ٱلْأَنْفَال : ٣٤

  • وَمَا But what
  • لَهُمۡ (is) for them
  • أَلَّا that not
  • يُعَذِّبَهُمُ (should) punish them
  • ٱللَّهُ Allah
  • وَهُمۡ while they
  • يَصُدُّونَ hinder (people)
  • عَنِ from
  • ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ Al-Masjid
  • ٱلۡحَرَامِ Al-Haraam
  • وَمَا while not
  • كَانُوٓاْ they are
  • أَوۡلِيَآءَهُۥٓۚ its guardians
  • إِنۡ Not (can be)
  • أَوۡلِيَآؤُهُۥٓ its guardians
  • إِلَّا except
  • ٱلۡمُتَّقُونَ the ones who fear Allah
  • وَلَٰكِنَّ but
  • أَكۡثَرَهُمۡ most of them
  • لَا (do) not
  • يَعۡلَمُونَ know
But why should Allāh not punish them while they obstruct [people] from al-Masjid al-Ḥarām and they were not [fit to be] its guardians? Its [true] guardians are not but the righteous, but most of them do not know.
But what [plea] have they now, that God should not chastise them, with the sword, after your departure and that of the oppressed [believers] - if this [verse] is understood in accordance with the first opinion [that it refers to the idolaters asking forgiveness], then it abrogates the previous one, for God had chastised them at Badr and in other instances - when they bar, prevent the Prophet may peace and salutation be upon him and the Muslims, from the Sacred Mosque, [from] performing circumambulations there, though they are not its guardians?, as they claim? Its only [rightful] guardians are the God-fearing, but most of them do not know, that they have no [rightful] custodianship over it.