Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad
Or do they say, “[He is but] a poet - let us wait what time will do unto him”
M. M. Pickthall
Or say they: (he is) a poet, (one) for whom we may expect the accident of time
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)
Or do they say:- "A Poet! we await for him some calamity (hatched) by Time!"
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab
Or do they say, “˹He is˺ a poet, for whom we ˹eagerly˺ await an ill-fate!”?
Safi Kaskas
Or do they say [of you], "He’s only a poet let’s wait to see what time will do to him?"
Wahiduddin Khan
If they say, He is but a poet; we are waiting for some misfortune to befall him
Shakir
Or do they say: A poet, we wait for him the evil accidents of time
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar
Or they say: A poet! We await for the setback of fate for him.
T.B.Irving
Or do they say: "[He´s] a poet! We´ll wait for some quirk of fate to [upset] him."
Abdul Hye
Or do they say: “(Muhammad is) a poet! We are waiting for him some calamity (by time)!”
The Study Quran
Or do they say, “A poet—let us await the vagaries of fate for him.
Talal Itani & AI (2024)
Do they say, “A poet, we await his demise?”
Talal Itani (2012)
Or do they say, 'A poet—we await for him a calamity of time'
Dr. Kamal Omar
Or do they say: “ Is he a poet? We await doubt and suspicion which people will have about the Divine‘good and grace’ (which some relate to his person).”
Do they say: "He is but a poet! We are waiting for some misfortune to befall him."
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali
Or even do they say, "He is a poet for whom we await the uncertainty (i.e., the calamity of death; literally: the suspicion of fortune or fate) of fortune?"
Muhammad Sarwar
Do they say, "He is only a poet and we are waiting to see him die!?"
Muhammad Taqi Usmani
Do they rather say, .He is a poet for whom we are awaiting the accident of death?
Shabbir Ahmed
What! Do they say, "A poet? Let us wait how time handles him!"
Dr. Munir Munshey
And they say, "(He is) a poet! Let us wait. An adverse turn of fortune may just do him in!"
Syed Vickar Ahamed
Or do they say:— "A Poet! We will wait for him that some misfortune (will come) in time!"
Or do they say [of you], "A poet for whom we await a misfortune of time?"
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)
Or do they Say: "He is a poet; so let us just wait until a disaster befalls him."
Abdel Haleem
If they say, ‘He is only a poet: we shall await his fate,’
Abdul Majid Daryabadi
Or say they: a poet for whom we wait some adverse turn of fortune
Ahmed Ali
Do they say: "He is a poet for whom we expect an adverse turn of fortune?"
Aisha Bewley
Or do they say, ´He is a poet and We are waiting for something bad to happen to him´?
Ali Ünal
Or do they say (of him): "A poet (jinn-possessed). We await for him some calamity ahead"
Ali Quli Qara'i
Do they say, ‘[He is] a poet, for whom we await a fatal accident’
Hamid S. Aziz
Or do they say, " (he is) A poet, for whom we await a calamity of (or an accident of or caused by) time"
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad
Or do they say: “A poet, we wait for his time of misfortune (his death).”?
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)
Or do they call you a poet? We await them with calamity in due time.
Musharraf Hussain
They call you, “A poet, and we are waiting to see what time will do to him.”
Maududi
Or do they say: "He is a poet for whom we await an adverse turn of fortune."
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)
Or do they say: "He is a poet; so let us just wait until a disaster befalls him."
Mohammad Shafi
Or do they say, "A poet! We await a change of fortune for him"
Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)
Or they say, 'He is a poet, we are waiting for the calamity of the time coming on him'
They may say, "He is a poet; let us just wait until he is dead."
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah
Or do they say: 'He is a poet, we are waiting for some misfortune to befall him?
Maulana Muhammad Ali
Or they say: A poet -- we wait for him the evil accidents of time
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira
Or they say: "A poet, we wait/remain with him the death's doubt/suspicion"
Bijan Moeinian
They say: “Mohammad is a poet, insulting our idols; we are waiting so that pretty soon he will be subjected to a miserable end by our gods.”
Faridul Haque
Or they allege, “He is a poet – we await a calamity of the times to befall him.”
Sher Ali
Do they say `He is a poet; we are waiting for some calamity which time will bring upon him?
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
Do the disbelievers say: ‘(He is) a poet for whom we look forward to some temporal disasters’
Amatul Rahman Omar
Yet they say (about you), `(He is only) a poet, (and) we await the vicissitudes, which time will bring upon him.
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali
Or do they say: "(Muhammad SAW is) a poet! We await for him some calamity by time.!"
New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame
Or is it that they say, “[He is] a poet.” We are waiting to see what vicissitudes of time have in store for him.
Munir Mezyed
Or do they say: “He is a poet for whom we await the evil events of time?”
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher
Or do they say: a poet, we will wait until his luck runs out.
Linda “iLHam” Barto
Do they say, “A poet! We watch for some calamity for him over time”?
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation
Or do they say, “A poet for whom we await a calamity of time”?
Irving & Mohamed Hegab
Or do they say: "[He's] a poet! We'll wait for some quirk of fate to [upset] him."
Samy Mahdy
Or do they say, “A poet, we await with him a misfortune of the time”?
Ahmed Hulusi
Or do they say, “He is a poet... Let us wait and see how his end will be”!
Mir Aneesuddin
Or do they say, “(He is) a poet, for whom we are waiting for an accident of time?”
Or do they insolently say: " He is a poet, he can fool the people some of the time; we will keep him in view to observe his actions until the encounter with death?"
The Wise Quran
Or they say, 'A poet; we wait with him for the accidents of time.'