فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ 28
Translations
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
Transliteration
Fa-bi-ayyi alaa-i rabbikumaa tukazzibaan
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah continues the refrain that appears throughout Surah Ar-Rahman, asking the jinn and mankind: 'Then which of the favors of your Lord do you both deny?' According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this rhetorical question emphasizes the abundance of Allah's blessings and challenges the listener to identify any divine favor that should be rejected or disbelieved. The repetition of this refrain (appearing 31 times in the surah) serves to reinforce human accountability and the irrationality of denying Allah's signs and mercies.
Revelation Context
Surah Ar-Rahman is a Medinan surah that celebrates Allah's countless blessings to creation. The ayah appears near the middle of the surah as part of the recurring refrain that punctuates the description of divine favors—from the creation of the heavens and earth to the provision of food, water, and guidance. The surah's structure uses this repeated question to make listeners contemplate their ingratitude.
Related Hadiths
The theme of denying Allah's blessings relates to Surah An-Nahl 16:114, where the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught that denying blessings is a form of disbelief (kufr). Additionally, in Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet warned against ingratitude, saying that women comprise the majority of the inhabitants of Hell due to their ingratitude to their husbands.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah invites believers to perform a sincere inventory of Allah's blessings in their lives and to cultivate gratitude rather than denial, recognizing that disbelief in divine favors contradicts both reason and the reality of our existence.
Related Ayahs
فَبِأَىِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
أَلَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عَيْنَيْنِ
Have We not made for him two eyes?
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَعَلَ فِيكُمْ أَنۢبِيَآءَ وَجَعَلَكُم مُّلُوكًا وَءَاتَىٰكُم مَّا لَمْ يُؤْتِ أَحَدًا مِّنَ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
And [mention, O Muḥammad], when Moses said to his people, "O my people, remember the favor of Allāh upon you when He appointed among you prophets and made you possessors and gave you that which He had not given anyone among the worlds.
وَٱذْكُرُوٓا۟ إِذْ جَعَلَكُمْ خُلَفَآءَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ عَادٍ وَبَوَّأَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِن سُهُولِهَا قُصُورًا وَتَنْحِتُونَ ٱلْجِبَالَ بُيُوتًا ۖ فَٱذْكُرُوٓا۟ ءَالَآءَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْثَوْا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُفْسِدِينَ
And remember when He made you successors after the ʿAad and settled you in the land, [and] you take for yourselves palaces from its plains and carve from the mountains, homes. Then remember the favors of Allāh and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption."