لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُۥ خَـٰشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَتِلْكَ ٱلْأَمْثَـٰلُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ 21
Translations
If We had sent down this Qur’ān upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and splitting from fear of Allāh. And these examples We present to the people that perhaps they will give thought.
Transliteration
Law anzalna hadha al-Qur'ana 'ala jabalin la-raaytahu khashi'an mutasaddi'an min khashyati Allah. Wa tilka al-amthalu nadribuha li-al-naasi la'allahum yatafakkaroon.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah presents a powerful metaphorical illustration of the Qur'an's transformative power: if this Qur'an were sent down upon a mountain, that mountain would humble itself, crack, and crumble from fear of Allah. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi interpret this as emphasizing the Qur'an's overwhelming spiritual weight and the profound reverence it should inspire in the hearts of believers. The ayah concludes that Allah presents such parables to humanity so they may reflect deeply and internalize the message's significance.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Hashr is a Medinan chapter addressing events surrounding the expulsion of Banu Nadir (a Jewish tribe from Medina). This particular ayah serves as a theological reminder within the surah's broader message about Allah's power and the inevitability of His judgment, emphasizing that even inanimate matter would respond to the Qur'an's divine message with submission and awe.
Related Hadiths
The concept of awe before Allah's signs is reinforced in a hadith where the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The best of you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it' (Sahih Bukhari 5027), and another narration describes how the Companions would tremble when the Qur'an was recited to them (related in various hadith collections regarding their deep reverence).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that the Qur'an demands our deepest reverence and contemplation—if mountains would crumble from awe of Allah's word, how much more should our hearts soften and transform through sincere reflection on its meaning. The lesson encourages believers to approach Quranic study not merely intellectually but with spiritual consciousness and the intention to allow it to reshape their character.
Related Ayahs
هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقُ ٱلْبَارِئُ ٱلْمُصَوِّرُ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
He is Allāh, the Creator, the Producer, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
۞ أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ نَافَقُوا۟ يَقُولُونَ لِإِخْوَٰنِهِمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَئِنْ أُخْرِجْتُمْ لَنَخْرُجَنَّ مَعَكُمْ وَلَا نُطِيعُ فِيكُمْ أَحَدًا أَبَدًا وَإِن قُوتِلْتُمْ لَنَنصُرَنَّكُمْ وَٱللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّهُمْ لَكَـٰذِبُونَ
Have you not considered those who practice hypocrisy, saying to their brothers [i.e., associates] who have disbelieved among the People of the Scripture, "If you are expelled, we will surely leave with you, and we will not obey, in regard to you, anyone - ever; and if you are fought, we will surely aid you." But Allāh testifies that they are liars.
لَا يُقَـٰتِلُونَكُمْ جَمِيعًا إِلَّا فِى قُرًى مُّحَصَّنَةٍ أَوْ مِن وَرَآءِ جُدُرٍۭ ۚ بَأْسُهُم بَيْنَهُمْ شَدِيدٌ ۚ تَحْسَبُهُمْ جَمِيعًا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ شَتَّىٰ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَعْقِلُونَ
They will not fight you all except within fortified cities or from behind walls. Their violence [i.e., enmity] among themselves is severe. You think they are together, but their hearts are diverse. That is because they are a people who do not reason.
مَا قَطَعْتُم مِّن لِّينَةٍ أَوْ تَرَكْتُمُوهَا قَآئِمَةً عَلَىٰٓ أُصُولِهَا فَبِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِيُخْزِىَ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ
Whatever you have cut down of [their] palm trees or left standing on their trunks - it was by permission of Allāh and so He would disgrace the defiantly disobedient.