وَيَوْمَ يُعْرَضُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ أَلَيْسَ هَـٰذَا بِٱلْحَقِّ ۖ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ وَرَبِّنَا ۚ قَالَ فَذُوقُوا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ 34
Translations
And the Day those who disbelieved are exposed to the Fire [it will be said], "Is this not the truth?" They will say, "Yes, by our Lord." He will say, "Then taste the punishment for what you used to deny."
Transliteration
Wa yawma yu'radu alladhina kafarū 'ala an-nāri a-laysa hādhā bil-haqq? Qālū balā wa rabbinā. Qāla fa-dhūqū al-'adhāba bimā kuntum takfurūn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
On the Day of Judgment, the disbelievers will be presented before the Fire and asked if this punishment is not the truth they denied. They will acknowledge it is indeed true, swearing by their Lord, yet this confession comes too late. Allah commands them to taste the punishment as a consequence of their disbelief in this life. Classical scholars like Al-Qurtubi emphasize that this ayah demonstrates the disbelievers' inability to deny the reality of the Hereafter once confronted with it, yet their acknowledgment cannot change their fate.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-Ahqaf, a Meccan chapter that frequently addresses the certainty of the Day of Judgment and the punishment awaiting those who reject Allah's signs. It comes near the end of the surah as part of a concluding passage describing the ultimate end of the disbelievers, reinforcing the central theme that rejection of divine truth carries inevitable consequences.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The Fire will be shown to the people on the Day of Judgment, and they will see it and know it by its heat and smoke.' (Musnad Ahmad). This relates to the presentation of disbelievers before the Fire mentioned in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that denying the truth in this life does not erase its reality; on the Day of Judgment, all will witness and acknowledge what they rejected. For believers, it should strengthen conviction in Islamic teachings now, and for those in doubt, it emphasizes the importance of accepting truth while in this world when acceptance is still valuable.
Related Ayahs
وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ٱبْيَضَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ فَفِى رَحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ
But as for those whose faces turn white, [they will be] within the mercy of Allāh. They will abide therein eternally.
يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُكُمْ لِيَوْمِ ٱلْجَمْعِ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمُ ٱلتَّغَابُنِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ وَيَعْمَلْ صَـٰلِحًا يُكَفِّرْ عَنْهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِۦ وَيُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
The Day He will assemble you for the Day of Assembly - that is the Day of Deprivation. And whoever believes in Allāh and does righteousness - He will remove from him his misdeeds and admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.
مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ قَالُوا۟ ضَلُّوا۟ عَنَّا بَل لَّمْ نَكُن نَّدْعُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ شَيْـًٔا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
Other than Allāh?" They will say, "They have departed from us; rather, we did not used to invoke previously anything." Thus does Allāh put astray the disbelievers.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ وَٱخْشَوْا۟ يَوْمًا لَّا يَجْزِى وَالِدٌ عَن وَلَدِهِۦ وَلَا مَوْلُودٌ هُوَ جَازٍ عَن وَالِدِهِۦ شَيْـًٔا ۚ إِنَّ وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ حَقٌّ ۖ فَلَا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَلَا يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِٱللَّهِ ٱلْغَرُورُ
O mankind, fear your Lord and fear a Day when no father will avail his son, nor will a son avail his father at all. Indeed, the promise of Allāh is truth, so let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about Allāh by the Deceiver [i.e., Satan].