Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Qasas Verse 82

Mufti Taqi Usmani

And those who wished to be in his position the day before, started saying, “Oh, it seems that Allah extends provision to whom He wills and straitens (for whom He wills). Had Allah not favored us, He would have made us sink (too). Oh, it seems that the infidels do not succeed.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

And those who had craved his position the previous day began to say, “Ah! It is certainly Allah Who gives abundant or limited provisions to whoever He wills of His servants. Had it not been for the grace of Allah, He could have surely caused the earth to swallow us up! Oh, indeed! The disbelievers will never succeed.”

Ruwwad Translation Center

Those who had wished for his position the day before started saying, “Oh, it is surely Allah Who extends provisions to whom He wills or restricts it. If Allah had not favored us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us too. Oh, indeed the disbelievers will never succeed.”

A. J. Arberry

and in the morning those who had longed to be in his place the day before were saying, 'Ah, God outspreads and straitens His provision to whomsoever He will of His servants. Had God not been gracious to us, He would have made us to be swallowed too. Ah, the unbelievers do not prosper,

Abdul Haleem

The next day, those who had, the day before, wished to be in his place exclaimed, ‘Alas [for you, Qarun]! It is God alone who gives what He will, abundantly or sparingly, to whichever He will of His creatures: if God had not been gracious to us, He would have caused the earth to swallow us too.’ Alas indeed! Those who deny the truth will never prosper.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And those who had wished for his place but yesterday began to say: Ah! Allah expandeth the provision for whomsoever He will of His bondmen and stinteth, had not Allah been gracious unto us, He would have sunk the earth with us also. Ah! the infidels thrive not.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And those who had envied his position the day before began to say on the morrow; "Ah! it is indeed Allah Who enlarges the provision or restricts it, to any of His servants He pleases! had it not been that Allah was gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up! Ah! those who reject Allah will assuredly never prosper."

Abul Ala Maududi

And those who had envied his position the day before began to say on the morrow: "Alas, we had forgotten that it is Allah Who increases the provision of those of His servants whom He will and grants in sparing measure to those whom He will. But for Allah's favour upon us, He could have made us to be swallowed too. Alas, we had forgotten that the unbelievers do not prosper."

Ahmed Ali

Those who were envious of his position only yesterday said on the morrow: "Indeed God increases the fortunes of those of His creatures as He will, and decreases. Had God not been gracious to us He could have (opened up) the earth and made it swallow us. Surely the infidels will not succeed."

Ahmed Raza Khan

And those who had the day before desired his status, said in the morning, “It is strange – Allah expands the sustenance for whomever He wills among His bondmen, and restricts it; if Allah had not been gracious to us He would have buried us too; strangely, the disbelievers do not prosper.”

Ali Quli Qarai

By dawn those who longed to be in his place the day before were saying, ‘Don’t you see that Allah expands the provision for whomever He wishes of His servants, and tightens it? Had Allah not shown us favour, He might have made the earth swallow us too. Don’t you see that the faithless do not prosper?’

Ali Ünal

And on the morrow, those who had longed to be in his place the day before began to say: "Woe to us! (We had forgotten that) God enlarges provision for whom He wills of His servants, and straitens it (for whom He wills). Had God not been gracious to us, He would have made us too swallowed up. Woe to us! (for we had forgotten that) the unbelievers do not prosper."

Amatul Rahman Omar

Now the very people who had coveted his (lot and) position the day before began to say, `Ruin seize you! it is indeed Allâh Who multiplies the means of livelihood for such of His servants as He will and makes them scant (for such of His people as He will). Had not Allâh been gracious to us He would have sunk us (also into the bowels of the earth). Ruin seize you! (the fact is that) those who are ungrateful never prosper.´

English Literal

And those who wished/desired his place/position at the yesterday/past became/became in the morning saying: "Woe as if/as though God spreads/extends the provision to whom He wills/wants from His worshippers/slaves , and He is capable/able , if only that God blessed on us He would have sunk down (the land) with us, woe, as if he/as though He does not make the disbelievers succeed/win ."

Faridul Haque

And those who had the day before desired his status, said in the morning, “It is strange - Allah expands the sustenance for whomever He wills among His bondmen, and restricts it; if Allah had not been gracious to us He would have buried us too; strangely, the disbelievers do not prosper.”

Hamid S. Aziz

So We caused the earth to open up and swallow him with his house; and he had no troop to help him against Allah, nor was he of those who could save themselves."

Hilali & Khan

And those who had desired (for a position like) his position the day before, began to say: "Know you not that it is Allah Who enlarges the provision or restricts it to whomsoever He pleases of His slaves. Had it not been that Allah was Gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up (also)! Know you not that the disbelievers will never be successful.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

But those who were given the knowledge said: Woe to you! Allah’s reward is better for him who believes and does good, and none is made to receive this except the patient.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And those who yearned for his place only the day before began to say: Ah! (know) that Allah amplifies and straitens the means of subsistence for whom He pleases of His servants; had not Allah been gracious to us, He would most surely have abased us; ah! (know) that the ungrateful are never successful.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And morning found those who had coveted his place but yesterday crying: Ah, welladay! Allah enlargeth the provision for whom He will of His slaves and straiteneth it (for whom He will). If Allah had not been gracious unto us He would have caused it to swallow us (also). Ah, welladay! the disbelievers never prosper.

Muhammad Sarwar

The people who the other day had wished to be like him, began saying, "Woe to us! God gives abundant wealth only to those of His servants whom He wants and He determines everyone's share. Had it not been for God's favor to us, He would have caused the earth to swallow us up. Woe to the unbelievers who will have no happiness."

Qaribullah & Darwish

And in the morning those who had wished to be in his place the previous evening said: 'Indeed, Allah outspreads to whom He will among His worshipers, and He restrains. Had He not shown us favor, He could have caused the earth to swallow us. Indeed, the unbelievers shall never prosper'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And those who desired his position the day before, began to say: "Know you not that it is Allah Who expands the provision or restricts it to whomsoever He pleases of His servants. Had it not been that Allah was Gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up! Know you not that the disbelievers will never be successful."

Wahiduddin Khan

Those who had coveted his position the day before now began to say, "Ah! It is indeed God alone who gives abundantly to whom He will and sparingly to whom He pleases. Had not God been gracious to us, He would have caused us to be swallowed up also." Alas indeed! Those who deny the truth will never prosper.

Talal Itani

Those who had wished they were in his position the day before were saying, “Indeed, it is God who spreads the bounty to whomever He wills of His servants, and restricts it. Had God not been gracious to us, He would have caved in on us. No wonder the ungrateful never prosper.”

Tafsir jalalayn

And those who had longed to be in his place the day before, that is, only recently, were saying, `Alas! God expands provision for whomever He will of His servants and straitens [it], He restricts it for whomever He will (way-ka'anna; way is a noun of action, with the sense of `How astonished I am', while the kf functions as a [causative] lm, `because'). Had God not been gracious to us, He would have made us to be swallowed too' (read active la-khasafa, or passive la-khusifa). Lo! indeed those who are ungrateful, for God's grace, such as Korah, never prosper.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَأَصْبَحَ الَّذِينَ تَمَنَّوْا مَكَانَهُ بِالاْأَمْسِ

And those who had desired his position the day before,

means, those witnessed him with his finery and had said;.
قَالَ الَّذِينَ يُرِيدُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنيَا

يَا لَيْتَ لَنَا مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ قَارُونُ إِنَّهُ لَذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ
(Those who were desirous of the life of the world, said;"Ah, would that we had the like of what Qarun has been given! Verily, he is the owner of a great fortune.") When he was swallowed up in the earth, they;

يَقُولُونَ وَيْكَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَاء مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَقْدِرُ

began to say "Know you not that it is Allah Who expands the provision or restricts it to whomsoever He pleases of His servants.

Wealth does not indicate that Allah is pleased with its owner, for Allah gives and withholds, allows times of difficulty and times of ease, raises and lowers, His is the most complete wisdom and most convincing proof.

According to a Hadith narrated by Ibn Mas`ud,

إِنَّ اللهَ قَسَمَ بَيْنَكُمْ أَخْلَقَكُمْ كَمَا قَسَمَ أَرْزَاقَكُمْ وَإِنَّ اللهَ يُعْطِي الْمَالَ مَنْ يُحِبُّ وَمَنْ لَا يُحِبُّ وَلَا يُعْطِي الاِْيمَانَ إِلاَّ مَنْ يُحِب

Allah has allotted character among you just as He has allotted your provision. Allah gives wealth to those whom He loves and those whom He does not love, but He gives Faith only to those whom He loves.

لَوْلَا أَن مَّنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا لَخَسَفَ بِنَا

Had it not been that Allah was Gracious to us, He could have caused the earth to swallow us up!

meaning, `were it not for the kindness and grace of Allah towards us, we could have been swallowed up by the earth just as he was swallowed up, because we wanted to be like him.'

وَيْكَأَنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَ



Know you not that the disbelievers will never be successful.

He was a disbeliever, and the disbelievers will never be successful before Allah in this world or in the Hereafter