ٱلْكَهْف : ١٠٩

  • قُل Say
  • لَّوۡ If
  • كَانَ were
  • ٱلۡبَحۡرُ the sea
  • مِدَادٗا ink
  • لِّكَلِمَٰتِ for (the) Words
  • رَبِّي (of) my Lord
  • لَنَفِدَ surely (would be) exhausted
  • ٱلۡبَحۡرُ the sea
  • قَبۡلَ before
  • أَن [that]
  • تَنفَدَ (were) exhausted
  • كَلِمَٰتُ (the) Words
  • رَبِّي (of) my Lord
  • وَلَوۡ even if
  • جِئۡنَا We brought
  • بِمِثۡلِهِۦ (the) like (of) it
  • مَدَدٗا (as) a supplement
Say, "If the sea were ink for [writing] the words1 of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it in [continual] supplement."
Footnotes
1 - The words of Allāh's unlimited knowledge or words describing His attributes and His grandeur or praise of Him (subḥānahu wa taʿālā).
Say: 'If the sea, in other words, [if] its waters, were ink (midaad is what one writes with) for the Words of my Lord, [Words] that testify to His laws and His marvels, such that these [Words] are written with it, the sea would be spent, in recording them, before the Words of my Lord were spent (read as tanfada or yanfada) even though We brought the like of it, namely, [the like of] the sea, as replenishment', in order to add it to the other [sea], it would [also] be spent, while they [God's Words] would not be exhausted (madadan, 'as replenishment', in the accusative because it is a specification).