قَالُوا۟ بَلْ وَجَدْنَآ ءَابَآءَنَا كَذَٰلِكَ يَفْعَلُونَ 74
Translations
They said, "But we found our fathers doing thus."
Transliteration
Qāloo bal wajadnā ābāʾanā kadhālika yafʿaloon
Tafsir (Explanation)
The disbelievers respond to Prophet Ibrahim's call away from idolatry by claiming they merely follow the religious practices of their forefathers. This ayah illustrates the spiritual blindness of those who reject monotheism, prioritizing ancestral tradition over rational reflection and divine guidance. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir note that this response exemplifies taqlīd al-ābāʾ (blind imitation of ancestors), which is condemned throughout the Quran as a barrier to faith and a weak excuse for rejecting truth.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within the narrative of Prophet Ibrahim confronting his people's idolatry in Surah Ash-Shu'ara (26:70-77). It reflects the historical resistance the Prophet faced when calling people to abandon idol worship, establishing a pattern of human resistance to divine truth that recurs throughout Meccan surahs. The dialogue illustrates the typical objections Muhammad's own people raised against his message of tawhīd.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad said: 'You follow the ways of those nations who came before you, hand span by hand span, cubit by cubit' (Sahih Bukhari 3456), illustrating how communities repeat the spiritual errors of their predecessors. Additionally, the Quran states: 'And when it is said to them, Follow what Allah has revealed, they say, Rather, we follow that upon which we found our fathers' (2:170), a directly parallel theme.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that tradition and cultural inheritance, while valuable, must always be examined against divine truth and reason; merely following ancestral practices without critical reflection is a form of spiritual negligence that prevents genuine understanding of faith.