Surah 26
الشعراء
Ash-Shu'ara
The Poets
Surah Context
Which was revealed in Makkah The Qur'an and the Disbelievers turning away; They could be compelled to believe if Allah so willed At the beginning of the explanation of Surat Al-Baqarah we discussed the letters which appear at the beginning.
Classical references: Ibn Kathir (Abridged).
Source: Ibn Kathir (Abridged) (26:1).
Last reviewed: 2026-04-10.
This is a short orientation note and does not replace full tafsir.
Ta Sin Mim
These are the verses of the Scripture that makes things clear:
[Prophet], are you going to worry yourself to death because they will not believe?
If We had wished, We could have sent them down a sign from heaven, at which their necks would stay bowed in utter humility.
Whenever they are brought a new revelation from the Lord of Mercy, they turn away:
they deny it, but the truth of what they scorned will soon hit them.
Do they not see the earth, and what noble kinds of thing We grow in it?
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe:
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
Your Lord called to Moses: ‘Go to those wrongdoers,
the people of Pharaoh. Will they not take heed?’
Moses said, ‘My Lord, I fear they will call me a liar,
and I will feel stressed and tongue-tied, so send Aaron too;
besides, they have a chargeagainst me, and I fear they may kill me.’
God said, ‘No [they will not]. Go, both of you, with Our signs––We shall be with you, listen-ing.
Go, both of you, to Pharaoh and say, “We bring a message from the Lord of the Worlds:
let the Children of Israel leave with us.” ’
Pharaoh said, ‘Did we not bring you up as a child among us? Did you not stay with us for many years?
And then you committed that crime of yours: you were so ungrateful.’
Moses replied, ‘I was misguided when I did it
and I fled from you in fear; later my Lord gave me wisdom and made me one of His messengers.
And is this- that you have enslaved the Children of Israel- the favour with which you reproach me?’
Pharaoh asked, ‘What is this “Lord of the Worlds”?’
Moses replied, ‘He is the Lord of the heavens and earth and everything between them. If you would only have faith!’
Pharaoh said to those present, ‘Do you hear what he says?’
Moses said, ‘He is your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers.’
Pharaoh said, ‘This messenger who has been sent to you is truly possessed.’
Moses continued, ‘Lord of the East and West and everything between them. If you would only use your reason!’
But Pharaoh said [to him], ‘If you take any god other than me, I will throw you into prison,’
and Moses asked, ‘Even if I show you something convincing?’
‘Show it then,’ said Pharaoh, ‘if you are telling the truth.’
So Moses threw down his staff and- lo and behold!- it became a snake for everyone to see.
Then he drew out his hand and- lo and behold!- it was white for the onlookers to see.
Pharaoh said to the counsellors around him, ‘This man is a learned sorcerer!
He means to use his sorcery to drive you out of your land! What do you suggest?’
They answered, ‘Delay him and his brother for a while, and send messengers to all the cities
to bring every accomplished sorcerer to you.’
The sorcerers were [to be] assembled at the appointed time on a certain day
and the people were asked, "Are you all coming?
We may follow the sorcerers if they win!"
When the sorcerers came, they said to Pharaoh, ‘Shall we be rewarded if we win?’
and he said, ‘Yes, and you will join my inner court.’
Moses said to them, ‘Throw down whatever you will.’
They threw their ropes and staffs, saying, ‘By Pharaoh’s might, we shall be victorious.’
But Moses threw his staff and- lo and behold!- it swallowed up their trickery
and the sorcerers fell down on their knees,
exclaiming, ‘We believe in the Lord of the Worlds,
the Lord of Moses and Aaron.’
Pharaoh said, ‘How dare you believe in him before I have given you permission? He must be the master who taught you sorcery! Soon you will see: I will cut off your alternate hands and feet and then crucify the lot of you!’
‘That will do us no harm,’ they said, ‘for we are sure to return to our Lord.
We hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins, as we were the first to believe.’
Then We revealed Our will to Moses, ‘Leave with My servants by night, for you will be pursued!’
Pharaoh sent messengers into the cities, proclaiming,
‘These people are a puny band––
they have enraged us-
and we are a large army, on the alert.’
So it was that We made them leave their gardens and their springs,
their treasures and their noble dwellings-
We gave [such] things [later]to the Children of Israel.
Pharaoh and his people pursued them at sunrise,
and as soon as the two sides came within sight of one another, Moses’ followers said, ‘We shall definitely be caught.’
Moses said, ‘No, my Lord is with me: He will guide me,’
and We revealed to Moses: ‘Strike the sea with your staff.’ It parted- each side like a mighty mountain-
and We brought the others to that place:
We saved Moses and all his companions,
and drowned the rest.
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe:
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
Tell them the story of Abraham,
when he asked his father and his people, ‘What do you worship?’
They said, ‘We worship idols, and are constantly in attendance on them.’
He asked, ‘Do they hear you when you call?
Do they help or harm you?’
They replied, ‘No, but this is what we saw our fathers doing.’
Abraham said, ‘Those idols you have worshipped,
you and your forefathers,
are my enemies; not so the Lord of the Worlds,
who created me. It is He who guides me;
He who gives me food and drink;
He who cures me when I am ill;
He who will make me die and then give me life again;
and He who will, I hope, forgive my faults on the Day of Judgement.
My Lord, grant me wisdom; join me with the righteous;
give me a good name among later generations;
make me one of those given the Garden of Bliss-
forgive my father, for he is one of those who have gone astray-
and do not disgrace me on the Day when all people are resurrected:
the Day when neither wealth nor children can help,
when the only one who will be saved is the one who comes before God with a heart devoted to Him.’
When the Garden is brought near to the righteous
and the Fire is placed in full view of the misguided,
it will be said to them, ‘Where are those you worshipped
beside God? Can they help you now, or even help themselves?’
and then they will all be hurled into Hell, together with those that misled them,
and all Iblis’s supporters.
There they will say to their gods, as they bicker among themselves,
‘We were clearly misguided
when we made you equal with the Lord of the Worlds.
It was the evildoers who led us astray,
and now we have no intercessor
and no true friend.
If only we could live our lives again, we would be true believers!’
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe:
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
The people of Noah, too, called the messengers liars.
Their brother Noah said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God?
I am a faithful messenger sent to you:
be mindful of God and obey me.
I ask no reward of you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds:
be mindful of God and obey me.’
They answered, ‘Why should we believe you when the worst sort of people follow you?’
He said, ‘What knowledge do I have of what they used to do?
It is for my Lord alone to bring them to account- if only you could see-
I will not drive believers away.
I am here only to give people a clear warning.’
So they said, ‘Noah, if you do not stop this, you will be stoned.’
He said, ‘My Lord, my people have rejected me,
so make a firm judgement between me and them, and save me and my believing followers.’
So We saved him and his followers in the fully laden ship,
and drowned the rest.
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe:
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
The people of Ad, too, called the messengers liars.
Their brother Hud said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God?
I am a faithful messenger sent to you:
be mindful of God and obey me.
I ask no reward of you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds.
How can you be so vain that you set up monuments on every high place?
Do you build fortresses because you hope to be immortal?
Why do you act like tyrants whenever you attack someone?
Be mindful of God and obey me;
be mindful of Him who has provided you with everything you know-
He has given you livestock, sons,
gardens, springs-
for I truly fear that the torment of a grievous day will overtake you.’
They replied, ‘It makes no difference to us whether you warn us or not,
for we only do what our forefathers used to do:
we shall not be punished.’
They denounced him as a liar, and so We destroyed them. There truly is a sign in this, though most of them do not believe:
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
The people of Thamud, too, called the messengers liars.
Their brother Salih said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God?
I am a faithful messenger to you:
be mindful of God and obey me.
I ask no reward from you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds.
[Do you think] you will be left secure for ever in what you have here-
gardens, springs,
fields, palm trees laden with fruit-
carving your fine houses from the mountains?
Be mindful of God and obey me:
do not obey those who are given to excess
and who spread corruption in the land instead of doing what is right.’
They said, ‘You are bewitched!
You are nothing but a man like us. Show us a sign, if you are telling the truth.’
He said, ‘Here is a camel. She should have her turn to drink and so should you, each on a specified day,
so do not harm her, or the punishment of a terrible day will befall you.’
But they hamstrung her. In the morning they had cause to regret it:
the punishment fell upon them. There truly is a sign in this, though most of them will not believe:
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
The people of Lot, too, called the messengers liars.
Their brother Lot said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God?
I am a faithful messenger to you:
be mindful of God and obey me.
I ask no reward from you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds.
Must you, unlike [other] people, lust after males
and abandon the wives that God has created for you? You are exceeding all bounds,’
but they replied, ‘Lot! If you do not stop this, you will be driven away.’
So he said, ‘I loathe what you do:
Lord, save me and my family from what they are doing.’
We saved him and all his family,
except for an old woman who stayed behind,
then We destroyed the others,
and poured a rain of destruction down upon them. How dreadful that rain was for those who had been forewarned!
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them will not believe:
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
The forest-dwellers, too, called the messengers liars.
Shuayb said to them, ‘Will you not be mindful of God?
I am a faithful messenger to you:
be mindful of God and obey me.
I ask no reward of you, for my only reward is with the Lord of the Worlds.
Give full measure: do not sell others short.
Weigh with correct scales:
do not deprive people of what is theirs. Do not spread corruption on earth.
Be mindful of God who created you and former generations,’
but they replied, ‘You are bewitched!
You are nothing but a man like us. In fact we think you are a liar.
Make bits of the heavens fall down on us, if you are telling the truth.’
He said, ‘My Lord knows best what you do.’
They called him a liar, and so the torment of the Day of Shadow came upon them- it was the torment of a terrible day.
There truly is a sign in this, though most of them will not believe:
your Lord alone is the Almighty, the Merciful.
Truly, this Quran has been sent down by the Lord of the Worlds:
the Trustworthy Spirit brought it down
to your heart [Prophet], so that you could bring warning
in a clear Arabic tongue.
This was foretold in the scriptures of earlier religions.
Is it not proof enough for them that the learned men of the Children of Israel have recognized it?
If We had sent it down to someone who was not an Arab,
and he had recited it to them, they still would not have believed in it.
So We make it pass straight through the hearts of the guilty:
they will not believe in it until they see the grievous torment,
which will suddenly hit them when they are not expecting it,
and then they will say, ‘Can we have more time?’
How can they ask that Our punishment be brought to them sooner?
Think, if we let them enjoy this life for some years
and then the promised torment came upon them,
what good would their past enjoyment be to them?
Never have We destroyed a town without sending down messengers to warn it,
as a reminder from Us: We are never unjust.
It was not the jinn who brought down this Quran:
it is neither in their interests nor in their power,
indeed they are prevented from overhearing it.
So [Prophet] do not invoke any gods beside God, or you will incur punishment.
Warn your nearest kinsfolk
and lower your wing tenderly over the believers who follow you.
If they disobey you, say, ‘I bear no responsibility for your actions.’
Put your trust in the Almighty, the Merciful,
who sees you when you stand up [for prayer]
and sees your movements among the worshippers:
He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing.
Shall I tell you who the jinn come down to?
They come down to every lying sinner
who readily lends an ear to them, and most of them are liars:
only those who are lost in error follow the poets.
Do you not see how they rove aimlessly in every valley;
how they say what they do not do?
Not so those [poets] who believe, do good deeds, remember God often, and defend themselves after they have been wronged. The evildoers will find out what they will return to.