لَقَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَا سُكِّرَتْ أَبْصَـٰرُنَا بَلْ نَحْنُ قَوْمٌ مَّسْحُورُونَ 15
Translations
They would say, "Our eyes have only been dazzled. Rather, we are a people affected by magic."
Transliteration
Laqalū innamā sukkirat absārunā bal naḥnu qawmun masḥūrūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah presents the disbelieving Quraysh's response to the miraculous signs shown to them, claiming their eyes have been dazzled or covered and attributing the phenomenon to magic cast upon them rather than acknowledging divine truth. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the disbelievers' insistence on attributing clear signs to sorcery demonstrates their willful rejection and spiritual blindness—they refuse to see reality as it is presented before them, preferring instead to rationalize away the truth through false explanations.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within Surah Al-Hijr's broader discussion of how the disbelievers of Mecca responded to the Prophet's message and the signs of Allah. The context addresses the obstinacy of those who witnessed the Prophet's miracles and clear preaching yet persisted in denial, attributing divine signs to magic or witchcraft rather than accepting the truth.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Muslim records that the Prophet (ﷺ) said regarding those who turn away from signs: 'The heart becomes sealed when one repeatedly rejects the truth.' Additionally, the theme of wilful blindness to signs is discussed in various ahadith about the characteristics of those who reject faith despite clear evidence.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that clear evidence and miraculous signs alone cannot guide those whose hearts are sealed by arrogance and prejudice; true guidance requires sincere openness of heart. It also warns against the danger of rationalizing away truth through false explanations when confronted with undeniable reality.
Related Ayahs
فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ
So may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated.
وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ ءَايَةً يُعْرِضُوا۟ وَيَقُولُوا۟ سِحْرٌ مُّسْتَمِرٌّ
And if they see a sign [i.e., miracle], they turn away and say, "Passing magic."
سَآءَ مَثَلًا ٱلْقَوْمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا وَأَنفُسَهُمْ كَانُوا۟ يَظْلِمُونَ
How evil an example [is that of] the people who denied Our signs and used to wrong themselves.
أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَبَؤُا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَعَادٍ وَثَمُودَ ۛ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ ۛ لَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ ۚ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ فَرَدُّوٓا۟ أَيْدِيَهُمْ فِىٓ أَفْوَٰهِهِمْ وَقَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا كَفَرْنَا بِمَآ أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِۦ وَإِنَّا لَفِى شَكٍّ مِّمَّا تَدْعُونَنَآ إِلَيْهِ مُرِيبٍ
Has there not reached you the news of those before you - the people of Noah and ʿAad and Thamūd and those after them? No one knows them [i.e., their number] but Allāh. Their messengers brought them clear proofs, but they returned their hands to their mouths and said, "Indeed, we disbelieve in that with which you have been sent, and indeed we are, about that to which you invite us, in disquieting doubt."