Al-Qur'an Surah An-Naml Verse 62

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Or the One who responds to a helpless person when He prays to Him and removes distress, and who makes you vicegerents of the earth? Is there any god along with Allah? No, but little you heed to advice.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Or ˹ask them,˺ “Who responds to the distressed when they cry to Him, relieving ˹their˺ affliction, and ˹Who˺ makes you successors in the earth? Is it another god besides Allah? Yet you are hardly mindful!”

Ruwwad Translation Center

Is He [not better] Who responds to the distressed when he calls out to Him, and Who relieves suffering, and Who makes you successors on earth? Is there any god besides Allah? Little is it that you take heed!

A. J. Arberry

He who answers the constrained, when he calls unto Him, and removes the evil and appoints you to be successors in the earth. Is there a god with God? Little indeed do you remember.

Abdul Haleem

Who is it that answers the distressed when they call upon Him? Who removes their suffering? Who makes you successors in the earth? Is it another god beside God? Little notice you take!

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Is not he best Who answereth the distressed when he calleth unto Him and removeth the evil, and hath made you the successors in the earth? Is there any god along with Allah? Little ye reflect!

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Or, Who listens to the (soul) distressed when it calls on Him, and Who relieves its suffering, and makes you (mankind) inheritors of the earth? (Can there be another) god besides Allah? Little it is that ye heed!

Abul Ala Maududi

Who is it Who heeds the prayers of the distressed when he calls out to Him and Who removes his affliction? And who is it Who makes you vicegerents of the earth? Is there any god associated with Allah (in this task)? How little do you reflect!

Ahmed Ali

Who hears the cry of the anguished (soul) when it calls to Him, and relieves its suffering? And who made you trustees on the earth? Is there any other god along with God? How little it is that you reflect!

Ahmed Raza Khan

Or He Who answers the prayer of the helpless when he invokes Him and removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there a God along with Allah?! Very little do they ponder!

Ali Quli Qarai

Is He who answers the call of the distressed [person] when he invokes Him and removes his distress, and makes you successors on the earth...? What! Is there a god besides Allah? Little is the admonition that you take.

Ali Ünal

Or He Who answers the helpless one in distress when he prays to Him, and removes the affliction from him, and (Who) has made you (O humankind) vicegerents of the earth (to improve it and rule over it according to God’s commandments)? Is there another deity besides God? How little you reflect!

Amatul Rahman Omar

Or Who is it that answers the distressed person when he calls on Him, and removes (his) distress? And Who is it that makes you (the) rulers in the land? Is there any other god with Allâh? Little is the heed you take!

English Literal

Or Who answers/replies (to) the compelled/forced if he called him, and He removes/uncovers (relieves) the bad/evil/harm, and He makes/puts you (as) the earth`s/Planet Earth`s successors and replacers/top leaders, is a god with God? Little (is) what you mention/remember .

Faridul Haque

Or He Who answers the prayer of the helpless when he invokes Him and removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there a God along with Allah?! Very little do they ponder!

Hamid S. Aziz

He who made the earth a fixed abode, and placed rivers in its folds; and placed upon it firm mountains; and placed a barrier between the two waters; is there any God besides Allah? Nay, but most of them know not!

Hilali & Khan

Is not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations. Is there any ilah (god) with Allah? Little is that you remember!

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Or, Who created the heavens and the earth, and sends down for you water from the cloud? Then We cause to grow thereby beautiful gardens -- it is not possible for you to make the trees thereof to grow. Is there a god with Allah? Nay, they are a people who deviate!

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Or, Who answers the distressed one when he calls upon Him and removes the evil, and He will make you successors in the earth. Is there a god with Allah? Little is it that you mind!

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Is not He (best) Who answereth the wronged one when he crieth unto Him and removeth the evil, and hath made you viceroys of the earth? Is there any Allah beside Allah? Little do they reflect!

Muhammad Sarwar

"(Are the idols worthier or) the One who answers the prayers of the distressed ones, removes their hardship, and makes you the successors in the land? Is there any lord besides God? In fact, you take very little heed.

Qaribullah & Darwish

Who answers the oppressed when he supplicates to Him and removes evil and appoints you as inheritors of the earth, is there a god with Allah? How little you remember!

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Is not He Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations Is there any god with Allah Little is that you remember!

Wahiduddin Khan

Who responds to the oppressed when he calls out to Him, and relieves his suffering and who will make you inheritors of the earth? Then, is there a god besides God? How little you pay heed!

Talal Itani

Or, who answers the one in need when he prays to Him, and relieves adversity, and makes you successors on earth? Is there another god with God? How hardly you pay attention.

Tafsir jalalayn

Or He Who answers the desperate one, the anguished person suffering harm, when he calls to Him and Who removes [his] distress, from him and from others, and makes you successors in the earth (the annexation [khulaf'a l-ardi, `successors of the earth'] has the same meaning as f, `in' [khulaf'a f'l-ardi, `successors in the earth']), in other words, each generation succeeding the one before it. Is there a god with God? Little do you remember, [little] are you admonished ([read] m tadhakkarna, `do you remember'; or [read] yadhdhakkarna, `do they remember', where [in both cases] the t' has been assimilated with the dhl; the m is extra, [used] to make less what is already `little').

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Allah points out that He is the One upon Whom people call in times of difficulty, and He is the One to Whom they turn when calamity strikes, as He says elsewhere;

وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الْضُّرُّ فِى الْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلَا إِيَّاهُ

And when harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon vanish from you except Him, (17;67)

ثُمَّ إِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الضُّرُّ فَإِلَيْهِ تَجْـَرُونَ

Then, when harm touches you, unto Him you cry aloud for help. (16;53)

Similarly, Allah says here;

أَمَّن يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ

Is not He Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on Him,

meaning, Who is the only One to Whom the person in desperate need turns, and the only One Who can relieve those who are stricken by harm

وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ

and Who removes the evil,

Imam Ahmad reported that a man of Balhajim said;

"O Messenger of Allah, what are you calling for?"

He said;

أَدْعُو إِلَى اللهِ وَحْدَهُ الَّذِي إِنْ مَسَّكَ ضُرٌّ فَدَعَوْتَهُ كَشَفَ عَنْكَ وَالَّذِي إِنْ أَضْلَلْتَ بِأَرْضٍ قَفْرٍ فَدَعَوْتَهُ رَدَّ عَلَيْكَ وَالَّذِي إِنْ أَصَابَتْكَ سَنَةٌ فَدَعَوْتَهُ أَنْبَتَ لَك


I am calling people to Allah Alone, the One Who,

if you call on Him when harm befalls you, will relieve you; and

when you are lost in the wilderness, you call on Him and He brings you back;and

when drought (famine) strikes, you call on Him and He makes your crops grow.

He said;"Advise me."

He said;

لَاا تَسُبَّنَّ أَحَدًا وَلَاا تَزْهَدَنَّ فِي الْمَعْرُوفِ وَلَوْ أَنْ تَلْقَى أَخَاكَ وَأَنْتَ مُنْبَسِطٌ إِلَيْهِ وَجْهُكَ وَلَوْ أَنْ تُفْرغَ مِنْ دَلْوِكَ فِي إِنَاءِ الْمُسْتَقِي وَاتَّزِرْ إِلَى نِصْفِ السَّاقِ فَإِنْ أَبَيْتَ فَإِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ وَإِيَّاكَ وَإِسْبَالَ الاْاِزَارِ فَإِنَّ إِسْبَالَ الاْاِزَارِ مِنَ الْمَخِيلَةِ وَإِنَّ اللهَ لَاا يُحِبُّ الْمَخِيلَة

Do not slander anyone and do not think of any good deed as insignificant, even if it is only meeting your brother with a cheerful face or emptying your vessel into the vessel of one who is asking for water.

Wear your lower garment at mid-calf length, or -- if you insist -- let it reach your ankles, and beware of lowering the garment below the ankles along the ground, for it is a form of showing-off, and Allah does not like showing-off.
The Story of a Mujahid who fought for the sake of Allah

In his biography of Fatimah bint Al-Hasan Umm Ahmad Al-Ajaliyyah, Al-Hafiz bin Asakir reported that she said;

"One day the disbelievers defeated the Muslims in a battle. There was a good horse which belonged to a rich man who was also righteous. The horse just stood there, so its owner said, `What is the matter with you Woe to you! I was only preparing you for a day such as this.'

The horse said to him;`How can you expect me not to perform badly, when you delegated my feeding to the grooms, and they mistreated me and only fed me a little.'

The man said, `I make you a promise before Allah that from this day on, only I will feed you from my own lap.'

So the horse began to run, and his owner was saved, and after that he only ever fed the horse from his own lap.

This story became well known among the people, and they started to come to him to hear the story from his own lips. News of this reached the king of Byzantium, and he said;`A city where this man is, will be kept safe from harm.' He wanted to bring the man to his own city, so he sent an apostate (a man who had left Islam) who was living in his city to go to him, and when he reached him, he pretended that his intentions towards Islam and its followers were good, so the Mujahid trusted him.

One day they went out walking along the shore, but the apostate made a pact with another person, a follower of the Byzantine king, to come and help him take the Mujahid prisoner. When they made their move, he lifted his gaze to the sky and said, `O Allah! He has deceived me by swearing in Your Name, so protect me in whatever way You will.'

Then two wild animals came out and seized them, and the Mujahid came back safe and sound."

The Inheritance of the Earth

Allah says;

وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاء الاَْرْضِ

and makes you inheritors of the earth,

means, each generation inherits from the generation that came before them, one after the other, as Allah says;

إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفْ مِن بَعْدِكُم مَّا يَشَأءُ كَمَأ أَنشَأَكُمْ مِّن ذُرِّيَّةِ قَوْمٍ ءَاخَرِينَ

if He wills, He can destroy you, and in your place make whom He wills as your successors, as He raised you from the seed of other people, (6;133)

وَهُوَ الَّذِى جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَـيِفَ الاٌّرْضِ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَكُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَـتٍ

And it is He Who has made you generations coming after generations, replacing each other on the earth. And He has raised you in ranks, some above others, (6;165)

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـيِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِى الَارْضِ خَلِيفَةً

And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels;"Verily, I am going to place generations after generations on earth." (2;30)

meaning, people who will come after one another, as we have already stated.

Allah's saying;

وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاء الاَْرْضِ

and makes you inheritors of the earth,

means, nation after nation, generation after generation, people after people.

If He had willed, He could have created them all at one time, and not made some of them the offspring of others.

If He had willed, He could have created them all together, as He created Adam from dust.

If He had willed, He could have made some of them the offspring of others, but not caused any of them to die until they all died at one time; in this case the earth would have become constricted for them and it would be too difficult for them to live and earn a living, and they would have caused inconvenience and harm to one another.

But His wisdom and decree ruled that they should be created from one soul, then their numbers should be greatly increased, so He created them on the earth and made them generation after generation, nation after nation, until their time will come to an end and there will be no one left on earth, as Allah has decreed and as He has completely counted out their numbers. Then the Resurrection will come to pass, and each person will be rewarded or punished according to his deeds.

Allah says;

أَمَّن يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاء الاَْرْضِ

أَإِلَهٌ مَّعَ اللَّهِ

Is not He Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations! Is there any god with Allah,

meaning, is there anyone else able to do that, or a god with Allah worth worshipping -- while you know that He is the only one who can do that, having no partners

قَلِيلً مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ



Little is that you remember!

meaning, how little they think about that which would guide them to the truth and show them the straight path