The Quran

سورة البَقَرَة

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:14

The Cow · Verse 14 of 286

وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَالُوا آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا إِلَىٰ شَيَاطِينِهِمْ قَالُوا إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِئُونَ

Abdul Mannan Omar

And when they meet those who have believed they say, `We (too) have believed.´ But when they are alone with their ring-leaders they say, `We are, in reality, with you, we were simply making light of them (- the believers).´

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

When they meet those who believe, they say: "We believe;

Ahmed Ali

When they meet the faithful they say: "We believe;" but when alone with the devils (their fellows), they say: "We are really with you; we were joking."

12 more translations

Ali Unal

When they meet those who believe, they declare (hypocritically), "We believe;" but when they are alone in secret with their (apparently human) satans (to whom they hasten in need to renew their unbelief and their pledge to them for fear of losing their support), they say: "Assuredly we are with you; we only mock (those others)."

Daryabadi

And when they meet those who have believed, they say: We believe. And when they are alone with their Satans, they say: verily we are with you, we were but mocking.

Faridul Haque

And when they meet with the believers, they say, "We believe"; and when they are alone with their devils, they say, "We are undoubtedly with you, we were just mocking!"

Maulana Muhammad Ali

And when they meet those who believe, they say, We believe; and when they are alone with their devils, they say: Surely we are with you, we were only mocking.

Maulvi Sher Ali

And when they meet those who believe, they say, `We believe;' but when they are alone with their ring-leaders they say, `We were only mocking.'

Muhammad Asad

And when they meet those who have attained to faith, they assert, "We believe [as you believe]"; but when they find themselves alone with their evil impulses, they say, "Verily, we are with you; we were only mocking!"

Muhammad Musin Khan

And when they meet those who believe, they say: "We believe," but when they are alone with their Shayatin (devils - polytheists, hypocrites, etc.), they say: "Truly, we are with you; verily, we were but mocking."

Muhammad Pickthall

And when they fall in with those who believe, they say: We believe; but when they go apart to their devils they declare: Lo! we are with you; verily we did but mock.

Muhammad Sarwar

To the believers they declare belief and, in secret to their own devils, they say, "We were only mocking".

Muhammed ali Shakir

And when they meet those who believe, they say: We believe; and when they are alone with their Shaitans, they say: Surely we are with you, we were only mocking.

Rashad Khalifa

When they meet the believers, they say, "We believe," but when alone with their devils, they say, "We are with you; we were only mocking."

Shabbir Ahmed

And when they meet those who have chosen to believe, they say, “We have attained belief.” But when they go away to their shayaateen (devilish comrades), they say, "We are with you. We were only mocking.”

Commentary 2:14 Shayâtîn شَيَاطِينis the plural of Shaitân شيطان and refers to one who is not only himself far from truth, but also turns and misguides others away from…

وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَالُوا آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا إِلَىٰ شَيَاطِينِهِمْ قَالُوا إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِئُونَ

2:14 Shayâtîn شَيَاطِينis the plural of Shaitân شيطان and refers to one who is not only himself far from truth, but also turns and misguides others away from it. The singular form shaitân has a different meaning as discussed in 2:36 (cf. 2:102). Ibn Mas‘ûd says that shayâtîn denote the leaders in disbelief, the ring-leaders which are referred to in verse 2:76 where we read: “and when they are alone, one with another”وَإِذَا خَلَا بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ and the verse states 33:67, وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّا أَطَعْنَا سَادَتَنَا وَكُبَرَاءَنَا فَأَضَلُّونَا السَّبِيلَا - “They will say, Our Lord! We obeyed our leaders and our respected ones, but they led us astray from Your path."