Sam Gerrans - The Qur'an: A Complete Revelation

Oh, that when you heard it you had but said: “It is not for us to speak of this. Glory be to Thee! This is a monstrous slander!”

وَلَوْلَٓا اِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ قُلْتُمْ مَا يَكُونُ لَـنَٓا اَنْ نَتَكَلَّمَ بِهٰذَاۗ سُبْحَانَكَ هٰذَا بُهْتَانٌ عَظ۪يمٌ
Walawla ith samiAAtumoohuqultum ma yakoonu lana an natakallama bihathasubhanaka hatha buhtanun AAatheem
#wordmeaningroot
1walawlāAnd why not
2idhwhen
3samiʿ'tumūhuyou heard itسمع
4qul'tumyou saidقول
5Not
6yakūnuit isكون
7lanāfor us
8anthat
9natakallamawe speakكلم
10bihādhāof this
11sub'ḥānakaGlory be to Youسبح
12hādhāThis
13buh'tānun(is) a slanderبهت
14ʿaẓīmungreatعظم
  • Aisha Bewley

    Why, when you heard it, did you not say, ‘We have no business speaking about this. Glory be to You! This is a terrible slander!’?

  • Progressive Muslims

    And when you heard it you should have said: "It was not right for us to speak of this. Glory to You, this is a great lie."

  • Shabbir Ahmed

    (And once again), why do you not say, whenever you hear such a rumor, "It is not befitting for us to talk about it. Glory to You (Our Lord), this is a monstrous calumny."

  • Sam Gerrans The Qur'an: A Complete Revelation

    Oh, that when you heard it you had but said: “It is not for us to speak of this. Glory be to Thee! This is a monstrous slander!”

  • The Monotheist Group The Quran: A Monotheist Translation

    And when you heard it you should have said: "It was not right for us to speak of this. Glory be to You, this is a great lie."

  • Edip-Layth Quran: A Reformist Translation

    When you heard it you should have said: "It was not right for us to speak of this. Glory to You, this is a great lie."

  • Rashad Khalifa The Final Testament

    When you heard it, you should have said, "We will not repeat this. Glory be to You. This is a gross falsehood."

  • Mohamed Ahmed - Samira

    Why did you not say when you heard it: "It is not for us to speak of it? God preserve us, it is a great calumny!"

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

    And why, when you heard it, did you not say, "It is not for us to speak of this. Exalted are You, ; this is a great slander"?

  • Muhammad Asad

    And : Why do you not say, whenever you hear such , "It does not behove us to speak of this, O Thou who art limitless in Thy glory: this is an awesome calumny"?

  • Marmaduke Pickthall

    Wherefor, when ye heard it, said ye not: It is not for us to speak of this. Glory be to Thee (O Allah)! This is awful calumny.

  • Abul A'la Maududi Tafhim commentary

    And why, no sooner than you had heard it, did you not say: "It becomes us not even to utter such a thing? Holy are You (O Allah)! This is a mighty calumny."

  • Abdel Khalek Himmat Al- Muntakhab

    If only when you Muslims heard the news you exclaimed: "Allah forbid, we must not give this subject a speaking tongue. Glory be to You O Allah and extolled are Your glorious attributes; this is indeed falsehood personified".

  • Bijan Moeinian

    When you heard the rumor, you should have said: "We are not going to spread it. We take refuge in God, this is indeed a great slander."

  • Al-Hilali & Khan

    And why did you not, when you heard it, say: "It is not right for us to speak of this. Glory be to You (O Allâh)! This is a great lie."

  • Abdullah Yusuf Ali

    And why did ye not, when ye heard it, say? - "It is not right of us to speak of this: Glory to Allah! this is a most serious slander!"

  • Mustafa Khattab The Clear Quran

    If only you had said upon hearing it, "How can we speak about such a thing! Glory be to You ˹O Lord˺! This is a heinous slander!"

  • Taqi Usmani

    And why, when you heard of it, did you not say, "It is not for us to speak about this. Pure are You (O Allah). This is a terrible calumny."

  • Abdul Haleem

    When you heard the lie, why did you not say, ‘We should not repeat this- God forbid!- It is a monstrous slander’?

  • Arthur John Arberry

    And why, when you heard it, did you not say, 'It is not for us to speak about this; glory be to Thee! This is a mighty calumny'?

  • E. Henry Palmer

    And why did ye not say when ye heard it, 'It is not for us to speak of this? Celebrated be His praises, this is a mighty calumny!'

  • Hamid S. Aziz

    Behold, you received it with your tongues, and spoke with your mouths what you had no knowledge of, and deemed it a light thing, while it was most grave in the sight of Allah.

  • Mahmoud Ghali

    And if you had (but) said, as you heard it, "In no way is it for us to talk about this. All Extolment be to You! This is a tremendous calumny."

  • George Sale

    When ye heard it, did ye say, it belongeth not unto us, that we should talk of this matter: God forbid! This is a grievous calumny.

  • Syed Vickar Ahamed

    And why did you not, when you heard it, say— "It is not right of us to speak of this: Glory to Allah! This is a most serious lie (against any person)!"

  • Amatul Rahman Omar

    And why did you not say as soon as you heard of it, `It does not behove us to talk like this. Holy are You (O Gracious God). This is a monstrous calumny,'

  • Ali Quli Qarai

    And why did you not, when you heard it, say, ‘It is not for us to say such a thing. You are immaculate! This is a monstrous calumny!’