Surah 2 Al-Baqara — Ayah 170
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ ٱتَّبِعُوا۟ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ قَالُوا۟ بَلْ نَتَّبِعُ مَآ أَلْفَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ ءَابَآءَنَآ ۗ أَوَلَوْ كَانَ ءَابَآؤُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَا يَهْتَدُونَ
And when it is said to them, "Follow what Allah has revealed," they say, "Rather, we will follow that which we found our fathers doing." Even though their fathers understood nothing, nor were they guided?
wa-idhā qīla lahumu ittabiʿū mā anzala l-lahu qālū bal nattabiʿu mā alfaynā ʿalayhi ābāanā awalaw kāna ābāuhum lā yaʿqilūna shayan walā yahtadūna
Word by word
- وَإِذَا wa-idhā And when
- قِيلَ qīla it is said
- لَهُمُ lahumu to them
- ٱتَّبِعُوا۟ ittabiʿū Follow
- مَآ mā what
- أَنزَلَ anzala has revealed
- ٱللَّهُ l-lahu Allah
- قَالُوا۟ qālū they said
- بَلْ bal Nay
- نَتَّبِعُ nattabiʿu we follow
- مَآ mā what
- أَلْفَيْنَا alfaynā we found
- عَلَيْهِ ʿalayhi [on it]
- ءَابَآءَنَآ ۗ ābāanā our forefathers (following)
- أَوَلَوْ awalaw Even though
- كَانَ kāna [were]
- ءَابَآؤُهُمْ ābāuhum their forefathers
- لَا lā (did) not
- يَعْقِلُونَ yaʿqilūna understand
- شَيْـًۭٔا shayan anything
- وَلَا walā and not
- يَهْتَدُونَ yahtadūna were they guided
Tafsir · Ibn Kathir (Abridged)
The Polytheist imitates Other Polytheists
Allah states that if the disbelievers and polytheists are called to follow what Allah has revealed to His Messenger and abandon the practices of misguidance and ignorance that they indulge in, they will say, "Rather. We shall follow what we found our fathers following," meaning, worshipping the idols and the false deities. Allah criticized their reasoning:
أَوَلَوْ كَانَ ءَابَاؤُهُمْ
((Would they do that!) even though their fathers), meaning, those whom they follow and whose practices they imitate, and:
لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ شَيْئًا وَلاَ يَهْتَدُونَ
(...did not understand anything nor were they guided) meaning, they had no sound understanding or guidance. Ibn Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas said that this was revealed about a group of Jews whom Allah's Messenger ﷺ called to Islam, but they refused, saying, "Rather, we shall follow what we found our forefathers following." So Allah revealed this Ayah (2:170) above."
The Disbeliever is just like an Animal
Allah then made a parable of the disbelievers, just as He said in another Ayah:
لِلَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالاٌّخِرَةِ مَثَلُ السَّوْءِ
(For those who believe not in the Hereafter is an evil description.) (16:60)
Similarly, Allah said here (2:171 above)
وَمَثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ
(And the example of those who disbelieve...) meaning, in their injustice, misguidance and ignorance, they are just like wandering animals, not understanding what they are told; if the shepherd heralds them or calls them to what benefits them, they would not understand what is actually being said to them, for they only hear unintelligible sounds. This is what is reported from Ibn `Abbas, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, `Ata', Al-Hasan, Qatadah, `Ata' Al-Khurasani and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas.
صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْىٌ
(They are deaf, dumb, and blind.) means, they are deaf, as they do not hear the truth; mute, as they do not utter it; and blind, as they do not see or recognize its path and way.
فَهُمْ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ
(So they do not understand.) means, they do not comprehend or understand anything.