Surah An-Naml · Ayah 20·Makkī

20

مَا لِىَ لَآ أَمْ مِنَ ﴿٢٠﴾

Translation

Saheeh International

And he took attendance of the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe - or is he among the absent?

Compare all 34 translations →

Tafsīr

No commentary indexed for this ayah yet.

Verse DNA · this āyah at a glance

Vocabulary and recitation are counted from the morphology and the Uthmani marks; commentary reports whether an authored tafsīr entry reaches this āyah. A structural read, not a judgement — a denser strip is not a weightier verse.

Vocabulary · 7 roots in 7 of 12 words

Rarest here: ه-د-ه-د — used once in the whole Qurʾān

Recitation · 12 points across 5 rule families

  • Lām shamsiyyah3
  • Heavy rāʾ2
  • Madd ṭabīʿī5
  • Qalqalah1
  • Iẓhār shafawī1

Commentary

No tafsīr entry reaches this āyah yet — the interpretive layer covers a pilot, not the whole Book.

Shape

12 words · 44 letters · āyah 20 of 93

once in the Qurʾān2–10×11–50×51–300×300+×

Similar verses by meaning

Ranked by semantic similarity over translation embeddings — a model’s proxy for meaning, not a claim about it, and not tafsīr. Verses may be kin in theme while differing entirely in wording.

  • Quran 90:7 · Al-Baladclose

    أَيَحْسَبُ أَن لَّمْ يَرَهُۥٓ أَحَدٌ

    Does he think that no one has seen him?

  • Quran 53:13 · An-Najmclose

    وَلَقَدْ رَءَاهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰ

    And he certainly saw him in another descent

  • Quran 67:19 · Al-Mulkclose

    أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ إِلَى ٱلطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَٰٓفَّٰتٍ وَيَقْبِضْنَ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍۭ بَصِيرٌ

    Do they not see the birds above them with wings outspread and [sometimes] folded in? None holds them [aloft] except the Most Merciful. Indeed He is, of all things, Seeing.

  • Quran 105:3 · Al-Filrelated

    وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ

    And He sent against them birds in flocks,

  • Quran 38:31 · Saadrelated

    إِذْ عُرِضَ عَلَيْهِ بِٱلْعَشِىِّ ٱلصَّٰفِنَٰتُ ٱلْجِيَادُ

    [Mention] when there were exhibited before him in the afternoon the poised [standing] racehorses.

  • Quran 18:63 · Al-Kahfrelated

    قَالَ أَرَءَيْتَ إِذْ أَوَيْنَآ إِلَى ٱلصَّخْرَةِ فَإِنِّى نَسِيتُ ٱلْحُوتَ وَمَآ أَنسَىٰنِيهُ إِلَّا ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ أَنْ أَذْكُرَهُۥ وَٱتَّخَذَ سَبِيلَهُۥ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ عَجَبًا

    He said, "Did you see when we retired to the rock? Indeed, I forgot [there] the fish. And none made me forget it except Satan - that I should mention it. And it took its course…

Verses built from the same roots

Ranked by shared vocabulary (idf-cosine over each verse’s root-set). Shared words are a fact about form — they do not by themselves mean two verses are about the same thing.

  • Yusuf 12:712 shared roots

    قَالُوا۟ وَأَقْبَلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِم مَّاذَا تَفْقِدُونَ

    ف-ق-دق-و-ل

  • An-Najm 53:352 shared roots

    أَعِندَهُۥ عِلْمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ فَهُوَ يَرَىٰٓ

    غ-ي-بر-أ-ي

  • An-Naml 27:472 shared roots

    قَالُوا۟ ٱطَّيَّرْنَا بِكَ وَبِمَن مَّعَكَ قَالَ طَٰٓئِرُكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ تُفْتَنُونَ

    ط-ي-رق-و-ل

  • Yaseen 36:192 shared roots

    قَالُوا۟ طَٰٓئِرُكُم مَّعَكُمْ أَئِن ذُكِّرْتُم بَلْ أَنتُمْ قَوْمٌ مُّسْرِفُونَ

    ط-ي-رق-و-ل

  • Yusuf 12:722 shared roots

    قَالُوا۟ نَفْقِدُ صُوَاعَ ٱلْمَلِكِ وَلِمَن جَآءَ بِهِۦ حِمْلُ بَعِيرٍ وَأَنَا۠ بِهِۦ زَعِيمٌ

    ف-ق-دق-و-ل

  • At-Tawba 9:1054 shared roots

    وَقُلِ ٱعْمَلُوا۟ فَسَيَرَى ٱللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَسَتُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَٰلِمِ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَٰدَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

    غ-ي-بر-أ-يك-و-نق-و-ل

Questions

Which verses are similar to Quran 27:20?

Verses close in meaning to Quran 27:20 include Quran 90:7 (Surah Al-Balad), Quran 53:13 (Surah An-Najm), Quran 67:19 (Surah Al-Mulk), and Quran 105:3 (Surah Al-Fil). For example, 90:7 reads: “Does he think that no one has seen him?” These are ranked by comparing translations of every verse in the Qurʾān, so they are a measure of similar wording and theme — not a tafsīr ruling.

What does Quran 27:20 say?

In Saheeh International, Quran 27:20 (Surah An-Naml, The Ant) reads: “And he took attendance of the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe - or is he among the absent?”

Which surah is verse 27:20 in?

Quran 27:20 is āyah 20 of Surah An-Naml (The Ant), chapter 27 of the Qurʾān — a Meccan (Makkī) surah of 93 verses.

In how many languages can I read Quran 27:20?

Tartīl presents Quran 27:20 in the original Arabic alongside 34 translations, with audio recitation.