Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Ma'idah Verse 18

Mufti Taqi Usmani

The Jews and the Christians say, “We are the sons of Allah and His favourites.” Say, “Why then would He punish you for your sins? In fact, you are just human, among those He has created. He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills.” Unto Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what lies between them, and unto Him is the return.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

The Jews and the Christians each say, “We are the children of Allah and His most beloved!” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “Why then does He punish you for your sins? No! You are only humans like others of His Own making. He forgives whoever He wills and punishes whoever He wills. To Allah ˹alone˺ belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and everything in between. And to Him is the final return.”

Ruwwad Translation Center

The Jews and Christians say, “We are Allah’s children and His beloved ones.” Say, “Why then does He punish you for your sins? Rather, you are humans just like anyone else He created. He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills.” To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and earth and all that is between them, and to Him is the final return.”

A. J. Arberry

Say the Jews and Christians, 'We are the sons of God, and His beloved ones.' Say: 'Why then does He chastise you for your sins? No; you are mortals, of His creating; He forgives whom He will, and He chastises whom He will.' For to God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth, and all that is between them; to Him is the homecoming.

Abdul Haleem

The Jews and the Christians say, ‘We are the children of God and His beloved ones.’ Say, ‘Then why does He punish you for your sins? You are merely human beings, part of His creation: He forgives whoever He will and punishes whoever He will. Control of the heavens and earth and all that is between them belongs to Him: all journeys lead to Him.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And the Jews and the Nazarenes say: we are the children of God and His loved ones. Say thou: wherefore then doth He torment you for your sins? Aye! ye are but men, part of those whom He hath created. He forgiveth whomsoever He will and tormenteth whomsoever He will. And Allah's is the dominion of the heavens and the earth and that which is in- between the twain, and unto Him in the return.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(Both) the Jews and the Christians say; "We are sons of Allah, and his beloved." Say; "Why then doth He punish you for your sins? Nay, ye are but men,- of the men he hath created; He forgiveth whom He pleaseth, and He punisheth whom He pleaseth; and to Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between; and unto Him is the final goal (of all)"

Abul Ala Maududi

The Jews and the Christians say: 'We are Allah's children and His beloved ones.' Ask them: 'Why, then, does He chastise you for your sins?' You are the same as other men He has created. He forgives whom He wills and chastises whom He wills. And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them. To Him is the eventual return.

Ahmed Ali

Say the Jews and the Christians: "We are sons of God and beloved of Him." Say: "Why does He punish you then for your sins? No: You are only mortals, of His creation." He can punish whom He please and pardon whom He will, for God's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them, and everything will go back to Him.

Ahmed Raza Khan

The Jews and the Christians said, “We are the sons of Allah and His beloved ones”; say, “Why does He then punish you for your sins? In fact you are human beings, part of His creation; He forgives whomever He wills, and punishes whomever He wills; and for Allah only is the kingship of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them – and towards Him is the return.”

Ali Quli Qarai

The Jews and the Christians say, ‘We are Allah’s children and His beloved ones.’ Say, ‘Then why does He punish you for your sins?’ No, you are humans from among His creatures. He forgives whomever He wishes, and punishes whomever He wishes, and to Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is between them, and toward Him is the return.

Ali Ünal

The Jews and Christians assert, "We are God’s children and His beloved ones." Say: "Why, then, does He punish you for your sins? No. You are but mortals that (just like others) He has created. He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom He wills. To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and to Him is the homecoming.

Amatul Rahman Omar

The Jews and the Christians say (in respect of each of themselves), `We are the sons of Allâh, and His loved ones.´ Say, `Why then does He punish you for your sins? Nay, you are but human beings like many of His creation.´ He protects whom He will and punishes whom He will. To Allâh belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between the two and to Him is the (final) return (of all).

English Literal

And the Jews and the Christians said: "We are God`s sons and His most loved." say: "So why He tortures you because of your crimes? But you are humans from what He created, He forgives to whom He wills/wants, and He tortures who He wills/wants, and to God (are) the skies/space, and the earth/Planet Earth, and what (is) between them (B)`s ownership/kingdom, and to Him (is) the end/destination."

Faridul Haque

The Jews and the Christians said, “We are the sons of Allah and His beloved ones”; say, “Why does He then punish you for your sins? In fact you are human beings, part of His creation; He forgives whomever He wills, and punishes whomever He wills; and for Allah only is the kingship of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them - and towards Him is the return.”

Hamid S. Aziz

O people of the Book! Now Our Messenger has come to you to make things plain, after an interval in the succession of Messengers, lest you say, "There came not to us a herald of glad tidings nor a Warner." But now there has come to you a herald of glad tidings and a Warner. Allah has power over all things!

Hilali & Khan

And (both) the Jews and the Christians say: "We are the children of Allah and His loved ones." Say: "Why then does He punish you for your sins?" Nay, you are but human beings, of those He has created, He forgives whom He wills and He punishes whom He wills. And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and to Him is the return (of all).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

They indeed disbelieve who say: Surely, Allah -- He is the Messiah, son of Mary. Say: Who then could control anything as against Allah when He wished to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary, and his mother and all those on the earth? And Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is between them. He creates what He pleases. And Allah is Possessor of power over all things.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And the Jews and the Christians say: We are the sons of Allah and His beloved ones. Say: Why does He then chastise you for your faults? Nay, you are mortals from among those whom He has created, He forgives whom He pleases and chastises whom He pleases; and Allah's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, and to Him is the eventual coming.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

The Jews and Christians say: We are sons of Allah and His loved ones. Say: Why then doth He chastise you for your sins? Nay, ye are but mortals of His creating. He forgiveth whom He will, and chastiseth whom He will. Allah's is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and unto Him is the journeying.

Muhammad Sarwar

The Jews and Christians call themselves the beloved sons of God. (Muhammad), ask them, "Why does God punish you for your sins? In fact, you are mere human beings whom He has created. He forgives and punishes whomever He wants. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens, the earth, and all that is between them and to Him do all things return.

Qaribullah & Darwish

The Jews and the Nazarenes say: 'We are the children of Allah and His loved ones' Say: 'Why then does He punish you for your sins? Surely, you are mortals amongst what He created. He forgives whom He will, and punishes whom He will. For Allah is the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them. All shall return to Him'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And the Jews and the Christians say: "We are the children of Allah and His loved ones." Say: "Why then does He punish you for your sins" Nay, you are but human beings of those He has created, He forgives whom He wills and He punishes whom He wills. And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them; and to Him is the return (of all).

Wahiduddin Khan

The Jews and the Christians say, "We are the children of God and His beloved ones." Say, "Then why does He punish you for your sins? Indeed, you are but human beings among those He has created. He forgives whom He pleases and punishes whom He pleases. The kingdom of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, belong to God and all shall return to Him."

Talal Itani

The Jews and the Christians say, “We are the children of God, and His beloved.” Say, “Why then does He punish you for your sins?” In fact, you are humans from among those He created. He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom He wills. To God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and what lies between them, and to Him is the return.

Tafsir jalalayn

The Jews and Christians, both of them, say; `We are the sons of God, that is, [we are] like his sons in terms of closeness and rank, and He is like a father to us in terms of compassion and care, and His beloved ones'. Say, to them, O Muhammad (s); `Why then does He chastise you for your sins?, if what you say is true. For, the father does not punish his son, nor the loving his beloved; but He has punished you, and therefore you are saying lies. Nay; you are mortals from among, all, those, mortals, He created, you shall be rewarded as they are rewarded and you shall be requited as they are requited. He forgives, him for, whom He wills, forgiveness, and He chastises, him for, whom He wills', chastisement, and there can be no objection thereto. For to God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth, and all that is between them; to Him is the journey's end, the [final] return.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ وَالنَّصَارَى نَحْنُ أَبْنَاء اللّهِ وَأَحِبَّاوُهُ

And the Jews and the Christians say, "We are the children of Allah and His loved ones."

They claim;"We are the followers of Allah's Prophets, who are His children, whom He takes care of. He also loves us."

The People of the Book claim in their Book that Allah said to His servant Israil, "You are my firstborn."

But they explained this statement in an improper manner and altered its meaning. Some of the People of the Book who later became Muslims refuted this false statement saying, "This statement only indicates honor and respect, as is common in their speech at that time."

The Christians claim that `Isa said to them, "I will go back to my father and your father," meaning, my Lord and your Lord.

It is a fact that the Christians did not claim that they too are Allah's sons as they claimed about `Isa. Rather this statement by `Isa only meant to indicate closeness with Allah.

This is why when they said that they are Allah's children and loved ones, Allah refuted their claim,

قُلْ فَلِمَ يُعَذِّبُكُم بِذُنُوبِكُم

Say, "Why then does He punish you for your sins!"

meaning, if you were truly as you claim, Allah's children and loved ones, then why did He prepare the Fire because of your disbelief, lies and false claims!

بَلْ أَنتُم بَشَرٌ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقَ

Nay, you are but human beings, of those He has created,

Allah states;you are just like the rest of the children of Adam, and Allah is the Lord of all His creation.

يَغْفِرُ لِمَن يَشَاء وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَاء

He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills.

Allah does what He wills, there is none who can escape His judgment, and He is swift in reckoning.

وَلِلّهِ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَارْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا

And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them;

Therefore, everything is Allah's property and under His power and control.

وَإِلَيْهِ الْمَصِيرُ



and to Him is the return.

In the end, the return will be to Allah and He will judge between His servants as He will, and He is the Most Just Who is never wrong in His judgment