Al-Qur'an Surah Luqman Verse 33

Mufti Taqi Usmani

O people, fear your Lord and fear a day when no father will help his son, nor will a son be helpful to his father at all. Surely, the promise of Allah is true. So, the worldly life must not deceive you, nor should you ever be deceived about Allah by the Deceiver.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

O humanity! Be mindful of your Lord, and beware of a Day when no parent will be of any benefit to their child, nor will a child be of any benefit to their parent. Surely Allah’s promise is true. So do not let the life of this world deceive you, nor let the Chief Deceiver[[ Satan. ]] deceive you about Allah.

Ruwwad Translation Center

O mankind, fear your Lord and dread a day when no father will avail his son, nor will a son avail his father anything. The promise of Allah is true, so do not let the life of this world deceive you, nor let the Chief Deceiver [Satan] deceive you concerning Allah.

A. J. Arberry

O men, fear your Lord, and dread a day when no father shall give satisfaction for his child, and no child shall give satisfaction for his father whatever. Surely God's promise is true; so let not the present life delude you, and let not the Deluder delude you concerning God.

Abdul Haleem

People, be mindful of your Lord and fear a day when no parent will take the place of their child, nor a child take the place of their parent, in any way. God’s promise is true, so do not let the present life delude you, nor let the Deceiver delude you about God.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Mankind! fear your Lord and dread a Day whereon no father shall atone for his son, and no son shall atone for his father at all. Verily the promise of Allahs is true. Let not the life of the world beguile you, and let not the great beguiler beguile you in regard to Allah.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

O mankind! do your duty to your Lord, and fear (the coming of) a Day when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the promise of Allah is true; let not then this present life deceive you, nor let the chief Deceiver deceive you about Allah.

Abul Ala Maududi

O people, fear (the wrath) of your Lord, and dread the Day when no father will stand for his child, nor any child stand for his father. Surely Allah's promise is true. So let the life of this world not beguile you, nor let the Deluder delude you about Allah.

Ahmed Ali

O people, fear your Lord and dread the day when no father will avail a son, nor son his father. Truly the promise of God is true. Do not be deluded by the life of this world, and do not let the deceiver draw you away from God.

Ahmed Raza Khan

O mankind! Fear your Lord, and fear the Day in which no father will benefit his child; nor will any good child be of any benefit to the father; indeed Allah’s promise is true; so never may the worldly life deceive you; and never may the great cheat deceive you in respect of Allah’s commands.

Ali Quli Qarai

O mankind! Be wary of your Lord and fear the day when a father will not atone for his child, nor the child will atone for its father in any wise. Indeed Allah’s promise is true. So do not let the life of the world deceive you, nor let the Deceiver deceive you concerning Allah.

Ali Ünal

O humankind! Keep from disobedience to your Lord in reverence for Him to deserve His protection, and fear a Day when no parent will be able to avail his child, nor a child avail his parent, in anything. God’s promise (of the Last Judgment) is certainly true. So do not let the present, worldly life delude you, nor let any deluder (including especially Satan) delude you (in your conceptions) about God.

Amatul Rahman Omar

Mankind! take your Lord as a shield and guard against the day when a father will be of no avail to his son, nor will (any of) the offspring be availing his father. Allâh´s promise (about the coming of that day) is true indeed. Therefore,do not let the present life beguile you, nor let an arch-deceiver entice you away from Allâh.

English Literal

You, you the people, fear and obey your Lord, and fear a day/time a father does not reimburse/substitute from his child/children, and nor a child/new born, he is substituting/replacing from his father a thing, that truly God`s promise (is) true/truth , so let not the life the present/worldly live deceive/tempt you, and nor the deceit/temptation deceive/tempt you with God.

Faridul Haque

O mankind! Fear your Lord, and fear the Day in which no father will benefit his child; nor will any good child be of any benefit to the father; indeed Allah’s promise is true; so never may the worldly life deceive you; and never may the great cheat deceive you in respect of Allah’s commands.

Hamid S. Aziz

And when a wave like a shadow covers them, they call on Allah, being sincere in their religion; and when He saves them to the shore, then amongst them are some who halt between two opinions. But none denies Our signs save every perfidious disbeliever.

Hilali & Khan

O mankind! Be afraid of your Lord (by keeping your duty to Him and avoiding all evil), and fear a Day when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the Promise of Allah is true, let not then this (worldly) present life deceive you, nor let the chief deceiver (Satan) deceive you about Allah.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Seest thou not that the ships glide on the sea by Allah’s grace, that He may show you of His signs? Surely there are signs in this for every patient, endurer, grateful one.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

O people! guard against (the punishment of) your Lord and dread the day when a father shall not make any satisfaction for his son, nor shall the child be the maker of any satisfaction for his father; surely the promise of Allah is true, therefore let not this world's life deceive you, nor let the archdeceiver deceive you in respect of Allah.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

O mankind! Keep your duty to your Lord and fear a Day when the parent will not be able to avail the child in aught, nor the child to avail the parent. Lo! Allah's promise is the very truth. Let not the life of the world beguile you, nor let the deceiver beguile you, in regard to Allah.

Muhammad Sarwar

Mankind, have fear of your Lord and the day when a father will be of no avail to his son, nor will a son carry any part of the burden of his father. The promise of God is true. Do not let the worldly life deceive you nor let your pride deceive you about God.

Qaribullah & Darwish

People, fear your Lord, and fear the Day when no father shall ransom a thing for his child nor a child for his father. The promise of Allah is surely true. So do not let the life of this present world delude you, nor let the deluder (satan) delude you concerning Allah.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord, and fear a Day when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the promise of Allah is true, let not then this present life deceive you, nor let the chief deceiver deceive you about Allah.

Wahiduddin Khan

O men, seek protection with your Lord and fear the Day when neither will the father be of any avail to his son, nor will the son be of any avail to his father. God's promise is surely true. So let not worldly life beguile you, nor let the Deceiver deceive you concerning God.

Talal Itani

O people! Be conscious of your Lord, and dread a Day when no parent can avail his child, nor can a child avail his parent, in anything. The promise of God is true. Therefore, do not let this life deceive you, nor let illusions deceive you regarding God.

Tafsir jalalayn

O people, namely, [such as] the people of Mecca, fear your Lord and fear a day when no parent shall avail a child, thereon in any way; and no child, thereon, shall avail its parent in any way. Surely God's promise, of resurrection, is true. So do not let the life of this world deceive you, [and divert you] from Islam, and do not let the Deceiver, Satan, deceive you concerning God, because of His forbearance and granting [people] respite.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Command to fear Allah and remember the Day of Resurrection

Allah says;

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ وَاخْشَوْا يَوْمًا

O mankind!

Have Taqwa of your Lord, and fear a Day when,

Here Allah warns people about the Day of Resurrection, and commands them to fear Him and remember the Day of Resurrection when

لاَّا يَجْزِي وَالِدٌ عَن وَلَدِهِ

no father can avail aught for his son,

which means, even if he wanted to offer himself as a sacrifice for his son, it would not be accepted from him. The same will apply in the case of a son who wants to sacrifice himself for his father -- it will not be accepted from him.

وَلَا مَوْلُودٌ هُوَ جَازٍ عَن وَالِدِهِ شَيْيًا

nor a son avail aught for his father.

إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ

Verily, the promise of Allah is true,

Then Allah reminds them once again with the words;

فَلَ تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا

let not then this present life deceive you,

meaning, do not let your feelings of contentment with this life make you forget about the Hereafter.

وَلَا يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ



nor let the chief deceiver deceive you about Allah.

refers to the Shaytan. This was the view of Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah.

The Shaytan makes promises to them and arouses in them false desires, but there is no substance to them, as Allah says;

يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمْ الشَّيْطَـنُ إِلاَّ غُرُوراً

He makes promises to them, and arouses in them false desires; and Shaytan's promises are nothing but deceptions. (4;120)

Wahb bin Munabbih said;

`Uzayr, peace be upon him, said;"When I saw the misfortune of my people, I felt very sad and distressed, and I could not sleep, so I prayed to my Lord and fasted, and I called upon Him weeping. There came to me an angel and I said to him;`Tell me, will the souls of the righteous intercede for the wrongdoers, or the fathers for their sons?'

He said;`On the Day of Resurrection all matters will be settled, and Allah's dominion will be made manifest and no exceptions will be made. No one will speak on that Day except with the permission of the Most Merciful. No father will answer for his son, or any son for his father, or any man for his brother, or any servant for his master. No one will care about anybody except himself, or feel grief or compassion for anyone except himself. Everyone will be worried only about himself. No one will be asked about anybody else. Each person will be concerned only about himself, weeping for himself and carrying his own burden. No one will carry the burden of another."'

This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim