حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَخَذْنَا مُتْرَفِيهِم بِٱلْعَذَابِ إِذَا هُمْ يَجْـَٔرُونَ 64
Translations
Until when We seize their affluent ones with punishment, at once they are crying [to Allāh] for help.
Transliteration
Hatta idha akhdhana mutrafihim bil-adhabi idha hum yajeerun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes how the wealthy and arrogant disbelievers, who were given abundance and lived in luxury (mutrafihim), will cry out and seek help when Allah's punishment overtakes them. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the word 'yajeerun' means they will cry out in distress and call for help, but their cries will avail them nothing. The ayah emphasizes that those who arrogantly rejected faith despite being blessed with worldly prosperity will find no escape or relief when divine punishment arrives.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan surah Al-Mu'minun, which emphasizes the consequences of disbelief and the fate of those who turn away from Allah's message. The broader context (23:63-64) discusses how the wealthy disbelievers are distracted by worldly pleasures and heedless of the Hereafter, setting the stage for this description of their ultimate fate.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The best of you are those of you with the best character' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3662). This relates thematically to how arrogance and heedlessness lead to ruin, regardless of wealth. Additionally, the Quran states in 23:33 regarding similar arrogant disbelievers: 'And the chiefs of those who disbelieved said, This is naught but a human being like you.'
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us that worldly wealth and comfort are temporary and cannot protect us from the consequences of our actions and beliefs; true security lies in faith, obedience, and consciousness of Allah. We must not become heedless of the Hereafter due to material abundance, lest we find ourselves calling out in despair when it is too late.