يَكَادُ ٱلْبَرْقُ يَخْطَفُ أَبْصَـٰرَهُمْ ۖ كُلَّمَآ أَضَآءَ لَهُم مَّشَوْا۟ فِيهِ وَإِذَآ أَظْلَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ قَامُوا۟ ۚ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمْعِهِمْ وَأَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ 20
Translations
The lightning almost snatches away their sight. Every time it lights [the way] for them, they walk therein; but when darkness comes over them, they stand [still]. And if Allāh had willed, He could have taken away their hearing and their sight. Indeed, Allāh is over all things competent.
Transliteration
Yakādu al-barqu yakhṭafu abṣārahum, kullammā aḍāʾa lahum mashaw fīhi wa-idhā aẓlama ʿalayhim qāmū, wa-law shāʾa Allāhu la-dhahaba bisamʿihim wa-abṣārihim, inna Allāha ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah concludes the parable of those who reject faith, comparing them to people in a storm where lightning nearly blinds them—when light appears they proceed, but when darkness falls they stop, unable to progress. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir explain this metaphor represents the spiritual blindness and wavering condition of disbelievers whose hearts lack firm guidance and understanding of truth. The verse concludes with emphasis on Allah's absolute power to remove even the faculties of hearing and sight, signifying that disbelief stems from divine will and the hardening of hearts, not mere intellectual disagreement.
Revelation Context
This verse is part of the parable of the disbelievers (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:17-20), revealed in Madinah to help believers understand the nature of those who reject guidance despite its clarity. The parable uses vivid imagery of a thunderstorm to illustrate how disbelievers fluctuate between moments of apparent interest in Islam and periods of complete rejection, never achieving true faith or understanding.
Related Hadiths
The Sahih Bukhari records that the Prophet ﷺ said, 'The example of guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me is like abundant rain falling on the earth' (Sahih Bukhari 97), which contextualizes how guidance is offered but received differently by different hearts. Additionally, Hadith Qudsi emphasizes that Allah seals the hearts of those who persistently reject guidance (related to Surah 2:7).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that rejection of truth often stems from spiritual blindness rather than intellectual inability, and should inspire compassion for those in error while affirming Allah's ultimate control over guidance. It also reminds us that inconsistency in faith and wavering commitment reflect hearts disconnected from truth, encouraging steadfastness in our own convictions.
Related Ayahs
قُلْ مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُۥ نَزَّلَهُۥ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Say, "Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel - it is [none but] he who has brought it [i.e., the Qur’ān] down upon your heart, [O Muḥammad], by permission of Allāh, confirming that which was before it and as guidance and good tidings for the believers."
وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَـٰمُوسَىٰ لَن نَّصْبِرَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامٍ وَٰحِدٍ فَٱدْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخْرِجْ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنۢبِتُ ٱلْأَرْضُ مِنۢ بَقْلِهَا وَقِثَّآئِهَا وَفُومِهَا وَعَدَسِهَا وَبَصَلِهَا ۖ قَالَ أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ ٱلَّذِى هُوَ أَدْنَىٰ بِٱلَّذِى هُوَ خَيْرٌ ۚ ٱهْبِطُوا۟ مِصْرًا فَإِنَّ لَكُم مَّا سَأَلْتُمْ ۗ وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلذِّلَّةُ وَٱلْمَسْكَنَةُ وَبَآءُو بِغَضَبٍ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ يَكْفُرُونَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَقْتُلُونَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوا۟ وَّكَانُوا۟ يَعْتَدُونَ
And [recall] when you said, "O Moses, we can never endure one [kind of] food. So call upon your Lord to bring forth for us from the earth its green herbs and its cucumbers and its garlic and its lentils and its onions." [Moses] said, "Would you exchange what is better for what is less? Go into [any] settlement and indeed, you will have what you have asked." And they were covered with humiliation and poverty and returned with anger from Allāh [upon them]. That was because they [repeatedly] disbelieved in the signs of Allāh and killed the prophets without right. That was because they disobeyed and were [habitually] transgressing.
لَآ إِكْرَاهَ فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ ٱلرُّشْدُ مِنَ ٱلْغَىِّ ۚ فَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱلطَّـٰغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱسْتَمْسَكَ بِٱلْعُرْوَةِ ٱلْوُثْقَىٰ لَا ٱنفِصَامَ لَهَا ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become distinct from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in ṭāghūt and believes in Allāh has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَـٰكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا۟ شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا ۗ وَمَا جَعَلْنَا ٱلْقِبْلَةَ ٱلَّتِى كُنتَ عَلَيْهَآ إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَن يَتَّبِعُ ٱلرَّسُولَ مِمَّن يَنقَلِبُ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ ۚ وَإِن كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ هَدَى ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَـٰنَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِٱلنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
And thus We have made you a median [i.e., just] community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you. And We did not make the qiblah which you used to face except that We might make evident who would follow the Messenger from who would turn back on his heels. And indeed, it is difficult except for those whom Allāh has guided. And never would Allāh have caused you to lose your faith [i.e., your previous prayers]. Indeed Allāh is, to the people, Kind and Merciful.