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
فَعَقَرُوا۟ ٱلنَّاقَةَ وَعَتَوْا۟ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقَالُوا۟ يَـٰصَـٰلِحُ ٱئْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ
So they hamstrung the she-camel and were insolent toward the command of their Lord and said, "O Ṣāliḥ, bring us what you promise us, if you should be of the messengers."
وَإِذْ قِيلَ لَهُمُ ٱسْكُنُوا۟ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْقَرْيَةَ وَكُلُوا۟ مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ وَقُولُوا۟ حِطَّةٌ وَٱدْخُلُوا۟ ٱلْبَابَ سُجَّدًا نَّغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطِيٓـَٔـٰتِكُمْ ۚ سَنَزِيدُ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
And [mention, O Muḥammad], when it was said to them, "Dwell in this city [i.e., Jerusalem] and eat from it wherever you will and say, 'Relieve us of our burdens [i.e., sins],' and enter the gate bowing humbly; We will [then] forgive you your sins. We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward]."
وَنَادَىٰٓ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْأَعْرَافِ رِجَالًا يَعْرِفُونَهُم بِسِيمَىٰهُمْ قَالُوا۟ مَآ أَغْنَىٰ عَنكُمْ جَمْعُكُمْ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ
And the companions of the Elevations will call to men [within Hell] whom they recognize by their mark, saying, "Of no avail to you was your gathering and [the fact] that you were arrogant."
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَـٰكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ ٱسْجُدُوا۟ لِـَٔادَمَ فَسَجَدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُن مِّنَ ٱلسَّـٰجِدِينَ
And We have certainly created you, [O mankind], and given you [human] form. Then We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam"; so they prostrated, except for Iblees. He was not of those who prostrated.