Surah An-Naml · Ayah 21·Makkī

21

أَوْ أَوْ ﴿٢١﴾

Translation

Saheeh International

I will surely punish him with a severe punishment or slaughter him unless he brings me clear authorization."

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 · 6 roots in 7 of 9 words

Rarest here: ذ-ب-ح — 9× in the Qurʾān

Recitation · 12 points across 3 rule families

  • Ghunnah4
  • Madd ṭabīʿī5
  • Ikhfāʾ3

Commentary

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

Shape

9 words · 45 letters · āyah 21 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 18:87 · Al-Kahfclose

    قَالَ أَمَّا مَن ظَلَمَ فَسَوْفَ نُعَذِّبُهُۥ ثُمَّ يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِۦ فَيُعَذِّبُهُۥ عَذَابًا نُّكْرًا

    He said, "As for one who wrongs, we will punish him. Then he will be returned to his Lord, and He will punish him with a terrible punishment.

  • Quran 19:79 · Maryamclose

    كَلَّا سَنَكْتُبُ مَا يَقُولُ وَنَمُدُّ لَهُۥ مِنَ ٱلْعَذَابِ مَدًّا

    No! We will record what he says and extend for him from the punishment extensively.

  • Quran 11:39 · Hudclose

    فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ مَن يَأْتِيهِ عَذَابٌ يُخْزِيهِ وَيَحِلُّ عَلَيْهِ عَذَابٌ مُّقِيمٌ

    And you are going to know who will get a punishment that will disgrace him [on earth] and upon whom will descend an enduring punishment [in the Hereafter]."

  • Quran 76:31 · Al-Insaanclose

    يُدْخِلُ مَن يَشَآءُ فِى رَحْمَتِهِۦ وَٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ أَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًۢا

    He admits whom He wills into His mercy; but the wrongdoers - He has prepared for them a painful punishment.

  • Quran 96:15 · Al-Alaqclose

    كَلَّا لَئِن لَّمْ يَنتَهِ لَنَسْفَعًۢا بِٱلنَّاصِيَةِ

    No! If he does not desist, We will surely drag him by the forelock -

  • Quran 74:18 · Al-Muddaththirclose

    إِنَّهُۥ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ

    Indeed, he thought and deliberated.

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.

  • As-Saaffaat 37:1562 shared roots

    أَمْ لَكُمْ سُلْطَٰنٌ مُّبِينٌ

    س-ل-طب-ي-ن

  • Adh-Dhaariyat 51:382 shared roots

    وَفِى مُوسَىٰٓ إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَٰهُ إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ بِسُلْطَٰنٍ مُّبِينٍ

    س-ل-طب-ي-ن

  • Ad-Dukhaan 44:193 shared roots

    وَأَن لَّا تَعْلُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ إِنِّىٓ ءَاتِيكُم بِسُلْطَٰنٍ مُّبِينٍ

    س-ل-طب-ي-نأ-ت-ي

  • Al-Ghaafir 40:232 shared roots

    وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَىٰ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَسُلْطَٰنٍ مُّبِينٍ

    س-ل-طب-ي-ن

  • Hud 11:962 shared roots

    وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَىٰ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَسُلْطَٰنٍ مُّبِينٍ

    س-ل-طب-ي-ن

  • At-Tur 52:383 shared roots

    أَمْ لَهُمْ سُلَّمٌ يَسْتَمِعُونَ فِيهِ فَلْيَأْتِ مُسْتَمِعُهُم بِسُلْطَٰنٍ مُّبِينٍ

    س-ل-طب-ي-نأ-ت-ي

Questions

Which verses are similar to Quran 27:21?

Verses close in meaning to Quran 27:21 include Quran 18:87 (Surah Al-Kahf), Quran 19:79 (Surah Maryam), Quran 11:39 (Surah Hud), and Quran 76:31 (Surah Al-Insaan). For example, 18:87 reads: “He said, "As for one who wrongs, we will punish him. Then he will be returned to his Lord, and He will punish him with a terrible punishment.” 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 27:21 say?

In Saheeh International, Quran 27:21 (Surah An-Naml, The Ant) reads: “I will surely punish him with a severe punishment or slaughter him unless he brings me clear authorization."”

Which surah is verse 27:21 in?

Quran 27:21 is āyah 21 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 27:21?

Tartīl presents Quran 27:21 in the original Arabic alongside 34 translations, with audio recitation.