Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nur Verse 39

Mufti Taqi Usmani

As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert plain, which a thirsty person deems to be water, until when he comes to it, he finds it nothing, and finds (the decree of) Allah with him, so He pays him his account in full. Allah is swift at reckoning.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

As for the disbelievers, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert, which the thirsty perceive as water, but when they approach it, they find it to be nothing. Instead, they find Allah there ˹in the Hereafter, ready˺ to settle their account. And Allah is swift in reckoning.

Ruwwad Translation Center

As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in a plain desert, which a thirsty person deems to be water, until when he reaches it, he finds nothing, but he finds Allah there [in the Hereafter], thus He will pay him his account in full, for Allah is swift in reckoning.

A. J. Arberry

And as for the unbelievers, their works are as a mirage in a spacious plain which the man athirst supposes to be water, till, when he comes to it, he finds it is nothing; there indeed he finds God, and He pays him his account in full; (and God is swift at the reckoning.)

Abdul Haleem

But the deeds of those who disbelieve are like a mirage in a desert: the thirsty person thinks there will be water but, when he gets there, he finds only God, who pays him his account in full- God is swift in reckoning.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And those who disbelieve--their works are like a mirage in a desert which the thirsty deemeth to be water, until when he cometh thereto he findeth not aught, and findeth Allahs with himself, and He payeth him his account in full; and Allah is swift at reckoning.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

But the Unbelievers,- their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts, which the man parched with thirst mistakes for water; until when he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing; But he finds Allah (ever) with him, and Allah will pay him his account; and Allah is swift in taking account.

Abul Ala Maududi

(On the other hand,) the deeds of those who disbelieved, maybe likened to a mirage in a waterless desert, which the thirsty one took for water; but when he reached there he found nothing to drink; nay, he found there Allah Who settled his full account, and Allah is very swift at reckoning.

Ahmed Ali

As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in the desert which the thirsty takes for water till he reaches it to find that there was nothing, and finds God with him who settles his account, for God is swift at the reckoning.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And those who disbelieved – their deeds are like a mirage in the wasteland, so the thirsty may believe it to be water; to the extent that when he came close to it, he found it is nothing and found Allah close to him, so He filled his account; and Allah is Swift At Taking Account.

Ali Quli Qarai

As for the faithless, their works are like a mirage in a plain, which the thirsty man supposes to be water. When he comes to it, he finds it to be nothing; but there he finds Allah, who will pay him his full account, and Allah is swift at reckoning.

Ali Ünal

As for the unbelievers, all their deeds are like a mirage in the desert, which the thirsty one supposes to be water until he comes up to it, only to find that it was nothing; instead he finds God near it, and He settles his account in full. God is swift at settling the account.

Amatul Rahman Omar

And (as to) those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert, the thirsty man assumes it to be water until he comes up to it and finds it is nothing at all. And (instead of water by his side) he finds (that) Allâh (has always been present) with him, and He then pays him his account in full, and Allâh is Swift at reckoning.

English Literal

And those who disbelieved their deeds (are) as a mirage at a plain land (desert) the thirsty thinks/supposes it (is) water, until when he came to it, he did not find it a thing, and he found God at it, so He fulfilled/completed him his account/calculation, and God (is) fast/quick (in) the counting/calculating.

Faridul Haque

And those who disbelieved - their deeds are like a mirage in the wasteland, so the thirsty may believe it to be water; to the extent that when he came close to it, he found it is nothing and found Allah close to him, so He filled his account; and Allah is Swift At Taking Account.

Hamid S. Aziz

That Allah may reward them for the best of that which they have done, and give them increase of His bounty; for Allah gives blessings without stint to whom He will.

Hilali & Khan

As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing, but he finds Allah with him, Who will pay him his due (Hell). And Allah is Swift in taking account.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

That Allah may give them the best reward for what they did, and give them more out of His grace. And Allah provides without measure for whom He pleases.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And (as for) those who disbelieve, their deeds are like the mirage in a desert, which the thirsty man deems to be water; until when he comes to it he finds it to be naught, and there he finds Allah, so He pays back to him his reckoning in full; and Allah is quick in reckoning;

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are as a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one supposeth it to be water till he cometh unto it and findeth it naught, and findeth, in the place thereof, Allah Who payeth him his due; and Allah is swift at reckoning.

Muhammad Sarwar

The deeds of the unbelievers are like a mirage which a thirsty man thinks is water until he goes near and finds nothing. Instead he finds God who gives him his due recompense. God's reckoning is swift.

Qaribullah & Darwish

As for the unbelievers, their works are like a mirage in the wilderness. The thirsty person thinks it is water, but when he comes near he finds that it is nothing. He finds Allah there, who pays him his account in full. Allah is Swift in reckoning.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

As for those who disbelieved, their deeds are like a mirage in a Qi`ah. The thirsty one thinks it to be water until he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing; but he finds Allah with him, Who will pay him his due. And Allah is swift in taking account.

Wahiduddin Khan

As for those who deny the truth, their works are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty traveller thinks it to be water, but when he comes near, he finds it to be nothing. He finds God there, who pays him his account in full. God is swift in His reckoning.

Talal Itani

As for those who disbelieve, their works are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty assumes it is to be water. Until, when he has reached it, he finds it to be nothing, but there he finds God, Who settles his account in full. God is swift in reckoning.

Tafsir jalalayn

And as for those who disbelieve, their works are like a mirage in a plain (q`a is the plural of q`, that is to say, fult, `an open space'). [A mirage is] a kind of radiation which one might observe therein at midday during extreme heat, resembling running water -- which the thirsty man supposes to be water until he comes to it and finds it to be nothing, like what he had supposed. Likewise is [the case of] the disbeliever who supposes that his deeds, such as some voluntary alms, will benefit him; but when he dies and comes before his Lord he will not find his deed, in other words, it will be of no benefit to him; and he finds God there, namely, in the place of his deeds, Who pays him his account in full, that is, He requites him for it in this world; and God is swift at reckoning, that is, at requiting.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Two Examples of two kinds of Disbelievers

These are two examples which Allah sets forth of two kinds of disbelievers.

Similarly He sets forth two parables of the hypocrites at the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah;

one involving fire and the other involving water.

Similarly, in Surah Ar-Ra`d He gives two parables of the guidance and knowledge that are instilled in the heart, again involving fire and water;

we have discussed each of them in the appropriate place and there is no need to repeat it here, praise be to Allah.

Allah says;

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْأنُ مَاء حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءهُ

As for those who disbelieved, their deeds are like a mirage in a Qi`ah. The thirsty one thinks it to be water until he comes up to it,

The first of these two examples is that of the disbelievers who call others to their disbelief, thinking that they have good actions and beliefs, when this is not in fact the case. Their likeness is that of a mirage which is seen in a desert plain, looking from a distance as if it is a deep sea.

The word Qi`ah refers to a vast, flat, level area of land in which the mirage may appear.

There are different kinds of mirage, one which appears after midday, and another which appears in the morning and looks like water between heaven and earth. If a person who is in need of water sees the mirage, he thinks that it is water so he heads towards it in order to drink from it, but when he reaches it,

لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْيًا

he finds it to be nothing.

Similarly the disbeliever thinks that he is doing something good and that he has achieved something, but when Allah judges him on the Day of Resurrection, and brings him to account and examines his deeds, he will find that nothing has been accepted at all, either because of a lack of sincere belief or because he did not follow the proper ways of the Shariah. As Allah says;

وَقَدِمْنَأ إِلَى مَا عَمِلُواْ مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَأءً مَّنثُوراً

And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust. (25;23)

And He says here;

وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ



but he finds Allah with him, who will pay him his due. And Allah is swift in taking account.

A similar view was also narrated from Ubayy bin Ka`b, Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah and others.

In the Two Sahihs, it is reported that on the Day of Resurrection it will be said to the Jews,

"What did you used to worship!"

They will say, "We used to worship `Uzayr the son of Allah."

It will be said to them, "You have lied. Allah has not begotten a son. What do you want!"

They will say, "O Lord, we are thirsty, give us something to drink."

It will be said to them, "Do you not see!"

Then Hell will be shown to them as if it is a mirage, parts of it consuming other parts, and they will go and fall into it.

This is the parable of one whose ignorance is deep and advanced.

As for those whose ignorance is simple, those who are uneducated and foolish and blindly follow the leaders of disbelief, knowing and understanding nothing, their parable is as Allah says