۞ قَـٰلَ أَوَلَوْ جِئْتُكُم بِأَهْدَىٰ مِمَّا وَجَدتُّمْ عَلَيْهِ ءَابَآءَكُمْ ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا بِمَآ أُرْسِلْتُم بِهِۦ كَـٰفِرُونَ 24
Translations
[Each warner] said, "Even if I brought you better guidance than that [religion] upon which you found your fathers?" They said, "Indeed we, in that with which you were sent, are disbelievers."
Transliteration
Qāla a-wa-law ji'tukum bi-ahdā mimmā wajadtum 'alayhi ābā'akum qālū innā bi-mā ursiltum bihi kāfirūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
In this ayah, the Prophet (referenced in context) presents a rhetorical challenge to those who blindly follow their forefathers' ways, asking if they would accept guidance superior to what their ancestors followed. The people's defiant response—'We reject whatever you have been sent with'—demonstrates their stubborn adherence to ancestral tradition over truth. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize that this exchange illustrates how taqlīd (blind following) of ancestors becomes a barrier to accepting divine guidance, regardless of its clarity and superiority.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within Surah Az-Zukhruf, a Meccan surah that addresses the Quraysh's resistance to Prophet Muhammad's message. The immediate context involves the people's objection that they found their fathers upon a certain way, and this ayah presents the Prophet's response challenging the validity of ancestral tradition as a justification for rejecting monotheism and divine revelation.
Related Hadiths
The Quranic principle reflected here is supported by the hadith: 'Everyone is born upon the fitrah (natural disposition), but his parents make him Jewish, Christian, or Magian' (Sahih Bukhari 1385). This emphasizes that inherited religion without personal conviction contradicts natural human understanding.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that following ancestral practices without rational examination or acceptance of superior truth is a fundamental error that prevents spiritual growth. Believers must evaluate teachings on their merit and alignment with divine guidance rather than defending them merely because they are inherited customs.