Ayah

Word by Word
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
لَا
(is) not
يَسۡتَحۡيِۦٓ
ashamed
أَن
to
يَضۡرِبَ
set forth
مَثَلٗا
an example
مَّا
(like) even
بَعُوضَةٗ
(of) a mosquito
فَمَا
and (even) something
فَوۡقَهَاۚ
above it
فَأَمَّا
Then as for
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
ءَامَنُواْ
believed
فَيَعۡلَمُونَ
[thus] they will know
أَنَّهُ
that it
ٱلۡحَقُّ
(is) the truth
مِن
from
رَّبِّهِمۡۖ
their Lord
وَأَمَّا
And as for
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
كَفَرُواْ
disbelieved
فَيَقُولُونَ
[thus] they will say
مَاذَآ
what
أَرَادَ
(did) intend
ٱللَّهُ
Allah
بِهَٰذَا
by this
مَثَلٗاۘ
example
يُضِلُّ
He lets go astray
بِهِۦ
by it
كَثِيرٗا
many
وَيَهۡدِي
and He guides
بِهِۦ
by it
كَثِيرٗاۚ
many
وَمَا
And not
يُضِلُّ
He lets go astray
بِهِۦٓ
by it
إِلَّا
except
ٱلۡفَٰسِقِينَ
the defiantly disobedient
إِنَّ
Indeed
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
لَا
(is) not
يَسۡتَحۡيِۦٓ
ashamed
أَن
to
يَضۡرِبَ
set forth
مَثَلٗا
an example
مَّا
(like) even
بَعُوضَةٗ
(of) a mosquito
فَمَا
and (even) something
فَوۡقَهَاۚ
above it
فَأَمَّا
Then as for
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
ءَامَنُواْ
believed
فَيَعۡلَمُونَ
[thus] they will know
أَنَّهُ
that it
ٱلۡحَقُّ
(is) the truth
مِن
from
رَّبِّهِمۡۖ
their Lord
وَأَمَّا
And as for
ٱلَّذِينَ
those who
كَفَرُواْ
disbelieved
فَيَقُولُونَ
[thus] they will say
مَاذَآ
what
أَرَادَ
(did) intend
ٱللَّهُ
Allah
بِهَٰذَا
by this
مَثَلٗاۘ
example
يُضِلُّ
He lets go astray
بِهِۦ
by it
كَثِيرٗا
many
وَيَهۡدِي
and He guides
بِهِۦ
by it
كَثِيرٗاۚ
many
وَمَا
And not
يُضِلُّ
He lets go astray
بِهِۦٓ
by it
إِلَّا
except
ٱلۡفَٰسِقِينَ
the defiantly disobedient

Translation

Allah disdains not to use the similitude of things, lowest as well as highest. Those who believe know that it is truth from their Lord; but those who reject Faith say: "What means Allah by this similitude?" By it He causes many to stray, and many He leads into the right path; but He causes not to stray, except those who forsake (the path),-

Tafsir

God is not ashamed to strike, to make, a similitude (mathal: is the first direct object; maa either represents an indefinite noun described by what comes after it and constitutes a second direct object, meaning 'whatever that similitude may be'; or it [the maa] is extra to emphasise the vileness [involved], so that what follows constitutes the second direct object); even of a gnat, (ba'ooda is the singular of ba'ood), that is, small flies; or anything above it, that is, larger than it, so that this explanation is not affected [by the size of the creature] with regard to the judgement [God is making]; as for the believers, they know it, the similitude, is the truth, established and given in this instance, from their Lord; but as for disbelievers, they say, 'What did God desire by this for a similitude?' (mathalan is a specification, meaning, 'by this similitude'; maa is an interrogative of rejection and is the subject; dhaa means alladhee, whose relative clause contains its predicate, in other words, 'what use is there in it?'). God then responds to them saying: Thereby, that is, by this similitude, He leads many astray, from the truth on account of their disbelieving in it, and thereby He guides many, believers on account of their belief in it; and thereby He leads none astray except the wicked, those that reject obedience to Him.

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