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
فَأَصَابَهُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا۟ ۚ وَٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنْ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ سَيُصِيبُهُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا۟ وَمَا هُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ
And the evil consequences of what they earned struck them. And those who have wronged of these [people] will be struck [i.e., afflicted] by the evil consequences of what they earned; and they will not cause failure.
لَّوْ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ أَن يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدًا لَّٱصْطَفَىٰ مِمَّا يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ ۖ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْوَٰحِدُ ٱلْقَهَّارُ
If Allāh had intended to take a son, He could have chosen from what He creates whatever He willed. Exalted is He; He is Allāh, the One, the Prevailing.
لَـٰكِنِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ رَبَّهُمْ لَهُمْ غُرَفٌ مِّن فَوْقِهَا غُرَفٌ مَّبْنِيَّةٌ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ۖ وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ ۖ لَا يُخْلِفُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمِيعَادَ
But those who have feared their Lord - for them are chambers, above them chambers built high, beneath which rivers flow. [This is] the promise of Allāh. Allāh does not fail in [His] promise.
أَوْ تَقُولَ حِينَ تَرَى ٱلْعَذَابَ لَوْ أَنَّ لِى كَرَّةً فَأَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
Or [lest] it say when it sees the punishment, "If only I had another turn so I could be among the doers of good."