Verses 54 )

GLORIFY ALLAH

34:1 All praise is for Allah, to Whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And praise be to Him in the Hereafter. He is the All-Wise, All-Aware.

34:2 He knows whatever goes into the earth and whatever comes out of it, and whatever descends from the sky and whatever ascends into it. And He is the Most Merciful, All-Forgiving.

DENIAL OF THE JUDGMENT DAY

34:3 The disbelievers say, “The Hour will never come to us.” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Yes—by my Lord, the Knower of the unseen—it will certainly come to you!” Not ˹even˺ an atom’s weight is hidden from Him in the heavens or the earth; nor anything smaller or larger than that, but is ˹written˺ in a Clear Book.

34:4 That He may reward those who believe and do righteous good deeds. Those, theirs is forgiveness and Rizqun Karim.

34:5 But those who strive against Our Ayat to frustrate them, those, for them will be a severe painful torment.

34:6 And those who have been given knowledge see that what is revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, and it guides to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy.

DENIAL OF BRINGING DEAD TO LIFE

34:7 The disbelievers say ˹mockingly to one another˺,"Should we tell you about a man(Muhammad) who says that you will be brought back to life again after your having been completely disintegrated?

34:8 Has he (Muhammad SAW) invented a lie against Allah, or is there a madness in him? Nay, but those who disbelieve in the Hereafter are (themselves) in a torment, and in far error.

34:9 Have they not then seen all that surrounds them of the heavens and the earth? If We willed, We could cause the earth to swallow them up, or cause ˹deadly˺ pieces of the sky to fall upon them. Surely in this is a sign for every servant who turns ˹to Allah˺.

PROPHET DAWOOD

34:10 And indeed We bestowed grace on Dawood from Us (saying): "O you mountains. Glorify (Allah) with him! And you birds (also)! And We made the iron soft for him."

34:11 Instructing: “Make full-length armor, ˹perfectly˺ balancing the links. And work righteousness. Indeed, I am All-Seeing of what you do.”

PROPHET SULAIMAN

34:12 And to Sulaiman [We subjected] the wind - its morning [journey was that of] a month - and its afternoon [journey was that of] a month, and We made flow for him a spring of [liquid] copper. And among the jinn were those who worked for him by the permission of his Lord. And whoever deviated among them from Our command - We will make him taste of the punishment of the Blaze.

34:13 They (Jinns) would make for him anything that he wanted like fortresses, statues, large basins like reservoirs, and huge immovable cooking pots. It was said, "Family of Dawood, worship and act gratefully. Only few of my servants are grateful."

34:14 Then when We decreed death for him [Sulaiman], nothing informed them (jinns) of his death except the termites eating away his staff.So when he collapsed, the jinn realized that if they had ˹really˺ known the unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment.

SABA

34:15 Indeed, there was a sign for ˹the tribe of˺ Sheba in their homeland: two orchards—one to the right and the other to the left. ˹They were told:˺ “Eat from the provision of your Lord, and be grateful to Him. You have a blessed land and an All-forgiving Lord".

34:16 But they turned away. So We sent against them a devastating flood, and replaced their orchards with two others producing bitter fruit, fruitless bushes, and a few ˹sparse˺ thorny trees.

34:17 This is how We rewarded them for their ingratitude. Would We ever punish ˹anyone in such a way˺ except the ungrateful?

34:18 We established between them and the town that We had blessed, other towns nearby, and thus made it easier to travel. We told them, "Travel there safely day and night".

34:19 They said, "Lord, make the distances of our journeys longer." They did injustice to themselves and We turned their existence into ancient tales by making them disintegrate totally. In this there is evidence (of the truth) for every forbearing and grateful person.

34:20 Iblis (satan made his judgment about them to come true. They all followed them except a believing group among them.

34:21 And he (Iblis ­ Satan) had no authority over them, except that We might test him, who believes in the Hereafter from him who is in doubt about it. And your Lord is a Hafiz over everything

34:22 Say, (Muhammad), "Ask help from those whom you worship besides God. They do not possess an atom's weight in the heavens and the earth, have no share therein, nor will any of their idols be able to support them."

34:23 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.

34:24 Say (O Muhammad) "Who gives you provision from the heavens and the earth?" Say: "Allah, And verily, (either) we or you are rightly guided or in a plain error."

34:25 Say (O Muhammad) "You will not be asked about our sins, nor shall we be asked of what you do."

34:26 Say: "Our Lord will assemble us all together (on the Day of Resurrection), then He will judge between us with truth. And He is the (Most Trustworthy) All­Knowing Judge."

34:27 Say (O Muhammad): "Show me those whom you have joined to Him as partners. Nay! But He is Allah (Alone), the All­Mighty, the All­Wise."

34:28 And We have not sent you (O Muhammad SAW) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most of men know not.

34:29 And they say: "When is this promise (i.e. the Day of Resurrection will be fulfilled) if you are truthful?"

34:30 Say, "That day has already been decreed for you and you cannot change the time of its coming even by a single hour."

34:31 And those who disbelieve say: "We believe not in this Quran nor in that which was before it," but if you could see when the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong­doers, etc.) will be made to stand before their Lord, how they will cast the (blaming) word one to another! Those who were deemed weak will say to those who were arrogant: "Had it not been for you, we should certainly have been believers!"

34:32 The suppressing ones will say to the oppressed ones, "Did we prevent you from having guidance after it had come to you? In fact, you yourselves were criminals."

34:33 The lowly will say to the arrogant, “No! It was your plotting by day and night—when you ordered us to disbelieve in Allah and to set up equals with Him.” They will ˹all˺ hide ˹their˺ remorse when they see the torment. And We will put shackles around the necks of the disbelievers. Will they be rewarded except for what they used to do?

34:34 And We did not send a warner to a township, but those who were given the worldly wealth and luxuries among them said: "We believe not in the (Message) with which you have been sent."

34:35 And they say: "We are more in wealth and in children, and we are not going to be punished."

SUSTENANCE OR PROVISION(RIZQ)

34:36 Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Surely ˹it is˺ my Lord ˹Who˺ gives abundant or limited provisions to whoever He wills. But most people do not know.”

34:37 It is not your wealth or children that bring you closer to Us. But those who believe and do good—it is they who will have a multiplied reward for what they did, and they will be secure in ˹elevated˺ mansions.

34:38 And the ones who strive against Our verses to cause [them] failure - those will be brought into the punishment [to remain].

34:39 Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Surely ˹it is˺ my Lord ˹Who˺ gives abundant or limited provisions to whoever He wills of His servants. And whatever you spend in charity, He will compensate ˹you˺ for it. For He is the Best Provider.”

WORSHIPING ANGELS-JINNS

34:40And [mention] the Day when He will gather them (polytheists) all and then say to the angels, "Did these [people] used to worship you?"

34:41 They (angels) will say: "Glorified be You! You are our Wali (Lord) instead of them. Nay, but they used to worship the jinns; most of them were believers in them."

34:42 So Today neither of you can benefit or protect each other. And We will say to the wrongdoers, “Taste the torment of the Fire, which you used to deny.”

THEY SAY QURAN IS A FABRICATED LIE

34:43 When Our clear revelations are recited to them, they say, “This is only a man who wishes to hinder you from what your forefathers used to worship.” They also say, “This ˹Quran˺ is no more than a fabricated lie.” And the disbelievers say of the truth when it has come to them, “This is nothing but pure magic.”

34:44 And We had not given them any scriptures which they could study, and We had not sent to them before you, [O Muhammad], any warner.

34:45 These people have not one tenth of power or wealth that we had given to those who lived before them. They called Our Messengers liars. Thus,how (terrible) was My denial (punishment)!

34:46 Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I advise you to do ˹only˺ one thing: stand up for ˹the sake of˺ Allah—individually or in pairs—then reflect. Your fellow man is not insane. He is only a warner to you before ˹the coming of˺ a severe punishment.”

34:47 Say, “If I had ever asked you for a reward, you could keep it. My reward is only from Allah. And He is a Witness over all things.”

34:48 Say, "Indeed, my Lord projects the truth. Knower of the unseen."

34:49 Say, "The truth has come. Falsehood has vanished and it will not come back again".

IF A PERSON IS ASTRAY OR GUIDED ITS FOR HIS OWNSELVE

34:50 Say, “If I am astray, the loss is only mine. And if I am guided, it is ˹only˺ because of what my Lord reveals to me. He is indeed All-Hearing, Ever Near.”

34:51 And if you could but see, when they will be terrified with no escape (for them), and they will be seized from a near place.

34:52 And they will say (in the Hereafter): "We do believe (now);" but how could they receive (Faith and the acceptance of their repentance by Allah) from a place so far off (i.e. to return to the worldly life again).

34:53 while they had already rejected it before, guessing blindly from a place ˹equally˺ far-away ˹from the Hereafter˺?

34:54 And a barrier will be set between them and that which they desire [i.e. At-Taubah (turning to Allah in repentance) and the accepting of Faith etc.], as was done in the past with the people of their kind. Verily, they have been in grave doubt.

Online Sources: Citations

https://quran.com/1

https://corpus.quran.com/translation.jsp?chapter=1&verse=1

https://noblequran.com/