Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Qalam Verse 15

Mufti Taqi Usmani

When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “(These are) the tales of the ancient.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

whenever Our revelations are recited to him, he says, “Ancient fables!”

Ruwwad Translation Center

When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “Ancient fables!”

A. J. Arberry

When Our signs are recited to him, he says, 'Fairy-tales of the ancients!'

Abdul Haleem

when our revelations are recited to him, he says, ‘These are just ancient fables.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

When Our revelations are rehearsed Unto him, he saith: fables of the ancients.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

When to him are rehearsed Our Signs, "Tales of the ancients", he cries!

Abul Ala Maududi

and whenever Our verses are rehearsed to him, he says: “These are fairy- tales of times gone by.”

Ahmed Ali

When you recite Our revelations to him, he says: "These are fables of long ago."

Ahmed Raza Khan

When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.”

Ali Quli Qarai

When Our signs are recited to him, he says, ‘Myths of the ancients!’

Ali Ünal

When Our Revelations are recited to him, he says: "Fables of the ancients."

Amatul Rahman Omar

When Our Messages are recited to him he says, `(These are mere) stories of the ancients (so outdated rubbish).´

English Literal

If Our verses/evidences are read/recited on him, he said: "The first`s/beginner`s myths ."

Faridul Haque

When Our verses are recited to him, he says, “These are stories of earlier people.”

Hamid S. Aziz

When Our communications are recited to him, he says, "Stories of those of old".

Hilali & Khan

When Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!"

Maulana Mohammad Ali

We shall try them as We tried the owners of the garden, when they swore to pluck its fruits in the morning,

Mohammad Habib Shakir

When Our communications are recited to him, he says: Stories of those of yore.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

That, when Our revelations are recited unto him, he saith: Mere fables of the men of old.

Muhammad Sarwar

he says, "These are ancient legends".

Qaribullah & Darwish

When Our verses are recited to him, he says: 'They are but fairytales of the ancients'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

When Our Ayat are recited to him, he says: "Tales of the men of old!"

Wahiduddin Khan

when Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "These are just ancient fables."

Talal Itani

When Our Verses are recited to him, he says, “Myths of the ancients!”

Tafsir jalalayn

When Our signs -- the Qur'n -- are recited to him, he says, that they are [merely], `Fables of the ancients!', in other words, he denies them [in arrogance] on account of the mentioned things which We have bestowed on him out of Our grace (a variant reading [for an of the previous verse] has [the interrogative] a-an).

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

(He was so) because he had wealth and children. When Our Ayat are recited to him, he says;"Tales of the men of old!"

Allah is saying, `this is how he responds to the favors that Allah has bestowed upon him of wealth and children, by disbelieving in Allah's Ayat and turning away from them while claiming that they are a lie that has been taken from the tales of the ancients.'

This is similar to Allah's statement,

ذَرْنِى وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيداً وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُ مَالاً مَّمْدُوداً وَبَنِينَ شُهُوداً وَمَهَّدتُّ لَهُ تَمْهِيداً ثُمَّ يَطْمَعُ أَنْ أَزِيدَ

كَلَّ إِنَّهُ كان لاٌّيَـتِنَا عَنِيداً سَأُرْهِقُهُ صَعُوداً

إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ

ثُمَّ نَظَرَ ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ

فَقَالَ إِنْ هَـذَا إِلاَّ سِحْرٌ يُوْثَرُ إِنْ هَـذَا إِلاَّ قَوْلُ الْبَشَرِ

سَأُصْلِيهِ سَقَرَ وَمَأ أَدْرَاكَ مَا سَقَرُ

لَا تُبْقِى وَلَا تَذَرُ لَوَّاحَةٌ لِّلْبَشَرِ عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ

Leave Me alone (to deal) with whom I created lonely (without any wealth and children etc.). And then granted him resources in abundance. And children to be by his side. And made life smooth and comfortable for him. After all that he desires that I should give more.

Nay! Verily, he has been opposing Our Ayat. I shall oblige him to face a severe torment!

Verily, he thought and plotted. So let him be cursed, how he plotted! And once more let him be cursed, how he plotted!

Then he thought. Then he frowned and he looked in a bad tempered way. Then he turned back, and was proud.

Then he said;"This is nothing but magic from that of old, this is nothing but the word of a human being!"

I will cast him into Hellfire. And what will make you know what Hellfire is

It spares not (any sinner), nor does it leave (anything unburned)! Burning and blackening the skins! Over it are nineteen (angels as keepers of Hell).

(74;11-30)

Then Allah said here,

سَنَسِمُهُ عَلَى الْخُرْطُومِ