۞ قَالَتْ رُسُلُهُمْ أَفِى ٱللَّهِ شَكٌّ فَاطِرِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ يَدْعُوكُمْ لِيَغْفِرَ لَكُم مِّن ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرَكُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا تُرِيدُونَ أَن تَصُدُّونَا عَمَّا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَا فَأْتُونَا بِسُلْطَـٰنٍ مُّبِينٍ 10
Translations
Their messengers said, "Can there be doubt about Allāh, Creator of the heavens and earth? He invites you that He may forgive you of your sins, and He delays you [i.e., your death] for a specified term." They said, "You are not but men like us who wish to avert us from what our fathers were worshipping. So bring us a clear authority [i.e., evidence]."
Transliteration
Qalat rusuluhum afi-llahi shakkun fatiri-s-samawati wa-l-ardi yadʿukum liyaghfira lakum min dhunubikum wa-yuʾakhkhirakum ila ajalin musammā. Qalu in antum illa basharun mithluna tureeduna an tasduduna ʿamma kana yaʿbudu abaʾuna faʾtuna bi-sultanin mubīn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
The messengers of the respective nations respond to their people's rejection by questioning how there can be doubt concerning Allah, the Creator of the heavens and earth, who calls them toward forgiveness and respite until their appointed term. The disbelievers counter with the argument that the messengers are merely human beings like themselves seeking to divert them from their ancestral worship, demanding clear proof (sultan mubīn) for their message. This exchange illustrates the fundamental tension between faith and human pride, where the disbelievers conflate the messenger's humanity with a lack of divine authority, a refutation Ibn Kathir notes appears throughout the Quran.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Ibrahim (Meccan period), which addresses the patterns of rejection messengers face across generations. The surah presents a dialogue between messengers and their peoples, depicting the repeated cycle of divine guidance being rejected due to tribal customs and the demand for miraculous proof. This particular exchange reflects the historical resistance faced by the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and earlier messengers when calling their nations to monotheism.
Related Hadiths
The principle is reflected in the hadith: 'The most hated person to Allah is a stubborn opponent in falsehood' (reported in various collections). Related thematically is the hadith in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet (ﷺ) stated that the signs and miracles were given to prove prophethood, yet people still disbelieved.
Themes
Key Lesson
True faith requires recognizing Allah's oneness and authority over creation beyond superficial objections based on a messenger's human nature; the ultimate proof lies in the message itself and one's openness to truth, not in dismissing guidance due to pride or attachment to inherited customs.
Related Ayahs
وَأَنذِرِ ٱلنَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ فَيَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ رَبَّنَآ أَخِّرْنَآ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُّجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ ٱلرُّسُلَ ۗ أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُوٓا۟ أَقْسَمْتُم مِّن قَبْلُ مَا لَكُم مِّن زَوَالٍ
And, [O Muḥammad], warn the people of a Day when the punishment will come to them and those who did wrong will say, "Our Lord, delay us for a short term; we will answer Your call and follow the messengers." [But it will be said], "Had you not sworn, before, that for you there would be no cessation?
ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ رِزْقًا لَّكُمْ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ ٱلْفُلْكَ لِتَجْرِىَ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِۦ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرَ
It is Allāh who created the heavens and the earth and sent down rain from the sky and produced thereby some fruits as provision for you and subjected for you the ships to sail through the sea by His command and subjected for you the rivers.
وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰٓ إِن تَكْفُرُوٓا۟ أَنتُمْ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَغَنِىٌّ حَمِيدٌ
And Moses said, "If you should disbelieve, you and whoever is on the earth entirely - indeed, Allāh is Free of need and Praiseworthy."
وَقَدْ مَكَرُوا۟ مَكْرَهُمْ وَعِندَ ٱللَّهِ مَكْرُهُمْ وَإِن كَانَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ ٱلْجِبَالُ
And they had planned their plan, but with Allāh is [recorded] their plan, even if their plan had been [sufficient] to do away with the mountains.