قَدْ قَالَهَا ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَمَآ أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ 50
Translations
Those before them had already said it, but they were not availed by what they used to earn.
Transliteration
Qad qaalahaa allatheena min qablihim famaa aghna AAanhum maa kanoo yaksiboona
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the disbelievers' claim that they will not be punished because of their wealth and children (as mentioned in the preceding verse 39:49). Allah responds that previous nations before them made identical excuses, yet their worldly possessions and earnings provided them no protection from Allah's punishment when it came. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize that this demonstrates the futility of relying on material wealth as a shield against divine justice, and that history repeats this pattern of rejected warning.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of a Meccan surah addressing the polytheists' arrogance and false sense of security. It comes in a passage where Allah refutes the disbelievers' excuse that their wealth and children guarantee them safety, by referencing historical precedents of destroyed civilizations who held the same delusion.
Related Hadiths
The theme relates to the hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Wealth and children are adornments of worldly life, but the everlasting good deeds are better' (Quran 18:46). Additionally, various hadiths warn against reliance on material possessions for spiritual security.
Themes
Key Lesson
Material wealth and possessions cannot protect one from accountability before Allah; throughout history, those who relied on their riches while rejecting divine guidance all perished. This teaches believers to seek true security in obedience to Allah rather than in material accumulation.
Related Ayahs
۞ قُلْ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
لِيُكَفِّرَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ أَسْوَأَ ٱلَّذِى عَمِلُوا۟ وَيَجْزِيَهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ ٱلَّذِى كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
That Allāh may remove from them the worst of what they did and reward them their due for the best of what they used to do.
فَأَذَاقَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخِزْىَ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَعَذَابُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ
So Allāh made them taste disgrace in worldly life. But the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew.
خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَٰحِدَةٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَأَنزَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ ثَمَـٰنِيَةَ أَزْوَٰجٍ ۚ يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِى بُطُونِ أُمَّهَـٰتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِّنۢ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ فِى ظُلُمَـٰتٍ ثَلَـٰثٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمُ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ ٱلْمُلْكُ ۖ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ تُصْرَفُونَ
He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate, and He produced for you from the grazing livestock eight mates. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses. That is Allāh, your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?