Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Anfal Verse 35

Mufti Taqi Usmani

And their prayer near the House was not more than whistling and clapping. So, taste the punishment, because you used to disbelieve.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Their prayer at the Sacred House was nothing but whistling and clapping. So taste the punishment for your disbelief.

Ruwwad Translation Center

Their prayer at the Sacred House was nothing but whistling and clapping. So taste the punishment for your disbelief.

A. J. Arberry

And their prayer at the House is nothing but a whistling and a clapping of hands -- therefore taste you now the chastisement for your unbelief!

Abdul Haleem

Their prayers before the House are nothing but whistling and clapping. ‘So taste the punishment for your disbelief.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And naught was their prayer at the House but whistling and hand-clapping. Taste then the torment for ye were to disbelieve.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Their prayer at the House (of Allah) is nothing but whistling and clapping of hands; (Its only answer can be), "Taste ye the penalty because ye blasphemed."

Abul Ala Maududi

Their Prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and handclapping. Taste, then, this chastisement for your denying the truth.

Ahmed Ali

Their worship in the House of God has been no more than whistling and clapping. So they have to taste the punishment for disbelief.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And their prayer near the Kaa’bah is nothing except whistling and clapping; “So now taste the punishment – the result of your disbelief.”

Ali Quli Qarai

Their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and clapping. So taste the punishment because of what you used to defy.

Ali Ünal

Their Prayer at the House (in the Sacred Mosque) is nothing but whistling and hand-clapping. Then, taste the punishment because you persistently disbelieve.

Amatul Rahman Omar

(How can they be the trustees of the Holy Mosque as) their prayer at the House is nothing but (sacrilegious activities like) whistling and clapping of hands. (O disbelievers! you asked for punishment) therefore suffer the punishment (at the Battle of Badr) on account of your disbelief.

English Literal

And their prayers at the House/Home was not except whistling by mouth and echoing/prolonging/clapping ,so taste/experience the torture with what you were disbelieving.

Faridul Haque

And their prayer near the Kaa’bah is nothing except whistling and clapping; "So now taste the punishment - the result of your disbelief."

Hamid S. Aziz

Their prayer at the House was naught but whistling and hand clapping! Therefore, (it is said to them) Taste of the doom because you disbelieved!

Hilali & Khan

Their Salat (prayer) at the House (of Allah, i.e. the Ka'bah at Makkah) was nothing but whistling and clapping of hands. Therefore taste the punishment because you used to disbelieve.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And what excuse have they that Allah should not chastise them while they hinder (men) from the Sacred Mosque and they are not its (true) guardians? Its guardians are only those who keep their duty, but most of them know not.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And their prayer before the House is nothing but whistling and clapping of hands; taste then the chastisement, for you disbelieved.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And their worship at the (holy) House is naught but whistling and hand-clapping. Therefore (it is said unto them): Taste of the doom because ye disbelieve.

Muhammad Sarwar

Their (unbelievers) prayer at the mosque is nothing but whistling and clapping of hands. We shall tell them, "Suffer torment for your disbelief."

Qaribullah & Darwish

Their prayers at the Sacred House are nothing but whistling and clapping. Therefore, taste the punishment for your disbelief.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Their Salah at the House was nothing but Muka' and Tasdiyah. Therefore taste the punishment because you used to disbelieve.

Wahiduddin Khan

Their prayers at the Sacred House are nothing but whistling and clapping of hands. "So taste the punishment because of your denial."

Talal Itani

Their prayer at the House was nothing but whistling and clapping—so taste the punishment for your blasphemy.

Tafsir jalalayn

And their prayer at the [Sacred] House is nothing but whistling and hand-clapping; in other words they do this in place of the prayer which they were ordered to perform -- therefore taste now, at Badr, the chastisement for your unbelief!

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَمَا كَانَ صَلَتُهُمْ عِندَ الْبَيْتِ إِلاَّ مُكَاء وَتَصْدِيَةً

Their Salah (prayer) at the House was nothing but Muka' and Tasdiyah.

Abdullah bin Umar, Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Abu Raja' Al-Utardi, Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi, Hujr bin Anbas, Nubayt bin Sharit, Qatadah and Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said that;

this part of the Ayah refers to whistling.

Mujahid added that the pagans used to place their fingers in their mouth (while whistling).

Sa`id bin Jubayr said that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's statement,
وَمَا كَانَ صَلَتُهُمْ عِندَ الْبَيْتِ إِلاَّ مُكَاء وَتَصْدِيَةً
(Their Salat at the House was nothing but Muka'and Tasdiyah),

"The Quraysh used to perform Tawaf (encircling the Ka`bah) while naked, whistling and clapping their hands, for Muka' means `whistling', while, Tasdiyah means `clapping the hands."'

This meaning was also reported from Ibn Abbas, by Ali bin Abi Talhah and Al-Awfi.

Similar was recorded from Ibn Umar, Mujahid, Muhammad bin Ka`b, Abu Salamah bin Abdur-Rahman, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, Atiyyah Al-Awfi, Hujr bin Anbas and Ibn Abza.

Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn Umar explained the Ayah,

"Muka' means `whistling', while, `Tasdiyah' means `clapping the hands."'

Sa`id bin Jubayr and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd said that,
وَتَصْدِيَةً
(and Tasdiyah),

means, they hindered from the path of Allah, the Exalted and Most Honored.

Allah said,

فَذُوقُواْ الْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ



Therefore taste the punishment because you used to disbelieve.

According to Ad-Dahhak, Ibn Jurayj and Muhammad bin Ishaq,

this refers to the death and capture that they suffered during the battle of Badr