سورة البَقَرَة
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:65
The Cow · Verse 65 of 286
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذِينَ اعْتَدَوْا مِنْكُمْ فِي السَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ
Abdul Mannan Omar
And indeed you have come to know (the end of) those of you who transgressed regarding the Sabbath. Thereupon We said to them, `Be you (as) apes, despised.´
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected."
Ahmed Ali
You know and have known already those among you who had broken the sanctity of the Sabbath, and to whom We had said: "Become (like) apes despised,"
12 more translations
Ali Unal
You surely know of those among you who exceeded the bounds with respect to the Sabbath, how We said to them, "Be you apes, miserably slinking and rejected."
Daryabadi
And assuredly ye know of those of you who trespassed in the matter of the Sabbath, wherefore We said unto them: be ye apes despised.
Faridul Haque
And you certainly know of those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of Sabth (Sabbath - Saturday) - We therefore said to them, "Become apes, despised!"
Maulana Muhammad Ali
And indeed you know those among you who violated the Sabbath, so We said to them: Be (as) apes, despised and hated.
Maulvi Sher Ali
And surely, you have known the end of those amongst you, who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath. So WE said to them, `Be ye apes, despised.'
Muhammad Asad
for you are well aware of those from among you who profaned the Sabbath, whereupon We said unto them, "Be as apes despicable!" -
Muhammad Musin Khan
And indeed you knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath (i.e. Saturday). We said to them: "Be you monkeys, despised and rejected."
Muhammad Pickthall
And ye know of those of you who broke the Sabbath, how We said unto them: Be ye apes, despised and hated!
Muhammad Sarwar
You certainly knew about those among you who were transgressors on the Sabbath. We commanded them, "Become detested apes,"
Muhammed ali Shakir
And certainly you have known those among you who exceeded the limits of the Sabbath, so We said to them: Be (as) apes, despised and hated.
Rashad Khalifa
You have known about those among you who desecrated the Sabbath. We said to them, "Be you as despicable as apes."
Shabbir Ahmed
You are well aware of those among you who broke the Sabbath, whereupon We said to them, “Be you held in contempt like apes!”
Commentary 2:65 It is wrong to infer from the word “apes” that the profaners of the Sabbath were in reality transformed into apes. It is simply a parable similar to that…
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذِينَ اعْتَدَوْا مِنكُمْ فِي السَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ
2:65 It is wrong to infer from the word “apes” that the profaners of the Sabbath were in reality transformed into apes. It is simply a parable similar to that of the donkey in verse 62:5 (Mujâhid bin Jubair). According to Ibn Jarîr it means, “Only their hearts were transformed, not that they were metamorphosed into apes.” Râghib says the verse relates that Allâh made the profaners ape-like in morality. In Arabic the endings “ûn” and “în” as in Khâsi’în خَاسِئِينَ are only added to the plurals of words that refer to rational beings. Had the Holy Qur’ân meant to imply their literal transformation into apes, it would have used the form khâsi’ah خَاسِئ, not Khâsi’in –like apes. In conformity with this rule, the qualifying word used here about apes alluded not to irrational, but to rational beings, or those people that had developed the character of apes. Even in the root meaning of the word Qiradah قِرَدَ there is a sense of abjectness and humiliation. Qiradaقِرَدَ means to cleave to the ground, or to lie in the dust. Aqrada أقرَدَ means to be or become abject or mean. Certain of these traits are conspicuous in particular animals, and these traits cannot be fully described unless the animal to which they are known to belong is expressly named (cf. 4:47; 5:60). Ibn Kathîr says that Allâh used such expressions figuratively.