وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ وَلَا بِٱلَّذِى بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ ۗ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ مَوْقُوفُونَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يَرْجِعُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ٱلْقَوْلَ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ لَوْلَآ أَنتُمْ لَكُنَّا مُؤْمِنِينَ 31
Translations
And those who disbelieve say, "We will never believe in this Qur’ān nor in that before it." But if you could see when the wrongdoers are made to stand before their Lord, refuting each others' words... Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, "If not for you, we would have been believers."
Transliteration
Wa-qala alladhina kafaru lan nu'min bi-hadha al-Qur'ani wa-la bi-alladhī bayna yadayhi. Wa-law tara idha al-dhalimun mawqufun inda rabbihim yarji'u ba'duhum ila ba'din al-qawl yaqulu alladhina istud'ifu li-alladhina istakbaru law-la antum lakunnā mu'minīn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
The disbelievers arrogantly declare they will never believe in the Qur'an or the scriptures before it. Allah then addresses the Prophet with a vivid scene of the Day of Judgment, where the oppressors and the oppressed stand before their Lord, and the weak confess that they were led astray by the arrogance of the powerful, saying 'Had it not been for you, we would have been believers.' According to Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir, this ayah demonstrates that on the Day of Judgment, the followers will blame their leaders for leading them into disbelief, absolving themselves of responsibility.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Saba, a Meccan surah that addresses the arrogance of the Meccan polytheists who rejected the Qur'an. The broader context discusses the rejection of prophetic messages and warns of the inevitable confrontation with truth on the Day of Judgment, when all excuses and blaming will be exposed.
Related Hadiths
Hadith in Sahih Muslim: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Whoever calls to guidance will receive a reward similar to the reward of those who follow him without diminishing their reward, and whoever calls to misguidance will incur a sin similar to the sin of those who follow him without diminishing their sin.' This relates to the theme of leadership responsibility and followers' accountability.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that no one can shift complete blame onto others on the Day of Judgment—each soul bears responsibility for their choices—yet it also warns leaders and influencers that they will be held accountable for misleading others. Muslims should examine their own agency in faith and resist blindly following others into disbelief or sin.