قَالُوا۟ وَجَدْنَآ ءَابَآءَنَا لَهَا عَـٰبِدِينَ 53
Translations
They said, "We found our fathers worshippers of them."
Transliteration
Qalū wa-jadnā ābāʾanā lahā ʿābidīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
The disbelievers respond to Prophet Ibrahim's call to abandon idol worship by saying they found their fathers worshipping these idols, using ancestral tradition as justification for their continued polytheism. This ayah illustrates the spiritual blindness of those who follow inherited customs without rational examination, a theme emphasized by classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari as exemplifying blind imitation (taqlīd) in religious matters. The response reflects humanity's tendency to rationalize false beliefs through the argument of precedent and tradition.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the narrative of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his confrontation with his people regarding their idolatry, occurring in the Meccan period. It addresses the Quraysh's similar reliance on ancestral custom to justify their idol worship, making it contextually relevant to the Prophet Muhammad's mission in pre-Islamic Arabia where tribal and family traditions bound people to polytheistic practices.
Related Hadiths
The concept of following fathers blindly in falsehood is addressed in the hadith: 'Most of my people will not enter Paradise except by the Mercy of Allah' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi), and Surah Al-Zukhruf 43:22-23 elaborates on this same theme of ancestral imitation, which is frequently referenced in hadith collections regarding spiritual accountability.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that inherited beliefs and cultural practices must be examined through the lens of divine guidance rather than blindly accepted; Muslims are called to think critically about their faith and not merely follow traditions without understanding their basis in Quranic truth.
Related Ayahs
وَجَعَلْنَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ رَوَٰسِىَ أَن تَمِيدَ بِهِمْ وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا فِجَاجًا سُبُلًا لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَهْتَدُونَ
And We placed within the earth firmly set mountains, lest it should shift with them, and We made therein [mountain] passes [as] roads that they might be guided.
فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَقُلْ ءَاذَنتُكُمْ عَلَىٰ سَوَآءٍ ۖ وَإِنْ أَدْرِىٓ أَقَرِيبٌ أَم بَعِيدٌ مَّا تُوعَدُونَ
But if they turn away, then say, "I have announced to [all of] you equally. And I know not whether near or far is that which you are promised.
إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِۦ مَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلتَّمَاثِيلُ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنتُمْ لَهَا عَـٰكِفُونَ
When he said to his father and his people, "What are these statues to which you are devoted?"
لَا يَحْزُنُهُمُ ٱلْفَزَعُ ٱلْأَكْبَرُ وَتَتَلَقَّىٰهُمُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ هَـٰذَا يَوْمُكُمُ ٱلَّذِى كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ
They will not be grieved by the greatest terror, and the angels will meet them, [saying], "This is your Day which you have been promised" -