Az-Zukhruf (الزخرف)
Chapter 43 · The Ornaments of Gold · Juz 25
فَجَعَلْنَٰهُمْ سَلَفًۭا وَمَثَلًۭا لِّلْءَاخِرِينَ
Faja'alnaahum salafanw wa masalal lil aakhireen
And We made them a precedent and an example for the later peoples.
Quran 43:56 — Surah Az-Zukhruf
This is verse 56 of 89 in Surah Az-Zukhruf (الزخرف), meaning “The Ornaments of Gold”. It is a Meccan surah — revealed in Makkah before the Hijrah. This verse is located in Juz 25 (Part 25) of the Quran.
Surah Az-Zukhruf is the 43th chapter of the Holy Quran and contains 89 verses (ayat). You can listen to this surah with audio recitation and follow along with transliteration on QuranMakkah.com.
To pronounce this verse, follow the transliteration below. Each syllable represents the Arabic sounds written in Latin letters:
Faja'alnaahum salafanw wa masalal lil aakhireen
فَٱسْتَخَفَّ قَوْمَهُۥ فَأَطَاعُوهُ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ قَوْمًۭا فَٰسِقِينَ
So he bluffed his people, and they obeyed him. Indeed, they were [themselves] a people defiantly disobedient [of Allah].
فَلَمَّآ ءَاسَفُونَا ٱنتَقَمْنَا مِنْهُمْ فَأَغْرَقْنَٰهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
And when they angered Us, We took retribution from them and drowned them all.
فَجَعَلْنَٰهُمْ سَلَفًۭا وَمَثَلًۭا لِّلْءَاخِرِينَ
And We made them a precedent and an example for the later peoples.
۞ وَلَمَّا ضُرِبَ ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ مَثَلًا إِذَا قَوْمُكَ مِنْهُ يَصِدُّونَ
And when the son of Mary was presented as an example, immediately your people laughed aloud.
وَقَالُوٓا۟ ءَأَٰلِهَتُنَا خَيْرٌ أَمْ هُوَ ۚ مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ إِلَّا جَدَلًۢا ۚ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ خَصِمُونَ
And they said, "Are your gods better, or is he?" They did not present the comparison except for [mere] argument. But, [in fact], they are a people prone to dispute.