Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Ma'idah Verse 23

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Said two men from among the God-fearing, on whom Allah had bestowed His favour, “Enter the gate (charging) upon them. Once you have entered it, you will be the ones who will prevail. In Allah you must place your trust, if you are believers.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Two God-fearing men—who had been blessed by Allah—said, “Surprise them through the gate. If you do, you will certainly prevail. Put your trust in Allah if you are ˹truly˺ believers.”

Ruwwad Translation Center

Two men who feared Allah, and who had been favored by Allah said, “Enter upon them through the gate! Once you enter it, you will surely be victorious. And put your trust in Allah if you are believers.”

A. J. Arberry

Said two men of those that feared God whom God had blessed, 'Enter against them the gate! When you enter it, you will be victors. Put you all your trust in God, if you are believers.'

Abdul Haleem

Yet two men whom God had blessed among those who were afraid said, ‘Go in to them through the gate and when you go in you will overcome them. If you are true believers, put your trust in God.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Thereupon spake two men of those who feared and whom Allah had favoured; enter ye the gate against them, then as ye enter it ye are the over - and put your trust in Allah, if ye are indeed believers.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(But) among (their) Allah-fearing men were two on whom Allah had bestowed His grace; They said; "Assault them at the (proper) Gate; when once ye are in, victory will be yours; But on Allah put your trust if ye have faith."

Abul Ala Maududi

Two from among these who were frightened but upon whom Allah had bes-towed His favour said: 'Enter upon them through the gate - for if you do enter - you will be the victors. And put your trust in Allah if indeed you are men of faith.'

Ahmed Ali

Then two of the men who feared (God), and to whom God was gracious, said to them: "Charge and rush the gate. If you enter, you will surely be victorious. And place your trust in God if you truly believe."

Ahmed Raza Khan

So two men who were among those who feared Allah and whom Allah had favoured said, “Enter upon them by force, through the gate; if you enter the gate, victory will be yours; and depend only upon Allah, if you have faith.”

Ali Quli Qarai

Said two men from among those who were Godfearing and whom Allah had blessed: ‘Go at them by the gate! For once, you have entered it, you will be victors. Put your trust in Allah, should you be faithful.’

Ali Ünal

Said two men from among those who feared (God’s punishment for disobedience to Him), and whom God had favored (with faith, sagacity, and devotion): "Enter upon them through the gate (by frontal attack). For once you have entered it, you will surely be the victors. And in God you must place your trust if you are truly believers."

Amatul Rahman Omar

(Thereupon) two men (- Joshua and Caleb) from among those who feared (their Lord) and on whom Allâh had bestowed His blessings said, `Enter the gate (of the city advancing) against them, for when once you have entered it you shall surely be victorious, and in Allâh you should put your trust when you are believers (in Him).´

English Literal

Two men from those who fear (and) God blessed/comforted and eased on them (B), said: "Enter on them (through) the door/entrance, so if you entered it, so that you are defeating/conquering, and on God so rely/depend , if you were/are believers."

Faridul Haque

So two men who were among those who feared Allah and whom Allah had favoured said, “Enter upon them by force, through the gate; if you enter the gate, victory will be yours; and depend only upon Allah, if you have faith.”

Hamid S. Aziz

They said, "O Moses! We shall never enter it so long as they are therein; so, go you and your Lord and fight you two; we will sit down here."

Hilali & Khan

Two men of those who feared (Allah and) on whom Allah had bestowed His Grace [they were Yusha' (Joshua) and Kalab (Caleb)] said: "Assault them through the gate, for when you are in, victory will be yours, and put your trust in Allah if you are believers indeed."

Maulana Mohammad Ali

They said: O Moses, therein are a powerful people, and we shall not enter it until they go out from it; if they go out from it, then surely we will enter.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Two men of those who feared, upon both of whom Allah had bestowed a favor, said: Enter upon them by the gate, for when you have entered it you shall surely be victorious, and on Allah should you rely if you are believers.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Then out spake two of those who feared (their Lord, men) unto whom Allah had been gracious: Enter in upon them by the gate, for if ye enter by it, lo! ye will be victorious. So put your trust (in Allah) if ye are indeed believers.

Muhammad Sarwar

Two God-fearing men on whom God had bestowed favors told them, "Proceed through the gates and when you enter the city you will be victorious. Have trust in God if you are true believers".

Qaribullah & Darwish

Thereupon, two pious men whom Allah had favored said: 'Go in to them through the gate, and if you enter you shall surely be victorious. In Allah put your trust, if you are believers'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Two men of those who feared (Allah and) on whom Allah had bestowed His grace said: "Assault them through the gate; for when you are in, victory will be yours. And put your trust in Allah if you are believers indeed."

Wahiduddin Khan

Thereupon two God-fearing men whom God had blessed said, "Go into them through the gate -- for as soon as you enter, you shall surely be victorious! Put your trust in God if you are true believers."

Talal Itani

Two men of those who feared, but whom God had blessed, said, “Go at them by the gate; and when you have entered it, you will prevail. And put your trust in God, if you are believers.”

Tafsir jalalayn

There said, to them, two men of those who feared, contravening God's command, and these were Joshua and Caleb -- who were from among the leaders that Moses dispatched to bring back news of those giants -- to whom God had been gracious, by making them virtuous, for they concealed what they had discovered about the giants, telling only Moses, unlike the other leaders, who divulged the news, and so the people became cowardly. `Enter against them by the gate!, the gate of the town, and have no fear of them, for they are bodies without hearts. For if you enter by it, you will be victorious; the two [Joshua and Caleb] said this because they were certain of God's assistance and the fulfilment of His promise. Put your trust in God, if you are believers'.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

قَالَ رَجُلَنِ مِنَ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْعَمَ اللّهُ عَلَيْهِمَا

Two men of those who feared (Allah and) on whom Allah had bestowed His grace said...,

When the Children of Israel declined to obey Allah and follow His Messenger Musa, two righteous men among them, on whom Allah had bestowed a great bounty and who were afraid of Allah and His punishment, encouraged them to go forward.

It was also said that the Ayah reads in a way that means that these men were respected and honored by their people. Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Atiyah, As-Suddi, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and several other Salaf and latter scholars stated that;

These two men were Yuwsha`, the son of Nun, and Kalib, the son of Yufna.

These two men said to their people,

ادْخُلُواْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْبَابَ فَإِذَا دَخَلْتُمُوهُ فَإِنَّكُمْ غَالِبُونَ وَعَلَى اللّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُواْ إِن كُنتُم مُّوْمِنِينَ



"Assault them through the gate, for when you are in, victory will be yours. And put your trust in Allah if you are believers indeed."

Therefore, they said, if you rely on and trust in Allah, follow His command and obey His Messenger, then Allah will give you victory over your enemies and will give you triumph and dominance over them. Thus, you will conquer the city that Allah has promised you.

This advice did not benefit them in the least,

قَالُواْ يَا مُوسَى إِنَّا لَن نَّدْخُلَهَا أَبَدًا مَّا دَامُواْ فِيهَا فَاذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِل إِنَّا هَاهُنَا قَاعِدُونَ