سَأَصْرِفُ عَنْ ءَايَـٰتِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَكَبَّرُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ كُلَّ ءَايَةٍ لَّا يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِهَا وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ سَبِيلَ ٱلرُّشْدِ لَا يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلًا وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ سَبِيلَ ٱلْغَىِّ يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَكَانُوا۟ عَنْهَا غَـٰفِلِينَ 146
Translations
I will turn away from My signs those who are arrogant upon the earth without right; and if they should see every sign, they will not believe in it. And if they see the way of consciousness, they will not adopt it as a way; but if they see the way of error, they will adopt it as a way. That is because they have denied Our signs and they were heedless of them.
Transliteration
Sa-asrifu 'an ayatiya alladhina yatakabbarun fi al-ardi bighayri al-haqq wa-in yaraw kulla ayatin la yu'minun biha wa-in yaraw sabila al-rushdi la ittakhidhuh sabilan wa-in yaraw sabila al-ghayyi ittakhidhuh sabilan. Dhalika bi-annahum kadhdhaba bi-ayatina wa-kanu 'anha ghafilin.
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah declares that He will turn away from His signs those who behave arrogantly on earth without justification. Such people reject every miraculous sign presented to them and deliberately choose the path of misguidance over guidance, not because they lack evidence, but because their hearts are sealed by their own denial and heedlessness. As Ibn Kathir explains, this is a natural consequence (jaza'): those who rejected Allah's signs and were inattentive to them are punished with spiritual blindness, where even clear guidance becomes imperceptible to them.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Al-A'raf (Meccan), which discusses the consequences of arrogance and rejection of divine signs. It comes in the context of discussing the fate of those who deny the prophets, particularly referencing the arrogance of Pharaoh and his people. The surah emphasizes that rejection stems not from lack of evidence but from spiritual heedlessness and intentional arrogance.
Related Hadiths
1) The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'No one enters Paradise who has an atom's weight of arrogance in his heart' (Sahih Muslim 91). 2) 'The most hated of people to Allah is the one who is most arrogant' (Sunan Ibn Majah 4174), thematically reinforcing the destructive nature of kibr (arrogance) mentioned in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
Arrogance is not merely a character flaw but a spiritual disease that blinds the heart to truth—no amount of evidence will benefit those whose pride prevents them from accepting guidance. We must cultivate humility and openness to divine signs, recognizing that receptivity to truth is itself a mercy from Allah.
Related Ayahs
قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّآ إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا مُنقَلِبُونَ
They said, "Indeed, to our Lord we will return.
قَالَ أَغَيْرَ ٱللَّهِ أَبْغِيكُمْ إِلَـٰهًا وَهُوَ فَضَّلَكُمْ عَلَى ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
He said, "Is it other than Allāh I should desire for you as a god while He has preferred you over the worlds?"
وَإِذْ قَالَتْ أُمَّةٌ مِّنْهُمْ لِمَ تَعِظُونَ قَوْمًا ۙ ٱللَّهُ مُهْلِكُهُمْ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُهُمْ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا ۖ قَالُوا۟ مَعْذِرَةً إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ
And when a community among them said, "Why do you advise [or warn] a people whom Allāh is [about] to destroy or to punish with a severe punishment?" they [the advisors] said, "To be absolved before your Lord and perhaps they may fear Him."
وَأَوْرَثْنَا ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَانُوا۟ يُسْتَضْعَفُونَ مَشَـٰرِقَ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَغَـٰرِبَهَا ٱلَّتِى بَـٰرَكْنَا فِيهَا ۖ وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ عَلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا۟ ۖ وَدَمَّرْنَا مَا كَانَ يَصْنَعُ فِرْعَوْنُ وَقَوْمُهُۥ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْرِشُونَ
And We caused the people who had been oppressed to inherit the eastern regions of the land and the western ones, which We had blessed. And the good word [i.e., decree] of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of what they had patiently endured. And We destroyed [all] that Pharaoh and his people were producing and what they had been building.