أَنتُمْ وَءَابَآؤُكُمُ ٱلْأَقْدَمُونَ 76
Translations
You and your ancient forefathers?
Transliteration
Antum wa ābbā'ukum al-aqdamūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the idolaters' argument that they worship the idols because their forefathers did so before them. Ibn Kathir explains that this represents the blindfold of blind following (taqlīd) without evidence or reason—the people were enslaved to the customs of their ancestors despite lacking any scriptural or logical basis for their polytheism. Al-Qurtubi notes that this ayah highlights how ignorance perpetuates across generations when people abandon critical thinking and simply inherit the beliefs of their predecessors.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Prophet Abraham's (Ibrāhīm) argument with his people, as recorded in Ash-Shu'ara (26:70-82). Abraham challenges his nation's idolatry, and the people respond by defending their practice through ancestral precedent. This represents a common objection the Meccan polytheists raised against the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, making this account relevant to the early Muslim community facing similar resistance.
Related Hadiths
The principle is echoed in a hadith where the Prophet ﷺ said: 'Everyone is born upon the fitrah (natural disposition), but his parents make him a Jew, Christian, or Magian' (Sahih Bukhari 1385). This highlights how inherited beliefs without conscious choice lead people astray from monotheism.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a timeless warning against accepting beliefs merely because they are inherited or culturally prevalent. Muslims are reminded to seek knowledge, verify their faith through Quranic evidence and prophetic guidance, and not blindly follow the customs of their society—a lesson especially relevant in contemporary contexts where cultural and social pressures often conflict with Islamic principles.
Related Ayahs
كَذَٰلِكَ سَلَكْنَـٰهُ فِى قُلُوبِ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
Thus have We inserted it [i.e., disbelief] into the hearts of the criminals.
فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
So fear Allāh and obey me."
مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ هَلْ يَنصُرُونَكُمْ أَوْ يَنتَصِرُونَ
Other than Allāh? Can they help you or help themselves?"
وَتَتَّخِذُونَ مَصَانِعَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَخْلُدُونَ
And take for yourselves constructions [i.e., palaces and fortresses] that you might abide eternally?