فَذَرْهُمْ فِى غَمْرَتِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ حِينٍ 54
Translations
So leave them in their confusion for a time.
Transliteration
Fa-dharhum fee ghamratihim hatta heen
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands the Prophet (ﷺ) to leave the disbelievers in their state of ignorance and confusion until an appointed time, meaning the Day of Judgment or their destined punishment. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir explain this as divine patience granting the disbelievers respite to either repent or face their inevitable reckoning, while Al-Tabari notes that 'ghamrah' (غمرة) refers to being immersed in error and heedlessness. This ayah emphasizes that Allah's patience with the obstinate is not indefinite—there is a fixed term after which accountability becomes certain.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan surah Al-Mu'minun, revealed during a period when the Prophet faced significant rejection from the Quraysh. The broader context of the surah contrasts the believers' characteristics with the stubbornness of those who reject the message, and this specific verse provides consolation by assuring the Prophet that those who persist in disbelief will face their reckoning at an appointed time known only to Allah.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Muslim reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Each soul will know what it has sent forward and kept back' (2:134), relating to personal accountability. Additionally, Tirmidhi records the Prophet's teaching about respite: 'When Allah intends good for a slave, He hastens his punishment in this world, and when He intends harm, He withholds his sin until He brings him to account on the Day of Resurrection.'
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that while Allah grants patience and time for repentance to those in error, this opportunity is temporary and will ultimately end in accountability. For believers, it reinforces trust that injustice and disbelief do not go unaccounted for, encouraging steadfastness in faith despite worldly opposition.
Related Ayahs
عَـٰلِمِ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَـٰدَةِ فَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
[He is] Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, so high is He above what they associate [with Him].
فَٱتَّخَذْتُمُوهُمْ سِخْرِيًّا حَتَّىٰٓ أَنسَوْكُمْ ذِكْرِى وَكُنتُم مِّنْهُمْ تَضْحَكُونَ
But you took them in mockery to the point that they made you forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them.
بَلْ قُلُوبُهُمْ فِى غَمْرَةٍ مِّنْ هَـٰذَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْمَـٰلٌ مِّن دُونِ ذَٰلِكَ هُمْ لَهَا عَـٰمِلُونَ
But their hearts are covered with confusion over this, and they have [evil] deeds besides that [i.e., disbelief] which they are doing,
فَمَنِ ٱبْتَغَىٰ وَرَآءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْعَادُونَ
But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors -