Were He to call them to account for what they have earned, then surely, He would have hastened their punishment.

If He were to call them (at once) to account for what they have earned, then surely He would have hastened their punishment: but they have their appointed time, beyond which they will find no refuge.Īnd your Lord is Most Forgiving, Owner of Mercy. Then they came to the Messenger of Allah and said, `O Muhammad, tell us,’ and they asked him about the things they had been told to ask.Warabbuka alghafooru thoo a lrra hmati law yu akhi thuhum bim a kasaboo laAAajjala lahumu alAAa thaba bal lahum mawAAidun lan yajidoo min doonihi mawil a nīut your Lord is Most forgiving, full of Mercy. The Jewish rabbis told us to ask him about some matters,’ and they told the Quraysh what they were. What was his story And ask him about the Ruh (soul or spirit) - what is it If he tells you about these things, then he is a Prophet, so follow him, but if he does not tell you, then he is a man who is making things up, so deal with him as you see fit.’ So An-Nadr and `Uqbah left and came back to the Quraysh, and said: `O people of Quraysh, we have come to you with a decisive solution which will put an end to the problem between you and Muhammad. Ask him about a man who travelled a great deal and reached the east and the west of the earth. Ask him about some young men in ancient times, what was their story For theirs is a strange and wondrous tale. They said, `You are the people of the Tawrah and we have come to you so that you can tell us about this companion of ours.’ They (the rabbis) said, `Ask him about three things which we will tell you to ask, and if he answers them then he is a Prophet who has been sent (by Allah) if he does not, then he is saying things that are not true, in which case how you will deal with him will be up to you. They described him to them and told them some of what he had said. They are the people of the first Book, and they have more knowledge of the Prophets than we do.’ So they set out and when they reached Al-Madinah, they asked the Jewish rabbis about the Messenger of Allah.

He said that an old man from among the people of Egypt who came to them some forty-odd years ago told him, from `Ikrimah that Ibn `Abbas said: “The Quraysh sent An-Nadr bin Al-Harith and `Uqbah bin Abi Mu`it to the Jewish rabbis in Al-Madinah, and told them: `Ask them (the rabbis) about Muhammad, and describe him to them, and tell them what he is saying. Muhammad bin Ishaq mentioned the reason why this Surah was revealed.

Surah kahf full arabic text