قَالَ إِنَّ رَسُولَكُمُ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ لَمَجْنُونٌ 27
Translations
[Pharaoh] said, "Indeed, your 'messenger' who has been sent to you is mad."
Transliteration
Qāla inna rasūlakum alladhī ursula ilaikum lamajnūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
Pharaoh dismisses Prophet Moses by claiming that the messenger sent to them is possessed or mad (majnūn). This represents the typical response of disbelievers who, unable to refute the clear signs and message, resort to character attacks and baseless accusations against the messenger. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir note that this rhetorical strategy was common among the polytheists, as they lacked rational counterarguments to the truth brought by the prophets.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within Surah Ash-Shu'ara, a Meccan chapter recounting the stories of various prophets and their rejection by their peoples. The broader context describes Pharaoh's arrogant response to Moses's message and his delegation of nobles. This reflects the historical confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh, illustrating the pattern of prophetic rejection across generations.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Bukhari (3611): The Prophet Muhammad said, 'The best among you are those with the best manners and character,' highlighting how character and sanity are virtues the Prophet embodied, contrasting with false accusations. Additionally, the Qur'an itself (68:51) addresses similar accusations: 'And indeed, those who disbelieve almost make you slip with their eyes when they hear the message.'
Themes
Key Lesson
When facing truth and clear signs, those attached to falsehood often resort to personal attacks rather than rational discourse. Believers should remain steadfast when their character or sanity is questioned for upholding the truth, knowing that such accusations are the refuge of those without substantive arguments.
Related Ayahs
أُبَلِّغُكُمْ رِسَـٰلَـٰتِ رَبِّى وَأَنصَحُ لَكُمْ وَأَعْلَمُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
I convey to you the messages of my Lord and advise you; and I know from Allāh what you do not know.
فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ ٱلرَّجْفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ فِى دَارِهِمْ جَـٰثِمِينَ
So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone.
فَلَمَّا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا نَجَّيْنَا صَـٰلِحًا وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِّنَّا وَمِنْ خِزْىِ يَوْمِئِذٍ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ ٱلْقَوِىُّ ٱلْعَزِيزُ
So when Our command came, We saved Ṣāliḥ and those who believed with him, by mercy from Us, and [saved them] from the disgrace of that day. Indeed, it is your Lord who is the Powerful, the Exalted in Might.
۞ فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّآ أَن قَالُوٓا۟ أَخْرِجُوٓا۟ ءَالَ لُوطٍ مِّن قَرْيَتِكُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ
But the answer of his people was not except that they said, "Expel the family of Lot from your city. Indeed, they are people who keep themselves pure."