27. Al-Naml/The Ant

I/We begin by the Blessed Name of Allah

The Immensely Merciful to all, The Infinitely Compassionate to everyone.

27:01
a. Ta. Sin.
b. These are the Messages of The Divine Qur’an, and, a Clear Book.

27:02
a. It is a Guidance, and,
b. a source of good news for the believers.

27:03
a. The believers are those who:
- establish the Salat/Prayers, and
- pay out the Zakat/annual charity, and
- it is they who believe with certainty in the realm of the Hereafter.

27:04
a. Surely, as for those who do not believe in the realm of the Hereafter,
b. WE have made their evil deeds appear enticing to them,
c. so that they wander confused in their worldly lives.

27:05
a. It is they for whom is going to be an awful punishment,
b. and it is they who are going to be the worst losers in the realm of the Hereafter.

27:06
a. And, for sure, you - O The Prophet – are receiving the Qur’an from the One WHO is
All-Wise, All-Knowing.

27:07
a. And visualize the time when Moses said to his family:
b. ‘I believe - I perceive a fire on the mountain.
c. You wait here I will go and bring you some information from there, or at least a firebrand
- so you may warm up yourselves.’

27:08
a. So when he came close to it, a Voice called out:
b. ‘Blessed be WHOEVER is within the Fire, and whoever is around it!

c. And Exalted be Allah - Rabb - The Lord of all existence.’

27:09
a. The Call continued:
b. ‘O Moses!
c. The fact is, it is I, Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise!

27:10
a. And cast down your staff!’
b. So when he cast down the staff and saw it fast-moving as if it were a real snake.
c. Moses was scared at the sight as a normal human being so he turned around, retreating, without even looking back.
d. The Call followed, reassuring:
e. ‘O Moses!
f. Do not fear!
g. Indeed, the ones who are designated as Messengers do not have any reason to fear in MY Presence.

27:11
a. ‘Except for the one who has done wrong should fear,
b. and then repented and replaced wrong with righteousness,
c. then, surely, I will be Immensely Forgiving, Infinitely Compassionate to him.

27:12
a. ‘Now insert your right hand in your cloak, it will come out a glowing white, without any
harm.
b. These are two among the nine miracles for Pharaoh and his people.
c. Go to them for surely they have become a sinfully rebellious people - corrupt in faith.

27:13
a. So when OUR two miracles reached them as distinct proofs of the Truth.
b. They dismissed them and said:
c. ‘This is an obvious delusion!’

27:14
a. And in their sheer arrogance and malice while they denied them straight away – wrongfully and in haughtiness, though their consciences had, in fact, acknowledged them as true.
b. See, then, how the fate was of these promoters of religious corruption!

27:16
a. And Solomon - the son – inherited it from his father David.
b. And he said:
c. ‘O The People of the World!
d. We have been taught speech of the birds - and we have also been given special knowledge
of everything else.
e. Surely this - this indeed is a clear favor from Allah.

27:17
a. And one day assembled before Solomon were his troops of jinn, and human, and birds.
b. And they were all arranged in row/lined up in a battle order for him to inspect them.

27:18
a. He marched with them until, when they came to the Valley of the Ants.
b. One of the queen-ant was alarmed and she said:
c. ‘O Ants!
d. Get into your dwellings, lest Solomon and his troops crush you without even realizing it.’

27:19
a. Thereupon he – Solomon – smiled, amused at her words,
b. and said:
c. O ‘My Rabb - The Lord!
d. Enable me to be ever grateful to YOU for YOUR Favor and Grace which YOU have conferred on me and on my parents,
e. and, that, I may practice righteousness in such a manner that will please YOU, and
f. include me, by YOUR Grace, among YOUR righteous servants.’

27:20
a. And one day he - Solomon – was inspecting the birds, making a note of their presence and absence, and said:
b. ‘Why do I not see the hoopoe?
c. Is he present or is he one of the absentees?

27:21
a. ‘I will certainly punish him most severely,
b. or I may even slaughter him –
c. or else he brings me a valid reason’ for his absence.

27:22
a. But he – hoopoe - did not stay away for long.
b. He came and said to Solomon:
c. ‘I have learned something that may not be known to you, and
d. I have brought you a reliable news from the Land of Sheba.

27:23
a. ‘I found there a woman ruling over them, and
b. she has been given the abundance of everything: power and prosperity,
c. furthermore, for her is a magnificent throne.

27:24
a. However, ‘I found her and her people worshiping/prostrating themselves before the sun, instead of Allah;
b. and Satan has made their deeds enticing to them,
c. and has kept them away from the Right Path.
d. Thus they are not guided aright.

27:25
a. They have been deceived by Satanic enticement to such an extent that they do not worship/ prostrate themselves before Allah – WHO brings out the hidden secrets within the celestial realm and the terrestrial world,

b. and WHO Knows whatever you hide and whatever you disclose.

27:27
a. He - Solomon - said:
b. ‘We will wait and see if you have told the truth or you are of the liars.’

27:28
a. ‘Go with this letter of mine, and deliver it to them.
b. Then turn aside from them, and observe the state of their understanding, see what response
they send back’ with you.

27:29
a. The Queen received Solomon’s letter, read it, and, thus she addressed her courtiers:
b. ‘O The Courtiers!
c. A gracious letter has been delivered to me.’

27:30
a. ‘This is from Solomon, and it reads as follows:
b. By the Blessed Name of Allah, The Immensely Merciful to all, the Infinitely Compassionate
to each.

27:31
a. ‘Do not try to exalt yourselves against me.
b. And surrender to me submissively.’

27:32
a. She then stated:
b. ‘O The Courtiers!
c. Give me your opinion in this case and guide me.
d. As I do not decide any strategic case unless you are present with me.’

27:33
a. They said:
b. ‘We are a powerful nation and have great military might,
c. but the matter is yours to decide.
d. So think-whatever you will command’ us, and we will obey.

27:34
a. She criticized kings’ corruption and aggression and said:
b. ‘Fact of the matter is that whenever kings enter to invade a territory, they devastate it,
c. and they make its respectable citizens as the most humiliated, and cause enormous suffering to the social and economic infrastructure.
d. This is what they - Solomon and his troops – will do to us.

27:35
a. ‘However, I am going to send some gifts for them to test their love for wealth, and
b. then wait to see what response my emissaries bring back.’

27:36
a. So when the Queen’s emissary came to Solomon in Jerusalem carrying the gifts, he derided their gifts and scornfully said:
b. ‘Are you going to add to my wealth?
c. So be sure whatever wealth Allah has already given me is so much better than all that HE has given you.
d. I shall not accept them.
e. Instead, you stay happy with your gifts.’

27:37
a. Solomon thus spoke to the Queen’s emissaries:
b. ‘Go back to them who sent you!
c. And tell them if they do not come to us submissively, we will certainly come upon them with such a strength of troops that they can never resist and fight back, and
d. we will drive them out from there in humiliation, and they will be disgraced.’

27:38
a. The message was received by the Queen, and in her wisdom she decided to visit Solomon.
b. Knowing of her journey, Solomon said:
c. ‘O The Courtiers!
d. Which of you can bring me her throne - which the hoopoe has informed us about - before they/she come to me submissively?’

27:39
a. An ‘ifreet among the Jinn said:
b. ‘I can bring it to you even before you rise from your place.
c. And, of course, I am strong enough to do that, and worthy of your trust’ as well.

27:40
a. However, another jinn who had some knowledge of the Scripture said:
b. ‘I can bring it to you right away in the wink of an eye.’
c. And when the throne was brought and he saw it placed before him, Solomon said:
d. ‘This is by the Grace of my Rabb - The Lord to test me whether I am grateful or I am ungrateful.
e. And whoever is grateful to one’s Rabb is, in fact, grateful for one’s own good.
f. As whoever is ungrateful should know that indeed my Rabb - The Lord is the Possessor of Great Benevolence, Most Generous.’

27:41
a. To test the Queen, he ordered his attendants:
b. ‘Disguise her throne for her.
c. We will see her intelligence whether she will be guided to recognize it, or she will not be guided and remain confused.’

27:42
a. So when she arrived in Solomon’s Palace, after due protocol and courtesies, she was
diplomatically asked:
b. ‘Is this what your throne looks like?’
c. She had a look and answered diplomatically:
d. ‘It is as if it were the same’ and yet not quite the same.

e. Thus Solomon thought/said to his courtiers that while she has been in submission without any persuasion from us, we had been given the knowledge before her, and had been is submission to our Rabb - The Lord.

27:43
a. But she was, in fact, prevented from the Right Path by the worshipful entities, which she
used to submit to in worship apart from Allah,
b. for she was of a disbelieving people.’

27:44
a. Solomon had prepared another surprise for the Queen.
b. After a while, she was asked to enter the main hall of the palace.
c. When she saw it - the crystal glass floor - she reckoned it to be a pool of water - and thus in order to hold her robes above the water she exposed her calves.
d. Solomon explained:
e. This is not water - ‘it is paved with crystal’ glass tiles!
f. The Queen exclaimed:
g. O ‘My Rabb - The Lord!
h. Indeed, I was confused.
i. I have definitely wronged myself by submitting in worship to false entities,
j. but now I submit myself in worship, reverence, and awe along with Solomon, to Allah, Rabb - The Lord of all existence.’

27:45
a. And WE assigned to the people of Thamud their brethren Saleh as OUR Messenger with the Message:
b. ‘Submit in worship to Allah!’
c. But then they – his people - split into two rival factions disputing with each other: one that accepted the Call, and the other that opposed it.

27:46
a. Saleh said:
b. ‘O My People!
c. Why do you seek to hurry the evil – HIS punishment - before the good – HIS Mercy?
d. Why do you not seek Allah’s forgiveness, so that you may receive HIS Mercy?’

27:47
a. They said:
b. ‘We have a bad omen about you and those with you.’
c. Saleh said:
d. ‘Your bad omen is with Allah.’
e. What you are going through has nothing to do with omens.
f. Rather you are a people who are being tested.’

27:48
a. And in the city there was a group of nine persons who were creating corruption and chaos in the city, and would not reform themselves.
b. They conspired against Saleh and his family.

27:49
a. After mutual consultations, they pledged to one another:
b. ‘Swear by the Blessed Name Allah that we will attack to kill him and his family by night.

c. And when the claimant of the blood will make the claim, we can lie telling his heir:
d. ‘We did not witness the destruction/murder of his family; and,
e. for sure, we are being honest.’

27:50
a. And thus they devised a vicious scheme,
b. but WE also devised a subtle scheme to foil theirs,
c. though they could not perceive it, nor get a hint of it

27:51
a. See then how was the end of their vicious scheme!
b. Indeed, WE totally destroyed them - nine ringleaders - and their people, altogether.

27:52
a. So these are their houses, lying in ruins, for they did terribly wrong.
b. Surely, in this narrative is a clear message/warning for a people who want to understand
and learn from history.

27:53
a. And WE saved those who believed and were Allah-conscious.

27:54
a. And WE assigned Lot too with the same Message to his perverted people of Sodom when he said:
b. ‘How could you do such an immorality/lewdness with your eyes wide open?’

27:55
a. ‘How can you approach males with lust instead of females?
b. Indeed, you are a degenerate people!’

27:56
a. But the only response of his people was to say to one another:
b. ‘Expel family of Lot from your township.
c. They are a people who make themselves out to be pure.’

27:57
a. So WE saved him - Lot - with his family, except for his wife.
b. WE decreed that she would be among those who stay behind and perish.

27:58
a. And WE poured down rain on them – who were destined to stay behind.
b. So dreadful was the rain for those who had been forewarned of the consequences of lewdness and transgender relationships.

27:59
a. Say:
b. ‘All Praise and Gratitude be to Allah,
c. and peace be upon those of HIS servants whom HE has chosen.
d. Is Allah better or those entities they ascribe to HIM in unity, divinity and worship?

27:60
a. Are their entities better or The One

- WHO created without a precedent the celestial realm and the terrestrial world, and
- WHO sends down for you water from the sky clouds?
b. Then by this WE make gardens and orchards grow, full of delight, whose plants and trees you could never grow.
c. Could there ever be any other entity worthy of worship apart from Allah?
d. No! Never!
e. But those who think otherwise they are a people who ascribe others as equal to HIM.

27:61
a. Are their entities better or The One
- WHO made the earth habitable, and
- WHO made rivers/streams flow through it, and
- WHO set upon it huge mountains for making it firm, and
- WHO placed an invisible barrier between the two seas of flowing water?
b. Could there ever be any other entity worthy of worship apart from Allah?
c. No. Never!
d. But most of them do not want to know the truth.

27:62
a. Are their entities better or The One
- WHO responds to the one desperate in suffering and helplessness when one calls out to HIM, and
- then relieves suffering and helplessness, and
- establishes you as successors on the earth – generation after generation?
b. Could there ever be any other entity worthy of worship apart from Allah?
c. No. Never!
d. How little do you reflect!

27:63
a. Are their entities better or The One
- WHO guides you through the darkness of the land and the sea, and
- WHO sends the winds as heralds of blessed rain of HIS Mercy?
b. Could there ever be any other entity worthy of worship apart from Allah?
c. No. Never!
d. Exalted is Allah above all that they ascribe to HIM in unity, divinity and worship!

27:64
a. Are their entities of worship better or The One
- WHO originates the creation in the first instance, and
- then repeats it to their initial state,and
- provides for you sustenance/livelihood out of the sky and the earth?
b. Could there ever be any other entity worthy of worship apart from Allah?
c. No. Never!
d. Say:
e. ‘Bring your proof, if you are truthful’ in your assertion.

27:65
a. Say:
b. ‘No one knows of the ‘Unseen’ within the celestial realm and the terrestrial world except Allah.
c. And they are not even aware of when they are going to be resurrected.’

27:66
a. Do you think they do not know the realities?
b. They do.
c. But their knowledge cannot truly visualize the Hereafter - because it is a reality beyond their experience of this life.
d. No!
e. In fact, they are in doubt about it.
d. In fact, they are blind to it.

27:67
a. And those who disbelieve say:
b. ‘Is it that after we have become dust, and our forefathers, are we really going to be brought out of burial places/graves to a new dimension of existence?

27:68
a. In fact, we were promised this before, we and our forefathers!
b. This is nothing but tales of the past.’

27:69
a. Say to them:
b. ‘Go about in the world, and
c. see the fate of the wicked.’

27:70
a. O The Prophet!
b. And do not grieve over them for what they say, and
c. do not be distressed by what they are scheming against your Mission.

27:71
a. And they ask you:
b. ‘When will this promise of the Resurrection and process of accountability be fulfilled, if
you are really honest?’

27:72
a. Say to them:
b. ‘Perhaps what some of you seek to hurry may already be close at hand.’

27:73
a. And surely your Rabb - The Lord does not hurry the punishment, for HE is Gracious to the people,
b. while most of them are actually ungrateful’ for it.

27:74
a. And certainly your Rabb - The Lord Knows what their hearts conceal,
b. as also HE Knows what they reveal.

27:75
a. And there is nothing hidden within the celestial realm or the terrestrial world, but it is in a
Clear Book.

27:76
a. Surely this, The Qur’an, explains to Descendants of Jacob most of the matters of faith and its oracles, over which they differ.

27:77
a. And, truly this - the Qur’an - is a source of Guidance on all matters, and a Grace - full of blessings - for the believers.

27:78
a. And surely your Rabb - The Lord will decide between them - believers and disbelievers
- by HIS Judgment during the Time of Final Judgment -
b. for HE is the Almighty, the All-Knowing.

27:79
a. So trust Allah - for HE is always with the Truth.
b. And, surely you – O The Prophet - are on the Path of the Clear Truth.

27:80
a. Indeed, you cannot make the dead - those who live unconsciously void of the vitality of faith – listen to your Call to Islam, and
b. also, you cannot make the deaf of heart listen to the Call, when they turn away, withdrawing.

27:81
a. And you cannot guide the blind too out of their straying.
b. You can only make them to listen to your Call those who want to believe in OUR Messages
in the Qur’an.
c. So it is they who ultimately submit themselves to US in worship, reverence, and piety.
d. And it is only they, who deserve to be called alive.

27:82
a. And when the Word of Allah’s Judgment will fall upon them,
b. WE are going to bring out for them a creature from of the earth to tell them that the people did not have certainty of faith in OUR Messages.

27:83
a. And visualize the Time of Judgment, when WE are going to gather from every community a group of those who belied and denied OUR Messages,
b. and they will be set in array according to the severity of their crimes,

27:84
a. until, when they come before HIM for judgment, HE will ask them:
b. ‘Did you deny and belie MY Messages even without fully understanding them?
c. If that was not so, what else were you doing?

27:85
a. And the Word of Punishment will come upon them as pay-back for their wrongdoing and being unjust,
b. and they will then not be able to speak even a single word in self-defense.

27:86
a. Do they not see that it is WE WHO made the nighttime dark for them to rest in it,
b. and the daytime bright for them to see in it?
c. Indeed, in this are miraculous wonders for a people who believe and reflect.

27:87
a. And visualize the awful Time when the Trumpet will be sounded heralding great horror, and

b. whoever is within the celestial realm and the terrestrial world will be horrified and in panic,
c. except for whoever Allah Wants to be exempted,
d. And everyone will come before HIM with their necks bent down in utter humility.

27:88
a. And you see the mountains now, supposedly so firmly fixed, yet passing by as the clouds pass by -
b. such is the making of Allah, WHO perfects everything.
c. Indeed, HE is Well-Aware of whatever you do.

27:89
a. Whoever comes before HIM during the Time of Final Judgment with a deed of righteousness, will have a reward far better than that;
b. and, they will also be safe from the horror and panic of that Time.

27:90
a. But whoever comes with a bad/evil deed, they will be cast face down into the Fire.
b. And they will be asked:
c. ‘Are you being paid back for anything except for what you used to do’ in the worldly life?

27:91
a. O The Prophet!
b. Tell them:
c. ‘I have been commanded to submit in worship to Rabb - The Lord of this revered City of Makkah, WHO has made it sacred and inviolable,
d. and to HIM belongs everything.
e. And I have also been commanded to be of those who submit themselves to HIM in worship, reverence, and awe.

27:92
a. And I have also been commanded to recite The Qur’an.
b. So whoever accepts the Qur’anic Guidance and thus is guided aright is guided only for himself - to one’s own benefit;
c. and, whoever chooses not to follow the Qur’anic Guidance and thus chooses to go astray,
then let it be so, and say:
d. In fact, ‘I am only of the Warners.’

27:93
a. And say:
b. All Praise and Gratitude is for Allah.
c. HE will soon make you see the truth of HIS Messages in the Qur’an, and you can recognize them for what they are.
d. And your Rabb - The Lord is Never Unaware of what you are doing.’