Al-Qur'an Surah An-Naba Verse 20

Mufti Taqi Usmani

and the mountains will be set in motion, so they will be as mirage.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

and the mountains will be blown away, becoming ˹like˺ a mirage.

Ruwwad Translation Center

and the mountains will vanish, becoming like a mirage.

A. J. Arberry

and the mountains are set in motion, and become a vapour.

Abdul Haleem

when the mountains will vanish like a mirage.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And the mountains will have been removed away, and they will have become as mirage.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And the mountains shall vanish, as if they were a mirage.

Abul Ala Maududi

and the mountains will be set in motion and become a mirage.

Ahmed Ali

The mountains put in motion turning into a mirage.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And the mountains will be moved – they will therefore become like mirages.

Ali Quli Qarai

and the mountains will be set moving and become a mirage.

Ali Ünal

And the mountains are set in motion and so become as if they had never existed.

Amatul Rahman Omar

And the mountains shall be wiped out and shall become (as if reduced to) plains of sand.

English Literal

And the mountains were made to move , so it was/became a mirage.

Faridul Haque

And the mountains will be moved - they will therefore become like mirages.

Hamid S. Aziz

And the mountains shall be moved off so that they shall remain a mere semblance.

Hilali & Khan

And the mountains shall be moved away from their places and they will be as if they were a mirage.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Surely hell lies in wait,

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And the mountains shall be moved off so that they shall remain a mere semblance.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And the hills are set in motion and become as a mirage.

Muhammad Sarwar

The mountains will be driven away and become like mirages.

Qaribullah & Darwish

and the mountains move, and vaporize.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And the mountains shall be moved away from their places and they will be as if they were a mirage.

Wahiduddin Khan

and the mountains shall be made to vanish, as if they had been a mirage.

Talal Itani

And the mountains are set in motion, and become a mirage.

Tafsir jalalayn

and the mountains are set in motion, dislocated from their positions, and become as a mirage, as fine dust, that is to say, like it in terms of its levity when in motion.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

And the mountains shall be moved away from their places and they will be as if they were a mirage.

This is similar to Allah's statement,

وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِىَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ

And you will see the mountains and think them solid, but they shall pass away as the passing away of the clouds. (27;88)

He also says,

وَتَكُونُ الْجِبَالُ كَالْعِهْنِ الْمَنفُوشِ

And the mountain will be like carded wool. (101;5)

And Allah says here,
فَكَانَتْ سَرَاباً
(As if they were a mirage.)

meaning, they appear to the one who looks at them as if they are something, but they are actually nothing. After this they will be completely removed. Nothing will be seen of them, and there will be neither base nor trace of them.

This is as Allah says,

وَيَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْجِبَالِ فَقُلْ يَنسِفُهَا رَبِّى نَسْفاً

فَيَذَرُهَا قَاعاً صَفْصَفاً

لااَّ تَرَى فِيهَا عِوَجاً وَلاا أَمْتاً

And they ask you concerning the mountains, say;

"My Lord will blast them and scatter them as particles of dust. Then He shall leave them as a level smooth plain. You will see therein nothing crooked or curved." (20;105-107)

And He says,

وَيَوْمَ نُسَيِّرُ الْجِبَالَ وَتَرَى الاٌّرْضَ بَارِزَةً

And the Day We shall cause the mountains to pass away, and you will see the earth as a leveled plain. (18;47)

Allah then says,

إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ كَانَتْ مِرْصَادًا