Sam Gerrans - The Qur'an: A Complete Revelation

Those before them schemed; then God came at their building from the foundations so the roof fell down on them from above them; and the punishment came upon them whence they perceived not.

قَدْ مَكَرَ الَّذ۪ينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَاَتَى اللّٰهُ بُنْيَانَهُمْ مِنَ الْقَوَاعِدِ فَخَرَّ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّقْفُ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ وَاَتٰيهُمُ الْعَذَابُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
Qad makara allatheena min qablihimfaata Allahu bunyanahum mina alqawaAAidifakharra AAalayhimu assaqfu min fawqihim waatahumualAAathabu min haythu la yashAAuroon
#wordmeaningroot
1qadVerily
2makaraplottedمكر
3alladhīnathose who
4min(were) before them
5qablihim(were) before themقبل
6fa-atābut Allah cameاتي
7l-lahubut Allah came
8bun'yānahum(at) their buildingبني
9minafrom
10l-qawāʿidithe foundationsقعد
11fakharraso fellخرر
12ʿalayhimuupon them
13l-saqfuthe roofسقف
14minfrom
15fawqihimabove themفوق
16wa-atāhumuand came to themاتي
17l-ʿadhābuthe punishmentعذب
18minfrom
19ḥaythuwhereحيث
20they (did) not perceive
21yashʿurūnathey (did) not perceiveشعر
  • Aisha Bewley

    Those before them also plotted, and Allah came at their building from the foundations and the roof caved in on top of them. The punishment came at them from where they did not expect.

  • Progressive Muslims

    Those before them have schemed, but God came to their buildings from the foundation, thus the roof fell on top of them, and the retribution came to them from where they did not know.

  • Shabbir Ahmed

    Those who lived before them, had also plotted (against the Divine Laws) - whereupon Allah struck at the very foundations of all they had built and contrived. Such that the roof caved in upon them from above them. And the doom befell them from directions that they had perceived not.

  • Sam Gerrans The Qur'an: A Complete Revelation

    Those before them schemed; then God came at their building from the foundations so the roof fell down on them from above them; and the punishment came upon them whence they perceived not.

  • The Monotheist Group The Quran: A Monotheist Translation

    Those before them had schemed, so God came to their buildings from the foundation, thus the roof fell on top of them; and the retribution came to them from where they did not know.

  • Edip-Layth Quran: A Reformist Translation

    Those before them have schemed, but God came to their buildings from the foundation, thus the roof fell on top of them, and the retribution came to them from where they did not know.

  • Rashad Khalifa The Final Testament

    Others like them have schemed in the past, and consequently, GOD destroyed their building at the foundation, causing the roof to fall on them. The retribution struck them when they least expected.

  • Mohamed Ahmed - Samira

    Those who have gone before them had also conspired; then God uprooted their structure from its foundation; the roof fell over them from above, and punishment came upon them from somewhere they did not suspect.

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

    Those before them had already plotted, but Allah came at their building from the foundations, so the roof fell upon them from above them, and the punishment came to them from where they did not perceive.

  • Muhammad Asad

    Those who lived before them did, too, devise many a blasphemy -whereupon God visited with destruction all that they had ever built, at its very foundations, so that the roof fell in upon them from above and suffering befell them without their having perceived whence it came.

  • Marmaduke Pickthall

    Those before them plotted, so Allah struck at the foundations of their building, and then the roof fell down upon them from above them, and the doom came on them whence they knew not;

  • Abul A'la Maududi Tafhim commentary

    Surely many people before them had plotted in a similar manner to (vanquish the Truth), but Allah uprooted the whole structure of their plot from its foundations so that the roof fell in upon them, and the chastisement (of Allah) visited them from unknown directions.

  • Abdel Khalek Himmat Al- Muntakhab

    Potent was the cunning of their predecessors that it justified Allah's retributive punishment. He struck them at the roots of their foundation and their roofs collapsed over their heads and they were unexpectedly reduced to a useless form.

  • Bijan Moeinian

    Others like them tried to plan evil things in the past. God responded by destroying the edifice of their evil plans at the foundation, causing the roof to fall on them. They did not even realized how they were struck.

  • Al-Hilali & Khan

    Those before them indeed plotted, but Allâh struck at the foundation of their building, and then the roof fell down upon them, from above them, and the torment overtook them from directions they did not perceive.

  • Abdullah Yusuf Ali

    Those before them did also plot (against Allah's Way): but Allah took their structures from their foundations, and the roof fell down on them from above; and the Wrath seized them from directions they did not perceive.

  • Mustafa Khattab The Clear Quran

    Indeed, those before them had plotted, but Allah struck at the ˹very˺ foundation of their structure, so the roof collapsed on top of them, and the torment came upon them from where they did not expect.

  • Taqi Usmani

    Those (too) who were before them made plots. Then (the command of) Allah came upon their buildings (uprooting them) from the foundations. So roofs fell down upon them from above, and the chastisement came to them from where they could not even imagine.

  • Abdul Haleem

    Those who went before them also schemed, but God attacked the very foundations of what they built. The roof fell down on them: punishment came on them from unimagined directions.

  • Arthur John Arberry

    Those that were before them contrived; then God came upon their building from the foundations, and the roof fell down on them from over them, and the chastisement came upon them from whence they were not aware.

  • E. Henry Palmer

    Those who were before them devised a stratagem, but God brought their building off its foundations, and the roof fell over them, and the torment came to them, from whence they could not perceive.

  • Hamid S. Aziz

    Those who were before them plotted, but Allah struck at the foundations of their building, and the roof fell on them from above, and the torment came to them, from whence they could not perceive.

  • Mahmoud Ghali

    The ones that were before them did already scheme; then Allah came upon their structure from the foundations, so the roof collapsed upon them from above them, and the torment came upon them from where they were not aware.

  • George Sale

    Their predecessors devised plots heretofore; but God came unto their building, to overthrow it from the foundations: And the roof fell on them from above, and a punishment came upon them, from whence they did not expect.

  • Syed Vickar Ahamed

    Those before them also plotted (against Allah): But Allah took (away) their structures from their foundation, and the roof fell down upon them (right) from above them; And the punishment caught up with them from directions they did not (even) think.

  • Amatul Rahman Omar

    Their predecessors did (also) hatch schemes (against the Prophets), Allâh struck at the very root of their foundations, so that the roof fell down from above them and the punishment came upon them from quarters they did not perceive.

  • Ali Quli Qarai

    Those who were before them schemed. Then Allah razed their edifice from the foundations and the roof collapsed upon them from above and the punishment overtook them whence they were not aware.