Those they invoke themselves seek the way to their Lord, (striving) which one of them shall be nearest (to Him); and hope for His grace, and dread His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is to be feared!
The devoted bondmen whom these disbelievers worship, themselves seek the means of proximity from their Lord, that who among them is the closest (to his Lord), and hope for His mercy and fear His punishment; indeed the punishment of your Lord is to be feared.
Those they call upon are themselves seeking the means to come to their Lord, which of them shall be nearer; they hope for His mercy, and fear His chastisement. Surely thy Lord's chastisement is a thing to beware of.
Those [saintly beings] whom they invoke are themselves striving to obtain their Sustainer's favour - [even] those among them who are closest [to Him] - hoping for His grace and dreading His chastisement: for, verily, thy Sustainer's chastisement is something to beware of!
Those whom they call upon themselves seek access to their Lord, striving which of them shall be the nearest; and they hope for His mercy and fear His torment; verily the torment of thy Lord is ever to be guarded against.
Those whom they call upon [like 'Iesa (Jesus) - son of Maryam (Mary), 'Uzair (Ezra), angel, etc.] desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord (Allah), as to which of them should be the nearest and they ['Iesa (Jesus), 'Uzair (Ezra), angels, etc.] hope for His Mercy and fear His Torment. Verily, the Torment of your Lord is something to be afraid of!
Those they call upon are themselves seeking means of access to their Lord, vying to be nearer, and hoping for His mercy, and fearing His punishment. The punishment of your Lord is to be dreaded.
Those whom they call upon are themselves seeking the means of access to their Lord, each trying to be nearer to Him. They crave for His Mercy and dread His chastisement. Surely your Lord's punishment is to be feared.
Those whom they call upon, desire a means of access to their Lord, as to which of them should be the nearest; and they hope for His mercy and fear His torment. Verily, the torment of your Lord is (something) to be afraid of!
Those unto whom they cry seek the way of approach to their Lord, which of them shall be the nearest; they hope for His mercy and they fear His doom. Lo! the doom of thy Lord is to be shunned.
They [themselves] are the ones who supplicate, seeking a recourse to their Lord, whoever is nearer [to Him], expecting His mercy and fearing His punishment.’ Indeed your Lord’s punishment is a thing to beware of.
Those, they call upon are themselves seeking a means to come to their Lord, competing with each other to be nearer; they hope for His Mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is the subject of caution.
Those whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord, [striving as to] which of them would be nearest, and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is ever feared.
Those whom they worship seek to find intercessors for themselves with God. (They try to find out which of the intercessors) are closer to God. They have hope for His mercy and fear of His punishment; the punishment of your Lord is awesome.
Those whom they call upon, themselves seek the means of access to their Lord-- whoever of them is nearest-- and they hope for His mercy and fear His chastisement; surely the chastisement of your Lord is a thing to be cautious of.
Ol<u>a</u>ika alla<u>th</u>eena yadAAoona yabtaghoona il<u>a</u> rabbihimu alwaseelata ayyuhum aqrabu wayarjoona ra<u>h</u>matahu wayakh<u>a</u>foona AAa<u>tha</u>bahu inna AAa<u>tha</u>ba rabbika k<u>a</u>na ma<u>hth</u>oor<u>a</u><b>n</b>
Those whom they invoke are themselves seeking a way of approach to their Lord, vying with each other to be near Him. They hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Surely, the punishment of your Lord is to be feared:
Those whom they call upon do desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord, - even those who are nearest: they hope for His Mercy and fear His Wrath: for the Wrath of thy Lord is something to take heed of.
أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ ٱلْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُۥ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُۥٓ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحْذُورًا
Those angels and others whom they call upon are themselves seeking good actions to bring them closer to Allah and competing to see who is closest to Him by obeying Him. They hope He has mercy on them and they fear His punishment. The punishment of your Lord, O Messenger, is what should be feared.
Those angels and others whom they call upon are themselves seeking good actions to bring them closer to Allah and competing to see who is closest to Him by obeying Him. They hope He has mercy on them and they fear His punishment. The punishment of your Lord, O Messenger, is what should be feared.
<p>Commentary</p><p>The word 'al-wasilah' in: يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ (seek the means of close ness to their Lord - 57) conveys the sense of that which is used as a means of reaching someone. As for reaching Allah, the wasilah or means is to always keep the pleasure of Allah in sight when learning or doing anything while adhering to the injunctions of the Shari` ah strictly. Thus, the sense of the sentence is that all of them are seeking the closeness of Allah Ta’ ala through their righteous deeds.</p><p>About the sentence which follows immediately after: يَرْ‌جُونَ رَ‌حْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ (hope for His Mercy and fear His punishment - 57), Sahl ibn ` Abdullah said: Hope and Fear, that is, hoping for mercy from Allah as well as fearing Him are two different states one is in. When they stay at par, one keeps on course, correct and stable. And if any one of the two overcomes the other, one finds the equilibrium of his spiritual state subjected to disorder to the measure of that imbalance. (Qurtubi)</p>
CommentaryThe word 'al-wasilah' in: يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ (seek the means of close ness to their Lord - 57) conveys the sense of that which is used as a means of reaching someone. As for reaching Allah, the wasilah or means is to always keep the pleasure of Allah in sight when learning or doing anything while adhering to the injunctions of the Shari` ah strictly. Thus, the sense of the sentence is that all of them are seeking the closeness of Allah Ta’ ala through their righteous deeds.About the sentence which follows immediately after: يَرْ‌جُونَ رَ‌حْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ (hope for His Mercy and fear His punishment - 57), Sahl ibn ` Abdullah said: Hope and Fear, that is, hoping for mercy from Allah as well as fearing Him are two different states one is in. When they stay at par, one keeps on course, correct and stable. And if any one of the two overcomes the other, one finds the equilibrium of his spiritual state subjected to disorder to the measure of that imbalance. (Qurtubi)