سُوْرَةُ النَّمْلِ
Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 43
وَصَدَّهَا مَا كَانَت تَّعْبُدُ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِن قَوْمٍ كَـٰفِرِينَ ﴿43﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And that which she used to worship besides Allâh has prevented her (from Islâm), for she was of a disbelieving people.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَصَدَّهَا
waṣaddahā
And has averted her
مَا
mā
what
كَانَت
kānat
she used (to)
تَّعْبُدُ
taʿbudu
worship
مِن
min
besides
دُونِ
dūni
besides
ٱللَّهِ ۖ
l-lahi
Allah
إِنَّهَا
innahā
Indeed, she
كَانَتْ
kānat
was
مِن
min
from
قَوْمٍۢ
qawmin
a people
كَـٰفِرِينَ
kāfirīna
who disbelieve
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 43) {وَ صَدَّهَا مَا كَانَتْ تَّعْبُدُ …:} That is, even after witnessing such a great miracle, what prevented her from believing was the sun, which she had taken as a deity besides Allah and was not ready to abandon, and the reason for her persistence in sun worship was not stubbornness, but rather that she was from a disbelieving people and it was difficult for her to abandon the customs and traditions of her people. This translation is in the form of {’’ مَا ‘‘} as a relative pronoun. In the form of {’’ مَا ‘‘} as a verbal noun, the translation would be: "And what prevented her (from believing) was the worship which she used to perform for deities besides Allah." Some scholars have translated it as: "Sulaiman (peace be upon him) prevented her from those things which she used to worship besides Allah." Hafiz Ibn Kathir and other imams have preferred the first meaning over this one, because the Queen of Sheba accepted faith after being made aware of her mistake in thinking the smooth glass floor was water; before that, she was adhering to the customs and traditions of her people.
