Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nahl Verse 24

Mufti Taqi Usmani

When it is said to them, “What has your Lord sent down?” They say, “It is nothing but the tales of the ancient people.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

And when it is said to them, “What has your Lord revealed?” They say, “Ancient fables!”

Ruwwad Translation Center

When it is said to them, “What has your Lord sent down?” They say, “Ancient fables!”

A. J. Arberry

And when it is said to them, 'What has your Lord sent down?' they say, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients.'

Abdul Haleem

When they are asked, ‘What has your Lord sent down?’ they say, ‘Ancient fables.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And when it is said unto them: what is it that your Lord hath sent down? they say: fables of the ancient.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

When it is said to them, "What is it that your Lord has revealed?" they say, "Tales of the ancients!"

Abul Ala Maududi

When they are asked: "What is it that your Lord has revealed?" They answer: "They are merely tales of olden times!"

Ahmed Ali

For when they are asked: "What has your Lord sent down?" they say: "Tales of long ago."

Ahmed Raza Khan

And when it is said to them, “What has your Lord sent down?”, they say, “The tales of former people.”

Ali Quli Qarai

When they are asked, ‘What is it that your Lord has sent down?’ They say, ‘Myths of the ancients,’

Ali Ünal

When it is said to them: "What is it that your Lord (Who sustains, protects, and raises you) has sent down (on the Messenger)?" They say: "Fables of the ancients."

Amatul Rahman Omar

And when these (disbelievers) are asked, `What is (in your opinion) that which your Lord has sent down?´ They say,` They are (mere) stories of the ancients.´

English Literal

And if (it) was said to them: "What (did) your Lord descend?" They said: "The firsts`/beginners` myths/baseless stories ."

Faridul Haque

And when it is said to them, "What has your Lord sent down?", they say, "The tales of former people."

Hamid S. Aziz

And when it is said to them, "What is it that your Lord has revealed (sent down)?" they say, "Old folks´ tales!"

Hilali & Khan

And when it is said to them: "What is it that your Lord has sent down (unto Muhammad SAW)?" They say: "Tales of the men of old!"

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Undoubtedly Allah knows what they hide and what they manifest. Surely He loves not the proud.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And when it is said to them, what is it that your Lord has revealed? They say: Stories of the ancients;

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And when it is said unto them: What hath your Lord revealed? they say: (Mere) fables of the men of old,

Muhammad Sarwar

When they are asked, "What has your Lord revealed to you?" they say, "Only ancient legends".

Qaribullah & Darwish

And if they are asked: 'What has your Lord revealed' they say: 'Tales of the ancients, fairytales'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And when it is said to them: "What is it that your Lord has revealed" They say: "Tales of the men of old!"

Wahiduddin Khan

When they are asked, "What is it that your Lord has sent down?" they say, "Stories of the ancients."

Talal Itani

And when it is said to them, “What has your Lord sent down?” They say, “Legends of the ancients.”

Tafsir jalalayn

The following was revealed regarding al-Nadr b. al-Hrith; And when it is said to them, `What is it (m is an interrogative particle; dh is a relative particle) that your Lord has revealed?', to Muhammad (s), they say, [that] these [revelations] are, `fables, lies, of the ancients', in order to lead people astray.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Destruction of the Disbelievers and Intensification of their Punishment for rejecting the Revelation

Allah says;

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُم

And when it is said to them;

Allah informs us that when it is said to those liars,

مَّاذَا أَنزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُواْ

"What is it that your Lord has revealed!" They say,

not wanting to answer,

أَسَاطِيرُ الَاوَّلِينَ



"Tales of the men of old!"

meaning nothing is revealed to him, what he is reciting to us is just tales of the men of old, taken from the previous Books.

As Allah says,

وَقَالُواْ أَسَـطِيرُ الاٌّوَّلِينَ اكْتَتَبَهَا فَهِىَ تُمْلَى عَلَيْهِ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلً

And they say;"Tales of the ancients, which he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon." (25;5)

i.e., they tell lies against the Messenger and say things contradicting one another, but all of it is false, as Allah says,

انْظُرْ كَيْفَ ضَرَبُواْ لَكَ الاٌّمْثَالَ فَضَلُّواْ فَلَ يَسْتَطِيعْونَ سَبِيلً

Look at the parables they make of you, so they have gone astray, and they are not able to find the right way. (17;48)

Once they have gone beyond the bounds of the truth, whatever they say will be in error. They used to say that he (the Prophet) was a sorcerer, a poet, a soothsayer, or a madman, then they settled on an idea proposed by their leader, an individual known as Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah Al-Makhzumi, when;

إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ

فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ

ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ

ثُمَّ نَظَرَ

ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ

ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ

فَقَالَ إِنْ هَـذَا إِلاَّ سِحْرٌ يُوْثَرُ

He thought, and plotted. So let him be cursed, how he plotted! And once more let him be cursed, how he plotted! Then he thought. Then he frowned and he looked in a bad tempered way; then he turned back, and was proud. Then he said;"This is nothing but the magic of old." (74;18-24)

meaning something that had been transmitted and passed down. So they dispersed having agreed on this opinion, may Allah punish them.

As Allah says