Sam Gerrans - The Qur'an: A Complete Revelation

And never would thy Lord destroy the cities until He has raised up in their principal city a messenger reciting to them Our proofs. And never would We destroy the cities save when the people thereof were wrongdoers.

وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ مُهْلِكَ الْقُرٰى حَتّٰى يَبْعَثَ ف۪ٓي اُمِّهَا رَسُولاً يَتْلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ اٰيَاتِنَاۚ وَمَا كُنَّا مُهْلِكِي الْقُرٰٓى اِلَّا وَاَهْلُهَا ظَالِمُونَ
Wama kana rabbuka muhlikaalqura hatta yabAAatha fee ommiharasoolan yatloo AAalayhim ayatina wamakunna muhlikee alqura illa waahluha thalimoon
#wordmeaningroot
1wamāAnd not
2kānawasكون
3rabbukayour Lordربب
4muh'lika(the) one to destroyهلك
5l-qurāthe townsقري
6ḥattāuntil
7yabʿathaHe (had) sentبعث
8in
9ummihātheir mother (town)امم
10rasūlana Messengerرسل
11yatlūrecitingتلو
12ʿalayhimto them
13āyātināOur Versesايي
14wamāAnd not
15kunnāWe would beكون
16muh'likī(the) one to destroyهلك
17l-qurāthe townsقري
18illāexcept
19wa-ahluhāwhile their peopleاهل
20ẓālimūna(were) wrongdoersظلم
  • Aisha Bewley

    Your Lord would never destroy any cities without first sending to the chief of them a Messenger to recite Our Signs to them. We would never destroy any cities unless their inhabitants were wrongdoers.

  • Progressive Muslims

    And your Lord never annihilates any community without sending a messenger to its capital, to recite Our revelations to them. And We never annihilate any community, unless its people are wicked.

  • Shabbir Ahmed

    Yet, your Lord never destroyed townships unless He sent a Messenger in their midst (the big city) who conveyed Our Commands to them. And never did We destroy the townships unless the people thereof violated human rights.

  • Sam Gerrans The Qur'an: A Complete Revelation

    And never would thy Lord destroy the cities until He has raised up in their principal city a messenger reciting to them Our proofs. And never would We destroy the cities save when the people thereof were wrongdoers.

  • The Monotheist Group The Quran: A Monotheist Translation

    And your Lord was not to destroy the towns until He sends a messenger to their capital, to recite Our revelations to them. And We do not destroy the towns unless its people are wicked.

  • Edip-Layth Quran: A Reformist Translation

    Your Lord never annihilates the towns without sending a messenger to their capital, to recite Our signs to them. We never annihilate the towns unless their people are wicked.

  • Rashad Khalifa The Final Testament

    For your Lord never annihilates any community without sending a messenger in the midst thereof, to recite our revelations to them. We never annihilate any community, unless its people are wicked.

  • Mohamed Ahmed - Samira

    But your Lord does not destroy habitations without having sent an apostle to their metropolis to read out Our commandments to them. We would never have destroyed cities if their inhabitants were not given to wickedness.

  • Sahih International (Umm Muhammad, Mary Kennedy, Amatullah Bantley)

    And never would your Lord have destroyed the cities until He had sent to their mother a messenger reciting to them Our verses. And We would not destroy the cities except while their people were wrongdoers.

  • Muhammad Asad

    Yet, withal, thy Sustainer would never destroy a community without having raised in its midst an apostle who would convey unto them Our mes­sages; and never would We destroy a community unless its people are wont to do wrong .

  • Marmaduke Pickthall

    And never did thy Lord destroy the townships, till He had raised up in their mother(-town) a messenger reciting unto them Our revelations. And never did We destroy the townships unless the folk thereof were evil-doers.

  • Abul A'la Maududi Tafhim commentary

    Your Lord would not destroy a town until He had sent to its centre a Messenger who would recite to them Our verses. Nor would We destroy any town unless its inhabitants were iniquitous.

  • Abdel Khalek Himmat Al- Muntakhab

    And never did Allah, your Creator, reduce the towns to a useless form until He had sent a Messenger to their capital to recite to the people Our divine revelations but they closed their hearts' ears. Therefore, never did We reduce the towns to a useless form except when the fundamental truth failed to govern their thoughts and they proved themselves wrongful of actions.

  • Bijan Moeinian

    Your Lord never destroys any civilization before having sent a prophet among them to relay His Message. I would never punish any community unless its people practice injustice.

  • Al-Hilali & Khan

    And never will your Lord destroy the towns (populations) until He sends to their mother town a Messenger reciting to them Our Verses. And never would We destroy the towns unless the people thereof are Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrong-doers, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allâh, oppressors and tyrants).

  • Abdullah Yusuf Ali

    Nor was thy Lord the one to destroy a population until He had sent to its centre a messenger, rehearsing to them Our Signs; nor are We going to destroy a population except when its members practise iniquity.

  • Mustafa Khattab The Clear Quran

    Your Lord would never destroy a society until He had sent to its capital a messenger, reciting Our revelations to them. Nor would We ever destroy a society unless its people persisted in wrongdoing.

  • Taqi Usmani

    And your Lord is not such as He would destroy the towns unless he had sent to their central place a messenger who recites to them Our verses, nor are We such as would destroy the towns unless their people are wrongdoers.

  • Abdul Haleem

    Your Lord would never destroy towns without first raising a messenger in their midst to recite Our messages to them, nor would We destroy towns unless their inhabitants were evildoers.

  • Arthur John Arberry

    Yet thy Lord never destroyed the cities until He sent in their mother-city a Messenger, to recite Our signs unto them; and We never destroyed the cities, save that their inhabitants were evildoers.

  • E. Henry Palmer

    But thy Lord would never destroy cities until He sent to the metropolis thereof an apostle, to recite to them our signs; nor would we destroy cities unless their people were unjust.

  • Hamid S. Aziz

    How many a community have We destroyed that exulted in its means of subsistence? Yonder are their dwellings which have not been inhabited after them, except for a while. And We, even We, are the inheritors.

  • Mahmoud Ghali

    And in no way would your Lord be causing towns to perish until He sends forth in their Mother-Town a Messenger, to recite Our ayat (Verses, signs) to them; and in no way would We be causing towns to perish except that their population are unjust.

  • George Sale

    But thy Lord did not destroy those cities, until He had sent unto their capital an apostle, to rehearse our signs unto them: Neither did We destroy those cities, unless their inhabitants were injurious to their apostle.

  • Syed Vickar Ahamed

    And your Lord was never the One to ruin a population until He had sent to its center a messenger, reciting (and rehearsing) to them Our Signs; And We not going to ruin a population unless its members commit injustice.

  • Amatul Rahman Omar

    Your Lord would never destroy the towns until He has raised a Messenger in their central place to recite to the people thereof Our Messages, nor would We destroy the towns unless their citizens be unjust.

  • Ali Quli Qarai

    Your Lord would not destroy the towns until He had raised an apostle in their mother city to recite to them Our signs. We would never destroy the towns except when their people were wrongdoers.