قَالُوٓا۟ أَجِئْتَنَا لِنَعْبُدَ ٱللَّهَ وَحْدَهُۥ وَنَذَرَ مَا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَا ۖ فَأْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ 70
Translations
They said, "Have you come to us that we should worship Allāh alone and leave what our fathers have worshipped? Then bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the truthful."
Transliteration
Qaloo aji'tana linaa'buda Allaha wahdahu wa nathaara ma kana ya'budu aabaauna fa'tina bima ta'iduna in kunta mina as-sadiqeen
Tafsir (Explanation)
The disbelievers of Nuh's people are challenging him, asking if he has come to command them to worship Allah alone and abandon the idols their forefathers worshipped. They demand that he bring the promised punishment upon them if he is truthful in his claims. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this represents the stubborn rejection of the message and the arrogant demand for immediate divine punishment—a challenge rooted in their certainty that no such punishment would come, thereby mocking the message itself.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the narrative of Prophet Nuh (Noah) and his people in Surah Al-A'raf, which recounts the responses of various nations to their prophets. The broader context shows the pattern of disbelievers rejecting monotheism and clinging to ancestral practices, demanding miracles or punishment as a test of the prophet's sincerity.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Bukhari (3156): The Prophet mentioned that Nuh preached to his people for 950 years, and they only increased in stubbornness and rejection. This hadith illustrates the persistence of rejection mentioned in this ayah. Also relevant is the Quranic account in Surah Nuh 71:26-27 where Allah describes how only believers followed Nuh.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that rejection of truth often stems from attachment to inherited customs and arrogance rather than rational consideration, and warns against the dangerous assumption that divine punishment will never come. Modern believers should reflect on whether they prioritize cultural traditions over divine guidance, and recognize that mockery of truth is a form of spiritual blindness.
Related Ayahs
وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ لَا نُكَلِّفُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَآ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ
But those who believed and did righteous deeds - We charge no soul except [within] its capacity. Those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally.
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ عَنْهَآ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ
But the ones who deny Our verses and are arrogant toward them - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.
قَالَ رَبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَلِأَخِى وَأَدْخِلْنَا فِى رَحْمَتِكَ ۖ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ
[Moses] said, "My Lord, forgive me and my brother and admit us into Your mercy, for You are the most merciful of the merciful."
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا تَأْوِيلَهُۥ ۚ يَوْمَ يَأْتِى تَأْوِيلُهُۥ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ نَسُوهُ مِن قَبْلُ قَدْ جَآءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ فَهَل لَّنَا مِن شُفَعَآءَ فَيَشْفَعُوا۟ لَنَآ أَوْ نُرَدُّ فَنَعْمَلَ غَيْرَ ٱلَّذِى كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ ۚ قَدْ خَسِرُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَفْتَرُونَ
Do they await except its result? The Day its result comes, those who had ignored it before will say, "The messengers of our Lord had come with the truth, so are there [now] any intercessors to intercede for us or could we be sent back to do other than what we used to do?" They will have lost themselves, and lost from them is what they used to invent.