←Prev   Ayah al-Anbiya` (The Prophets) 21:14   Next→ 

Popular and/or Featured Works
Muhammad Asad   
And they could only cry: “Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we were wrongdoers!”
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
They cried, “Woe to us! We have surely been wrongdoers.”
Safi Kaskas   
They said, "Woe to us! we were truly wrongdoers."

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Source Arabic and Literal tools
Arabic   
قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَالِمِين
Transliteration (2021)   
qālū yāwaylanā innā kunnā ẓālimīn
Word for Word
Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh, Ms. Kauser Katri, and more
  
They said, "O woe to us! Indeed, [we] we were wrongdoers."

Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad   
And they could only cry: “Oh, woe unto us! Verily, we were wrongdoers!”
M. M. Pickthall   
They cried: Alas for us! we were wrong-doers
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)   
They said: "Ah! woe to us! We were indeed wrong-doers!"
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
They cried, “Woe to us! We have surely been wrongdoers.”
Safi Kaskas   
They said, "Woe to us! we were truly wrongdoers."
Wahiduddin Khan   
They said, Woe to us! We were indeed wrongdoers
Shakir   
They said: O woe to us! surely we were unjust
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar   
They said: O woe to us! Truly, we had been ones who are unjust!
T.B.Irving   
They say: "Alas for us! We have been doing wrong."
Abdul Hye   
They said: “Woe to us! Surely we were wrongdoers.”
The Study Quran   
They said, “Oh, woe unto us! Truly we have been wrongdoers.
Dr. Kamal Omar   
They said (to the angels of death): “Woe to us! Certainly, we have been Zalimun.
Farook Malik   
They replied: "Woe to us! Indeed we were wrongdoers."
Talal A. Itani (new translation)   
They said, 'Woe to us; we were unfair.'
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali   
They said, "O woe to us! Surely we have been unjust."
Muhammad Sarwar   
They said, "Woe to us! We have been unjust"
Muhammad Taqi Usmani   
They said, .Alas for us! We were wrongdoers indeed
Shabbir Ahmed   
They said, "Ah! Woe to us! We did indeed wrong others and ourselves."
Dr. Munir Munshey   
They said, "Misery to us! We surely were evil!"
Syed Vickar Ahamed   
They said: "Oh! Woe unto us! (Misery to us)! Truly, we were wrongdoers!"
Umm Muhammad (Sahih International)   
They said, "O woe to us! Indeed, we were wrongdoers."
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)   
They said: "Woe to us, we have been wicked!"
Abdel Haleem   
They said, ‘Woe to us! We were wrong!’
Abdul Majid Daryabadi   
They said: woe unto us! verily we have been wrong-doers
Ahmed Ali   
"Woe, alas," they said, "we were really sinful."
Aisha Bewley   
They said, ´Alas for us! We were indeed wrongdoers!´
Ali Ünal   
They could only cry: "Oh, woe to us! We were indeed wrongdoers!"
Ali Quli Qara'i   
They said, ‘Woe to us! We have indeed been wrongdoers!’
Hamid S. Aziz   
Said they, "O woe is us! Verily, we were wrong-doers."
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad   
They said: woe to us, we were wrongdoers
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)   
They said, “Woe to us, we were indeed wrongdoers.
Musharraf Hussain   
They said, “Suffering has come upon us; we were evildoers.”
Maududi   
They said: "Woe to us; surely we were wrong-doers."
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)   
They said: "Woe to us, we have been wicked!"
Mohammad Shafi   
They said, "O woe to us! We were wicked."

Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)   
They said, Ah! Woe to us, no doubt, we were unjust.
Rashad Khalifa   
They said, "Woe to us. We were really wicked."
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah   
They said: 'Alas for us we were harmdoers!
Maulana Muhammad Ali   
They said: O woe to us! Surely we were unjust
Muhammad Ahmed - Samira   
They said: "Oh our calam ity that we, we were unjust/oppressive."
Bijan Moeinian   
Their response was: “Pity on us; we bear witness that we were unjust (to our own souls as well as to other people.)”
Faridul Haque   
They cried, "Woe to us, we were indeed unjust!"
Sher Ali   
They said, `Alas for us, we were indeed wrongdoers !
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri   
They said: ‘Woe to us! Surely, we were wrongdoers.
Amatul Rahman Omar   
They said, `Woe to us! we were indeed wrong-doers.
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali   
They cried: "Woe to us! Certainly! We have been Zalimoon (polytheists, wrong-doers and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, etc.)."

Non-Muslim and/or Orientalist works
Arthur John Arberry   
They said, 'Alas for us! We have been evildoers.
George Sale   
They answered, alas for us! Verily we have been unjust
Edward Henry Palmer   
Said they, 'O woe is us! verily, we were wrong-doers.
John Medows Rodwell   
They said, "Oh, woe to us! Verily we have been evil doers."
N J Dawood (2014)   
Woe betide us, we have done wrong!‘ was their reply

New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Linda “iLHam” Barto   
They said, “Oh, woe to us! We were sinners indeed.”
Irving & Mohamed Hegab   
They say: "Alas for us! We have been doing wrong."
Sayyid Qutb   
They said: 'Woe betide us! We were indeed wrongdoers!'
Ahmed Hulusi   
They said, “Woe to us! We have indeed become wrongdoers!”
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli   
They said: �Oh woe to us! Verily we were unjust�
Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim   
There and then they exclaimed, thus: Woe betide us, we were indeed wrongful of actions
Mir Aneesuddin   
Do not run away but return to the enjoyment in which you were (engulfed) and your dwellings, that you may be questioned.

Obsolete and/or older editions
Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)   
They said: "Ah! woe to us! We were indeed wrong-doers!"
OLD Literal Word for Word   
They said, "O woe to us! Indeed, [we] we were wrongdoers.