Al-Qur'an Surah Sad Verse 26

Mufti Taqi Usmani

O Dawūd, We have made you a vicegerent on earth, so judge between people with truth, and do not follow the selfish desire, lest it should lead you astray from Allah’s path. Surely those who go astray from Allah’s path will have a severe punishment, because they had forgotten the Day of Reckoning.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

˹We instructed him:˺ “O David! We have surely made you an authority in the land, so judge between people with truth. And do not follow ˹your˺ desires or they will lead you astray from Allah’s Way. Surely those who go astray from Allah’s Way will suffer a severe punishment for neglecting the Day of Reckoning.”

Ruwwad Translation Center

“O David, We have made you a ruler on earth, so judge between people with justice, and do not follow your desires lest they lead you astray from Allah’s way. Those who go astray from Allah’s way will have a severe punishment because of their forgetting the Day of Reckoning.”

A. J. Arberry

'David, behold, We have appointed thee a viceroy in the earth; therefore judge between men justly, and follow not caprice, lest it lead thee astray from the way of God. Surely those who go astray from the way of God -- there awaits them a terrible chastisement, for that they have forgotten the Day of Reckoning.'

Abdul Haleem

‘David, We have given you mastery over the land. Judge fairly between people. Do not follow your desires, lest they divert you from God’s path: those who wander from His path will have a painful torment because they ignore the Day of Reckoning.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

O Da-ud! verily We have appointed thee a vicegerent in the earth, so judge between mankind with truth, and follow not desire, lest it cause thee to err from the path of Allah. Verily those who err from the path of Allah - Unto them shall be a severe torment, for they forgat the Day of Reckoning.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

O David! We did indeed make thee a vicegerent on earth; so judge thou between men in truth (and justice); Nor follow thou the lusts (of thy heart), for they will mislead thee from the Path of Allah; for those who wander astray from the Path of Allah, is a Penalty Grievous, for that they forget the Day of Account.

Abul Ala Maududi

(We said to him): “O David, We have appointed you vicegerent on earth. Therefore, rule among people with justice and do not follow (your) desire lest it should lead you astray from Allah's Path. Allah's severe chastisement awaits those who stray away from Allah's Path, for they had forgotten the Day of Reckoning.

Ahmed Ali

"O David, We have made you trustee on the earth. So judge between men equitably, and do not follow your lust lest it should lead you astray from the way of God. Surely for those who go astray from the way of God, is severe punishment, for having forgotten the Day of Reckoning.

Ahmed Raza Khan

“O Dawud! We have indeed appointed you as a Viceroy in the earth, therefore judge between mankind with the truth, and do not follow desire for it will lead you astray from Allah’s path; indeed for those who stray away from Allah’s path is a severe punishment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.”

Ali Quli Qarai

‘O David! Indeed, We have made you a vicegerent on the earth. So judge between people with justice, and do not follow your desires, or they will lead you astray from the way of Allah. Indeed there is a severe punishment for those who stray from the way of Allah, because of their forgetting the Day of Reckoning.’

Ali Ünal

"O David! We have appointed you a vicegerent in the land (to rule according to Our commandments); so judge among people with the truth and do not follow personal inclination, lest it leads you astray from the path of God. Surely, those who wander astray from God’s path – for them there is a severe punishment because they have forgotten the Day of Reckoning.

Amatul Rahman Omar

(We said,) `O David! verily We have made you the ruler in this land. So rule among the people according to (the tenants of) justice, and do not follow their vain desires, (for if you do) it will lead you astray from the path leading to Allâh. Behold! a severe punishment awaits those who go astray from Allâh´s way, because they have forgotten the Day of Reckoning.

English Literal

You David, that We made/put you (as) a caliph/leader in the land/Earth , so judge/rule between the people with the truth/just , and do not follow the self attraction for desire , so it misguides you from God`s way/path , that those who misguide from God`s way/path, for them (is) a strong (severe) torture because (of) what they forgot the Account Day/Resurrection Day.

Faridul Haque

“O Dawud! We have indeed appointed you as a Viceroy in the earth, therefore judge between mankind with the truth, and do not follow desire for it will lead you astray from Allah’s path; indeed for those who stray away from Allah’s path is a severe punishment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.”

Hamid S. Aziz

"O David! Surely We have made you a Vicegerent in the land; so judge between men with justice and follow not desire, lest it should lead you astray from the path of Allah. Lo! Those who go astray from the path of Allah, they shall surely have a severe punishment because they forgot the Day of Reckoning."

Hilali & Khan

O Dawud (David)! Verily! We have placed you as a successor on earth, so judge you between men in truth (and justice) and follow not your desire for it will mislead you from the Path of Allah. Verily! Those who wander astray from the Path of Allah (shall) have a severe torment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

So We gave him this protection, and he had a nearness to Us and an excellent resort.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

o Dawood! surely We have made you a ruler in the land; so judge between men with justice and do not follow desire, lest it should lead you astray from the path of Allah; (as for) those who go astray from the path of Allah, they shall surely have a severe punishment because they forgot the day of reckoning.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

(And it was said unto him): O David! Lo! We have set thee as a viceroy in the earth; therefor judge aright between mankind, and follow not desire that it beguile thee from the way of Allah. Lo! those who wander from the way of Allah have an awful doom, forasmuch as they forgot the Day of Reckoning.

Muhammad Sarwar

We told him. "David, We have appointed you as Our deputy on earth so judge among the people with truth. Do not follow (worldly) desires lest you go astray from the way of God. Those who go astray from the way of God will suffer severe torment for forgetting the Day of Reckoning.

Qaribullah & Darwish

(We said): 'David, We have made you a caliph in the earth. Judge with justice among people and do not yield to your own preference in case it should lead you from the Path of Allah. Surely, a terrible punishment awaits those who stray from the Path of Allah, because they forget the Day of Reckoning'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

O Dawud! Verily, We have placed you as a successor on the earth; so judge you between men in truth (and justice) and follow not your desire -- for it will mislead you from the path of Allah. Verily, those who wander astray from the path of Allah (shall) have a severe torment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.

Wahiduddin Khan

We said, "David, We have given you mastery over the land. Judge fairly between people. Do not follow your desires, lest they divert you from God's path: those who wander from His path will have a severe punishment, because they ignore the Day of Reckoning."

Talal Itani

“O David, We made you a ruler in the land, so judge between the people with justice, and do not follow desire, lest it diverts you from God’s path. Those who stray from God’s path will have a painful punishment, for having ignored the Day of Account.”

Tafsir jalalayn

`O David! We have indeed made you a vicegerent on the earth, managing the affairs of people; so judge justly between people and do not follow desire, that is, the desires of the soul, that it then lead you astray from the way of God, that is to say, from the proofs that indicate [the truth of] His Oneness. Truly those who go astray from the way of God, in other words, from belief in God -- for them there will be a severe chastisement because of their forgetting the Day of Reckoning', as a result of their having neglected faith. For had they been certain of [the truth of] the Day of Reckoning, they would have [first] been believers in this world.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Advice to Rulers and Leaders

This is advice from Allah, may He be exalted, to those who are in positions of authority. They should rule according to the truth and justice revealed from Him, they should not turn away from it and be led astray from the path of Allah. Allah has issued a stern warning of a severe punishment to those who go astray from His path and forget the Day of Resurrection.

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibrahim Abu Zur`ah, who read the Scripture, reported that Al-Walid bin Abd Al-Malik said to him;

"Does anyone have the right to question the Khalifah? You have read the first Scripture and the Qur'an, and you have understood them."

He replied, "May I speak, O Commander of the faithful?"

He said, "Speak, for you are under the protection of Allah."

I said, "O Commander of the faithful, are you more dear to Allah, or Dawud, peace be upon him, For Allah gave him both Prophethood and rulership, then He warned him in His Book;

يَا دَاوُودُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاكَ خَلِيفَةً فِي الاْاَرْضِ فَاحْكُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِالْحَقِّ وَلَاا تَتَّبِعِ الْهَوَى فَيُضِلَّكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

O Dawud ! Verily, We have placed you as a successor on the earth; so judge you between men in truth (and justice) and follow not your desire -- for it will mislead you from the path of Allah."

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَضِلُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

Verily, those who wander astray from the path of Allah,

Ikrimah said;

لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا نَسُوا يَوْمَ الْحِسَابِ



(Those shall) have a severe torment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.

"They will have a severe punishment on the Day of Reckoning because of what they forgot. "

As-Suddi said,

"They will have a severe punishment because of what they neglected to do for the sake of the Day of Reckoning."

This interpretation is more in accordance with the apparent meaning of the Ayah. And Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the Guide to the Truth