وَمَا كَانَ صَلَاتُهُمْ عِندَ ٱلْبَيْتِ إِلَّا مُكَآءً وَتَصْدِيَةً ۚ فَذُوقُوا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ 35
Translations
And their prayer at the House [i.e., the Kaʿbah] was not except whistling and handclapping. So taste the punishment for what you disbelieved [i.e., practiced of deviations].
Transliteration
Wa mā kāna salātuhum ʿinda al-bayt illā mukāʾan wa tasdiyah. Fadhūqū al-ʿadhāb bimā kuntum takfurūn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the pre-Islamic polytheists of Makkah who performed rituals at the Kaʿbah that were mere mockery—whistling, clapping, and false gestures—rather than sincere worship of Allah. Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that their actions at the Sacred House were devoid of true devotion and Islamic submission, and they are warned to taste the punishment of the Hereafter due to their disbelief and rejection of Allah's signs.
Revelation Context
Revealed in the Medinan period during Surah Al-Anfal, which addresses the early Muslim community after the Battle of Badr. This ayah describes the spiritual state of the Makkan polytheists who outwardly performed rituals but lacked sincere faith, contrasting their empty practices with true Islamic worship.
Related Hadiths
The hadith reported by Imam Ahmad and others describes how the polytheists would circumambulate the Kaʿbah while clapping and whistling, mocking the believers' proper worship. Additionally, Surah Al-Hajj (22:27) is thematically related, describing their rejection of proper pilgrimage and worship at the Sacred House.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that ritualistic actions performed without sincere belief and submission to Allah are merely empty gestures that incur divine displeasure; true worship requires both outward practice and inward sincerity, and those who deliberately mock or distort faith face severe consequences.
Related Ayahs
إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَٱسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّى مُمِدُّكُم بِأَلْفٍ مِّنَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ
[Remember] when you were asking help of your Lord, and He answered you, "Indeed, I will reinforce you with a thousand from the angels, following one another."
ٱلْـَٔـٰنَ خَفَّفَ ٱللَّهُ عَنكُمْ وَعَلِمَ أَنَّ فِيكُمْ ضَعْفًا ۚ فَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُم مِّا۟ئَةٌ صَابِرَةٌ يَغْلِبُوا۟ مِا۟ئَتَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن يَكُن مِّنكُمْ أَلْفٌ يَغْلِبُوٓا۟ أَلْفَيْنِ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ
Now, Allāh has lightened [the hardship] for you, and He knows that among you is weakness. So if there are from you one hundred [who are] steadfast, they will overcome two hundred. And if there are among you a thousand, they will overcome two thousand by permission of Allāh. And Allāh is with the steadfast.
وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتُنَا قَالُوا۟ قَدْ سَمِعْنَا لَوْ نَشَآءُ لَقُلْنَا مِثْلَ هَـٰذَآ ۙ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّآ أَسَـٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
And when Our verses are recited to them, they say, "We have heard. If we willed, we could say [something] like this. This is not but legends of the former peoples."
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا لَقِيتُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ زَحْفًا فَلَا تُوَلُّوهُمُ ٱلْأَدْبَارَ
O you who have believed, when you meet those who disbelieve advancing [in battle], do not turn to them your backs [in flight].