۞ أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ بَدَّلُوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ كُفْرًا وَأَحَلُّوا۟ قَوْمَهُمْ دَارَ ٱلْبَوَارِ 28
Translations
Have you not considered those who exchanged the favor of Allāh for disbelief and settled their people [in] the home of ruin?
Transliteration
Alam tara ila alladhina baddalu ni'mata allahi kufran wa ahallu qawmahum dara al-bawar
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah rebukes those who exchange Allah's blessings (ni'mah) for disbelief and ingratitude, thereby leading their people toward destruction and ruin. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret this as referring to leaders and influencers who reject divine guidance and drag their communities into spiritual and temporal perdition. The ayah emphasizes the grave responsibility of those in positions of influence and the severe consequences of ungrateful rejection of Allah's favors.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within Surah Ibrahim, a Meccan chapter addressing the Meccan polytheists who rejected the Prophet Muhammad's message despite receiving numerous blessings from Allah. The broader context discusses how nations have rejected their prophets throughout history, making this ayah part of the surah's theme of warning against ingratitude and the destruction that follows disbelief.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The best of you are those who are best to their families, and I am the best among you to my family' (Tirmidhi). This relates thematically to the responsibility of leaders to guide their people correctly. Additionally, 'Whoever is grateful is grateful for the sake of his own soul' (Quran 31:12) emphasizes the importance of recognizing Allah's blessings.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that rejecting Allah's blessings through ingratitude and disbelief has destructive consequences not only for ourselves but for those under our influence. As individuals, we must cultivate gratitude for divine favors and use our positions of influence—however small—to guide others toward righteousness rather than leading them astray.
Related Ayahs
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى وَهَبَ لِى عَلَى ٱلْكِبَرِ إِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى لَسَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ
Praise to Allāh, who has granted to me in old age Ishmael and Isaac. Indeed, my Lord is the Hearer of supplication.
رَّبَّنَآ إِنِّىٓ أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِى بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِى زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ ٱلْمُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ فَٱجْعَلْ أَفْـِٔدَةً مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ تَهْوِىٓ إِلَيْهِمْ وَٱرْزُقْهُم مِّنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ
Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful.
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?
وَأُدْخِلَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ ۖ تَحِيَّتُهُمْ فِيهَا سَلَـٰمٌ
And those who believed and did righteous deeds will be admitted to gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein by permission of their Lord; and their greeting therein will be, "Peace!"