Surah 34 Saba — Ayah 43
وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَٰتُنَا بَيِّنَٰتٍۢ قَالُوا۟ مَا هَٰذَآ إِلَّا رَجُلٌۭ يُرِيدُ أَن يَصُدَّكُمْ عَمَّا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ وَقَالُوا۟ مَا هَٰذَآ إِلَّآ إِفْكٌۭ مُّفْتَرًۭى ۚ وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ إِنْ هَٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ
明白なわれの印が，かれらに読誦されても，かれらは言う。「これは一人の男が，あなたがたの祖先の崇拝していた神々から背かせようとするのである。」また言う。「これは只捏造した，作りごとである。」また真理を信じない者たちは，それがかれらに現われると，「これは明らかに魔術に過ぎない。」と言う。
wa-idhā tut'lā ʿalayhim āyātunā bayyinātin qālū mā hādhā illā rajulun yurīdu an yaṣuddakum ʿammā kāna yaʿbudu ābāukum waqālū mā hādhā illā if'kun muf'taran waqāla alladhīna kafarū lil'ḥaqqi lammā jāahum in hādhā illā siḥ'run mubīnun
Word by word
- وَإِذَا wa-idhā And when
- تُتْلَىٰ tut'lā are recited
- عَلَيْهِمْ ʿalayhim to them
- ءَايَـٰتُنَا āyātunā Our Verses
- بَيِّنَـٰتٍۢ bayyinātin clear
- قَالُوا۟ qālū they say
- مَا mā Not
- هَـٰذَآ hādhā (is) this
- إِلَّا illā but
- رَجُلٌۭ rajulun a man
- يُرِيدُ yurīdu who wishes
- أَن an to
- يَصُدَّكُمْ yaṣuddakum hinder you
- عَمَّا ʿammā from what
- كَانَ kāna used
- يَعْبُدُ yaʿbudu (to) worship
- ءَابَآؤُكُمْ ābāukum your forefathers
- وَقَالُوا۟ waqālū And they say
- مَا mā Not
- هَـٰذَآ hādhā (is) this
- إِلَّآ illā except
- إِفْكٌۭ if'kun a lie
- مُّفْتَرًۭى ۚ muf'taran invented
- وَقَالَ waqāla And said
- ٱلَّذِينَ alladhīna those who
- كَفَرُوا۟ kafarū disbelieved
- لِلْحَقِّ lil'ḥaqqi about the truth
- لَمَّا lammā when
- جَآءَهُمْ jāahum it came to them
- إِنْ in Not
- هَـٰذَآ hādhā (is) this
- إِلَّا illā except
- سِحْرٌۭ siḥ'run a magic
- مُّبِينٌۭ mubīnun obvious
Tafsir · Ibn Kathir (Abridged)
The Saying of the Disbelievers about the Prophets, and its refutation
Allah tells us that the disbeliever deserve to be severely punished by Him, because when His clear Verses were recited to them, and they heard them fresh from the lips of His Messenger , they said:
قَالُواْ مَا هَـذَا إِلاَّ رَجُلٌ يُرِيدُ أَن يَصُدَّكُمْ عَمَّا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ
(They say: "This is naught but a man who wishes to hinder you from that which your fathers used to worship.") meaning, that the religion of their fathers was the truth and that what the Messenger brought to them was false -- may the curse of Allah be upon them and their fathers!
وَقَالُواْ مَا هَـذَآ إِلاَّ إِفْكٌ مُّفْتَرًى
(And they say: "This is nothing but an invented lie.") referring to the Qur'an. l
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لِلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ إِنْ هَـذَآ إِلاَّ سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
(And those who disbelieve say of the truth when it has come to them: "This is nothing but evident magic!") Allah says:
وَمَآ ءَاتَيْنَـهُمْ مِّنْ كُتُبٍ يَدْرُسُونَهَا وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ قَبْلَكَ مِّن نَّذِيرٍ
(And We had not given them Scriptures that they could study, nor sent to them before you any warner) meaning, Allah did not reveal any Book to the Arabs before the Qur'an, and He did not send any Prophet to them before Muhammad ﷺ . They used to wish for that and say, `if only a warner comes to us or a Book is revealed to us, we would be more guided than others,' but when Allah blessed them with that, they disbelieved him and stubbornly rejected him. Then Allah says:
وَكَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبلِهِمْ
(And those before them denied;) meaning, other nations.
وَمَا بَلَغُواْ مِعْشَارَ مَآ ءَاتَيْنَـهُمْ
(these have not received even a tenth of what We had granted to those (of old);) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Of the power of this world." This was also the view of Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd. This is like the Ayat:
وَلَقَدْ مَكَّنَـهُمْ فِيمَآ إِن مَّكَّنَّـكُمْ فِيهِ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ سَمْعاً وَأَبْصَـراً وَأَفْئِدَةً فَمَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَلاَ أَبْصَـرُهُمْ وَلاَ أَفْئِدَتُهُمْ مِّن شَىْءٍ إِذْ كَانُواْ يَجْحَدُونَ بِـَايَـتِ اللَّهِ وَحَاقَ بِهم مَّا كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
(And indeed We had firmly established them with that wherewith We have not established you! And We had assigned them the hearing, seeing, and hearts; but their hearing, seeing, and their hearts availed them nothing since they used to deny the Ayat of Allah, and they were completely encircled by that which they used to mock at!) (46: 26)
أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ فَيَنظُرُواْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ كَانُواْ أَكْـثَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَأَشَدَّ قُوَّةً
(Have they not traveled through the earth and seen what was the end of those before them They were more in number than them and mightier in strength) (40:82). but that did not protect them from the punishment of Allah, and Allah destroyed them because they denied His Messengers. Allah says:
فَكَذَّبُواْ رُسُلِى فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ
(yet they denied My Messengers. Then how (terrible) was My denial!) meaning, `how severe was My wrath and how great was My avenging of My Messengers.'