Word ٱتَّبَعَكَ - Quran Morphology

English - Hazrat Molavi Sher Ali ^ra

The chiefs of his people, who disbelieved, replied, ‘We see in thee nothing but a man like ourselves, and we see that none have followed thee but those who, to all outward appearance, are the meanest of us. And we do not see in you any superiority over us; nay, we believe you to be liars.’

اردو ترجمہ مرزا طاہر احمد خلیفة المسیح الرابعؒ

پس اس کی قوم میں سے اُن سرداروں نے کہا جنہوں نے کفر کیا کہ ہم تو تجھے محض اپنے جیسا ہی ایک بشر دیکھتے ہیں۔ نیز ہم اُس کے سوا تجھے کچھ نہیں دیکھتے کہ جن لوگوں نے تیری پیروی کی ہے وہ بادئ النظر میں ہمارے ذلیل ترین لوگ ہیں اور ہم اپنے اوپر تمہاری کوئی فضیلت نہیں سمجھتے بلکہ تمہیں جھوٹے گمان کرتے ہیں۔

French

Les chefs de son peuple, qui ne croyaient pas, ont répondu : « Nous ne voyons en toi qu’un homme comme nous, et nous constatons que personne d’autre ne t’a suivi sauf ceux qui, en toute apparence, sont les méprisables parmi nous. Et nous ne voyons en vous aucune supériorité sur nous ; nous pensons même que vous êtes des menteurs.

German

Die Häupter seines Volks, die nicht glaubten, sprachen: "Wir sehen in dir nur einen Menschen gleich uns, und wir sehen, dass dir keiner gefolgt ist als jene, die aller äußeren Erscheinung nach die Niedrigsten unter uns sind, noch sehen wir in euch irgendeinen Vorzug vor uns; nein, wir erachten euch für Lügner."

Chinese

[f]他的民族中不信者的首领(对他) 说: “我们认为你只像我们一样的一个普通人, [g]我们也没看到, 除了我们中那些显然最卑贱的人以外还有追随你的。我们看不见你们比我们有 (任何) 优越之处, 甚至我们确信你们是说谎者。”

Italian

I capi del suo popolo, che non credevano, risposero: «Non vediamo in te nient'altro che un uomo come noi, e vediamo che nessuno ti ha seguito se non coloro che, all'apparenza esteriore sono i più miseri. E noi non scorgiamo in voi alcuna superiorità su di noi. Anzi, vi riteniamo dei mentitori.»

Spanish

Los jefes de su pueblo, que no creían, respondieron: “Sólo vemos en ti un hombre como nosotros mismos, y es comúnmente sabido que nadie te ha seguido excepto nuestros inferiores. No vemos que tengáis superioridad alguna sobre nosotros; no, pensamos que sois embusteros”.

اردو تفسیرِ صغیر

اس پر ان بڑے لوگوں نے جنہوں نے اس کی قوم میں سے (اس کا) انکار کیا تھا (اسے) کہا (کہ) ہم تجھے اپنے جیسے ایک آدمی کے سوا (کچھ) نہیں سمجھتے۔ اور نہ ہم (یہ) دیکھتے ہیں کہ سوائے ان لوگوں کے جو سرسری نظر میں ہم سے حقیر ترین (نظر آتے) ہیں کسی نے تیری پیروی (اختیار) کی ہو۔ اور ہم اپنے اوپر تمہاری (کسی قسم کی) کوئی فضیلت نہیں دیکھتے بلکہ ہم یقین رکھتے ہیں کہ تم جھوٹے ہو۔

English - Short Commentary Translation

[a]The chiefs of his people, who disbelieved, replied, ‘We see thee nothing but a mortal like ourselves, and [b]we see that none have followed thee but those who, to all outward appearance,[1310] are the meanest of us. And we do not see in you any superiority over us; nay, we believe you to be liars.’

English - Five Volume Translation

[b]The chiefs of his people, who disbelieved, replied, ‘We see in thee nothing but a man like ourselves, and [c]we see that none have followed thee but those who, to all outward appearance, are the meanest of us. And we do not see in you any superiority over us; nay, we believe you to be liars.’[1409]

23:25.

26:112.

Important Words:

بادی الرأی (to all outward appearance) is made up of two Arabic words بادی and الرأی. The word بادی has two possible derivations. It may be derived from بدأ (bad’a) which means, he or it began or he or it came into existence. بدأ به means, he began with it; he made it to be the first. Or the word بادی may be derived from بدأ (of which the aorist is یبدو) which means, it appeared or it showed itself. According to these two different roots the word بادی would mean: (1) that which or he who is first or that which or he who begins; (2) that which or he who appears. And the word الرأی means sight or perception or opinion. So the compound expression بادی الرأی would mean: (1) at first thought or on the first opinion; (2) at the appearance of opinion or according to the appearance of opinion, which may mean either inconsiderately or insincerely (Lane, under بدا & بدأ).

Commentary:

The Arabic expression بادی الرأی (to all outward appearance) is capable of three interpretations according to the rules of Arabic grammar. First, it may be taken as referring to the words ونراك (and we see). In this case, the verse would mean that the followers of Noah appear to us to be the meanest of us at first thought or on the first opinion, i.e. so far as our opinion is concerned we consider them to be mean. If, however, there is any hidden good in them, it may be known to Noah only.

Secondly, the expression بادی الرأی may be taken to refer to the words اراذلنا (the meanest of us). In this case the verse would mean that the followers of Noah were apparently low and mean.

Thirdly, the expression بادی الرأی may be taken as qualifying the words اتبعك (have followed thee). In this case the verse would mean that those who have accepted Noah have done so only outwardly or without proper thinking i.e. their faith was either insincere or inconsiderate, being based on mere cursory thinking.

To sum up, the words اراذلنا بادی الرأی mean: (1) the followers of Noah are mean to all outward appearance; or (2) their faith in Noah is insincere; or (3) their faith is the result of only superficial thinking.

The words, We see in thee nothing but a man like ourselves, mean, "There is nothing extraordinary in your outward appearance to distinguish you from us. You are just a human being like any other mortal. When therefore, there is nothing extraordinary in your outward appearance, how should we know that inwardly you have been endowed with exceptional powers which have helped you to gain access to Divine presence, while we cannot ?"

This is the common objection raised by the opponents of the Prophets. The enemies of Noah purported to say that if he possessed some special inward power from God, that ought to have caused some difference in his outward appearance and as a result of it he should have acquired knowledge of some worldly sciences also, but they saw no evidence of this. How could they then believe that his internal powers were different from, and superior to, theirs. In support of this argument the opponents of Noah might possibly have shown to him pictures of their holy men having extraordinary exteriors, such as the Hindu saints are believed to possess, for instance, a number of heads and several hands. In olden days, men could not conceive that a Prophet was like ordinary mortals in appearance. So the enemies of Noah, arguing that the outward must correspond with the inward and that there must be harmony between the two, raised against him the objection that if he was really a true Prophet, his outward appearance must have been different from theirs. Silly though the argument is, it must have won endorsement from the contemporaries of Noah.

The enemies of Noah further reinforce their argument by saying that while he himself possessed no special powers, and was a mortal like themselves, his followers were even worse than him. What success could he achieve, they asked, with adher-ents who, to all outward appearance, were the meanest of the society? The enemies of Noah thus argued that neither his own personal qualities nor those of his followers gave him the appearance of "superiority" over them.

The words, we believe you to be liars, embody the result of the arguments brought forward by Noah’s opponents, which is that he was a liar, for he had asserted his truth and superiority without any basis or proof.

It is a pity that men test the claims of a heavenly Messenger by their self-devised standards and, when he does not satisfy those standards, they deceive themselves with the idea that they had weighed up his claims dispassionately and with an open mind and had found them to be false. Even in the present age when man has made great progress in knowledge, science and culture and has known many Prophets, he presumes to test the claims of God’s Messengers’ not by criteria laid down by Him but by his own false standards.

اردو ترجمہ مودودی

جواب میں اُس کی قوم کے سردار، جنہوں نے اس کی بات ماننے سے انکار کیا تھا، بولے "ہماری نظر میں تو تم اس کے سوا کچھ نہیں ہو کہ بس ایک انسان ہو ہم جیسے اور ہم دیکھ رہے ہیں کہ ہماری قوم میں سے بس اُن لوگوں نے جو ہمارے ہاں اراذل تھے بے سوچے سمجھے تمہاری پیروی اختیار کر لی ہے اور ہم کوئی چیز بھی ایسی نہیں پاتے جس میں تم لوگ ہم سے کچھ بڑھے ہوئے ہو، بلکہ ہم تو تمہیں جھوٹا سمجھتے ہیں"

English - Sahih

So the eminent among those who disbelieved from his people said, "We do not see you but as a man like ourselves, and we do not see you followed except by those who are the lowest of us [and] at first suggestion. And we do not see in you over us any merit; rather, we think you are liars."

اردو ترجمہ احمد علی

پھر اس کی قوم کے جو کافر سردار تھے وہ بولے ہمیں تو تم ہم جیسے ہی ایک آدمی نظر آتے ہو اور ہمیں تو تمہارے پیرو وہی نظر آتے ہیں جو ہم میں سے رذیل ہیں وہ بھی سرسری نظر سے اورہم تم میں اپنے سے کوئی فضیلت بھی نہیں پاتے بلکہ تمہیں جھوٹا خیال کرتے ہیں

English - Talal Itani

So said the chiefs (of) those who disbelieved from his people, "Not we see you but a man like us, and not we see you followed [you] except those who [they] (are) the lowest of us immature in opinion. And not we see in you over us any merit; nay, we think you (are) liars."

Chinese Commentary ^*

Cross Refs:

f

23:25.

g

26:112.

اردہ تفصیرِ صغیر نوٹس ^*

English - Arberry

Said the Council of the unbelievers of his people, 'We see thee not other than a mortal like ourselves, and we see no? any following thee but the vilest of us, inconsiderately. We do not see you have over us any superiority; no, rather we think you are liars.'

English - Maududi

The notables among Noah's own people, who had refused to follow him, responded: 'We merely consider you a human being like ourselves. Nor do we find among those who follow you except the lowliest of our folk, the men who follow you without any proper reason. We see nothing in you to suggest that you are any better than us. Rather, we believe you to be liars.'

English - Ahmed Ali

The leaders of the people who were unbelievers, replied: "We see that you are but a man like us, and see that none among us follows you but the meanest and immature of judgement, and do not see any excellence in you above us. In fact, we think you are a liar."

English - Yusuf Ali

But the chiefs of the Unbelievers among his people said: "We see (in) thee nothing but a man like ourselves: Nor do we see that any follow thee but the meanest among us, in judgment immature: Nor do we see in you (all) any merit above us: in fact we think ye are liars!"

English - Five Volume Commentary ^*

Cross Refs:

b

23:25.

c

26:112.

1409