Al-Qur'an Surah Maryam Verse 38

Mufti Taqi Usmani

How strong will their hearing be, and how strong their vision, the day they will come to Us! But today the transgressors are straying in clear error.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

How clearly will they hear and see on the Day they will come to Us! But today the wrongdoers are clearly astray.

Ruwwad Translation Center

How sharp they will hear and see on the Day they come to Us! But today the wrongdoers are clearly misguided.

A. J. Arberry

How well they will hear and see on the day they come to Us! But the evildoers even today are in error manifest.

Abdul Haleem

How sharp of hearing, how sharp of sight they will be when they come to Us, although now they are clearly off course! Warn them [Muhammad] of the Day of Remorse when the matter will be decided,

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

How wondrous in their hearing and their sight will they be the Day they come unto Us! But to-day the wrong doers are in error manifest.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

How plainly will they see and hear, the Day that they will appear before Us! but the unjust today are in error manifest!

Abul Ala Maududi

How well shall they hear and how well shall they see on the Day they come to Us! But today the evil-doers are in manifest error.

Ahmed Ali

How keenly would they hear and see when they come before Us then, even though today the evil-doers are lost in palpable error.

Ahmed Raza Khan

Much will they listen and much will they see, on the Day when they come to Us, but today the unjust are in open error.

Ali Quli Qarai

How well they will hear and how well they will see on the day when they come to Us! But today the wrongdoers are in manifest error.

Ali Ünal

How well they will hear and how well they will see on the Day when they come before Us (the truth that they hide or push away will be clear to them)! But today (it will be of no avail to) the wrongdoers, (and they) will be in obvious loss.

Amatul Rahman Omar

How clear they will hear and how well they will see on the day they come to Us. But this day the unjust are steeped in manifest error.

English Literal

Make (to) hear/listen with them, and make to see/understand , a day they come to Us, but the unjust/oppressive today (are) in evident misguidance.211

Faridul Haque

Much will they listen and much will they see, on the Day when they come to Us, but today the unjust are in open error.

Hamid S. Aziz

And the sects among them disagree, but woe to those who disbelieve from the meeting of the mighty Day.

Hilali & Khan

How clearly will they (polytheists and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) see and hear, the Day when they will appear before Us! But the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) today are in plain error.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

But parties from among them differed; so woe to those who disbelieve, because of their presence on a grievous day!

Mohammad Habib Shakir

How clearly shall they hear and how clearly shall they see on the day when they come to Us; but the unjust this day are in manifest error.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

See and hear them on the Day they come unto Us! yet the evil-doers are to-day in error manifest.

Muhammad Sarwar

(Muhammad), how clearly they will hear and see on the day when they will be brought into Our presence. Today the wrong doers are in manifest error.

Qaribullah & Darwish

How well they will hear and see on the Day when they come before Us! The evildoers are today in clear error.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

How clearly will they see and hear, the Day when they will appear before Us! But the wrongdoers today are in plain error.

Wahiduddin Khan

How sharp of hearing, how sharp of sight they will be when they come to Us. But today, these evil-doers are obviously lost in error.

Talal Itani

Listen to them and watch for them the Day they come to Us. But the wrongdoers today are completely lost.

Tafsir jalalayn

How hearing they are and seeing, they are (these two constructions [are used to] express `amazement', meaning, `how well they [will] hear and how well they [will] see') on the Day when they come to Us, in the Hereafter. Yet the evildoers (an example of a proper noun [`evildoers'] replacing a third person pronominalisation) today, that is, in this world, are in manifest error, that is, [error] that is evident therein, having been deaf [unable] to listen to the truth and blind [unable] to see it. In other words, [the meaning is]; O you, the one being addressed, marvel at how [well] they will [be able to] hear and see in the Hereafter after they had been deaf and blind in this world.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Disbeliever's warning of the Day of Distress

Allah, the Exalted, says informing about the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection that they will be made to have the clearest hearing and sight. This is as Allah says,

وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُواْ رُءُوسِهِمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَأ أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا

And if you only could see when the criminals hang their heads before their Lord (saying);"Our Lord! We have now seen and heard." (32;12)

They will say that when it will not benefit them, nor will it be of any use to them. If they had used these senses properly before seeing the torment, then it would have brought them some benefit and saved them from the Allah's punishment.

This is why Allah says,

أَسْمِعْ بِهِمْ وَأَبْصِرْ

How clearly will they (disbelievers) see and hear,

This means that no one will hear and see better than they will.

يَوْمَ يَأْتُونَنَا

the day when they will appear before Us.

The Day of Resurrection.

لَكِنِ الظَّالِمُونَ الْيَوْمَ

But the wrongdoers today are...

now, in the life of this world,

فِي ضَلَلٍ مُّبِينٍ


in plain error.

They do not hear, see or think. When they are requested to follow guidance, they are not guided and they succumb to those things that do not benefit them.

Then, Allah says