وَٱلَّذِينَ سَعَوْا۟ فِىٓ ءَايَـٰتِنَا مُعَـٰجِزِينَ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْجَحِيمِ 51
Translations
But the ones who strove against Our verses, [seeking] to cause failure - those are the companions of Hellfire.
Transliteration
Wa alladhīna sa'aw fī āyātinā mu'ājizīn, ulā'ika aṣḥābu al-jahīm
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah condemns those who strive to render Allah's signs ineffective or to obstruct them, declaring that such people are the companions of Hell. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret 'mu'ājizīn' (striving to obstruct/render powerless) as referring to those who actively resist, deny, or attempt to nullify Allah's clear signs and miracles. The ayah emphasizes that deliberate opposition to divine truth carries severe consequences in the Hereafter.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-Hajj, a Medinan chapter that addresses both believers and disbelievers. The broader context discusses various categories of people—the believers who obey, those who are in doubt, and those who actively oppose Allah's signs. This particular verse is part of a series addressing the stubborn rejection of disbelievers in Medina and Mecca who witnessed Allah's signs yet persisted in denial.
Related Hadiths
Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'The most hated of people to Allah is the most stubborn in disbelief' (related to concepts in Tirmidhi and other collections). Additionally, the hadith in Sahih Bukhari reminds that 'Whoever conceals knowledge which Allah has revealed, Allah will gag him with a bridle of fire on the Day of Judgment,' which relates thematically to the active suppression of Allah's signs.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah warns against not merely disbelieving, but actively working to undermine or suppress truth and divine guidance. For modern readers, it encourages honest engagement with divine signs and truth, cautioning against allowing pride, arrogance, or ulterior motives to lead one into deliberate rejection and obstruction of what one knows to be right.
Related Ayahs
ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاكَ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلَّـٰمٍ لِّلْعَبِيدِ
"That is for what your hands have put forth and because Allāh is not ever unjust to [His] servants."
يَوْمَ تَرَوْنَهَا تَذْهَلُ كُلُّ مُرْضِعَةٍ عَمَّآ أَرْضَعَتْ وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذَاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَهَا وَتَرَى ٱلنَّاسَ سُكَـٰرَىٰ وَمَا هُم بِسُكَـٰرَىٰ وَلَـٰكِنَّ عَذَابَ ٱللَّهِ شَدِيدٌ
On the Day you see it every nursing mother will be distracted from that [child] she was nursing, and every pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy, and you will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated; but the punishment of Allāh is severe.
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَسْجُدُ لَهُۥ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱلشَّمْسُ وَٱلْقَمَرُ وَٱلنُّجُومُ وَٱلْجِبَالُ وَٱلشَّجَرُ وَٱلدَّوَآبُّ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِ ٱلْعَذَابُ ۗ وَمَن يُهِنِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن مُّكْرِمٍ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۩
Do you not see [i.e., know] that to Allāh prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth and the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the moving creatures and many of the people? But upon many the punishment has been justified. And he whom Allāh humiliates - for him there is no bestower of honor. Indeed, Allāh does what He wills.
وَقَوْمُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَقَوْمُ لُوطٍ
And the people of Abraham and the people of Lot.