وَقَالُوا۟ مَهْمَا تَأْتِنَا بِهِۦ مِنْ ءَايَةٍ لِّتَسْحَرَنَا بِهَا فَمَا نَحْنُ لَكَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ 132
Translations
And they said, "No matter what sign you bring us with which to bewitch us, we will not be believers in you."
Transliteration
Wa qāloo mā-mā ta'tinā bihi min āyatin li-tasḥarnā bihā fa-mā naḥnu laka bi-mu'minīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
The people of Pharaoh stubbornly rejected Moses' miracles, accusing him of sorcery and refusing to believe regardless of what signs he presented. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this reflects the hardness of their hearts and their predetermined rejection—they were not genuinely seeking truth but rather seeking excuses to deny. This ayah illustrates how those who reject faith often attribute divine miracles to deception, demonstrating that rejection stems from spiritual blindness rather than lack of evidence.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within the account of Moses' confrontation with Pharaoh and his people (7:103-162), a major narrative in Surah Al-A'raf. It reflects the historical reality of Pharaonic Egypt's rejection of Moses despite witnessing numerous miracles (the staff becoming a serpent, the plagues, etc.), establishing a pattern of how disbelievers rationalize away signs of truth.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Muslim narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said, 'The supplication of the disbeliever is futile,' indicating the spiritual state of those who persistently deny signs. Additionally, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:18 contains a related theme: 'Deaf, dumb, and blind, so they will not return [to the right path].'
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us that presenting evidence to those determined to disbelieve is often fruitless—rejection rooted in arrogance and spiritual sickness cannot be cured by miracles alone. For believers, it teaches compassion toward those who reject, understanding that their denial reflects internal corruption rather than intellectual inability.
Related Ayahs
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ عِبَادٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ ۖ فَٱدْعُوهُمْ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ
Indeed, those you [polytheists] call upon besides Allāh are servants [i.e., creations] like you. So call upon them and let them respond to you, if you should be truthful.
ٱدْعُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُعْتَدِينَ
Call upon your Lord in humility and privately; indeed, He does not like transgressors.
قَدِ ٱفْتَرَيْنَا عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا إِنْ عُدْنَا فِى مِلَّتِكُم بَعْدَ إِذْ نَجَّىٰنَا ٱللَّهُ مِنْهَا ۚ وَمَا يَكُونُ لَنَآ أَن نَّعُودَ فِيهَآ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّنَا ۚ وَسِعَ رَبُّنَا كُلَّ شَىْءٍ عِلْمًا ۚ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا ٱفْتَحْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ ٱلْفَـٰتِحِينَ
We would have invented against Allāh a lie if we returned to your religion after Allāh had saved us from it. And it is not for us to return to it except that Allāh, our Lord, should will. Our Lord has encompassed all things in knowledge. Upon Allāh we have relied. Our Lord, decide between us and our people in truth, and You are the best of those who give decision."
يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ لَا يَفْتِنَنَّكُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ كَمَآ أَخْرَجَ أَبَوَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ يَنزِعُ عَنْهُمَا لِبَاسَهُمَا لِيُرِيَهُمَا سَوْءَٰتِهِمَآ ۗ إِنَّهُۥ يَرَىٰكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُۥ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
O children of Adam, let not Satan tempt you as he removed your parents from Paradise, stripping them of their clothing to show them their private parts. Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them. Indeed, We have made the devils allies to those who do not believe.