وَٱلَّذِينَ يَسْعَوْنَ فِىٓ ءَايَـٰتِنَا مُعَـٰجِزِينَ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ فِى ٱلْعَذَابِ مُحْضَرُونَ 38
Translations
And the ones who strive against Our verses to cause [them] failure - those will be brought into the punishment [to remain].
Transliteration
Wal-ladhina yas'aun fi ayatina mu'ajizin, ula'ika fil-adhabi muhdarun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to those who strive to invalidate or nullify Allah's signs and verses through defiance and obstruction, seeking to prevent others from believing in them. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir explain that such people who actively work against Allah's revelations with the intention of rendering them ineffective will be brought forward in the punishment on the Day of Judgment. The word 'mu'ajizin' (معاجزين) carries the sense of trying to frustrate Allah's will or escape His grip, which is impossible, making their punishment inevitable.
Revelation Context
Surah Saba is a Meccan chapter dealing with themes of monotheism, the Qur'an's authenticity, and the fate of those who reject Allah's message. This particular ayah fits within the broader context of the surah's warning against those who actively oppose and mock the divine signs rather than merely disbelieving passively.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Whoever works against my Sunnah is not from me' (Sahih Bukhari). Additionally, the principle of opposing Allah's signs is condemned in Hadith Qudsi where Allah states: 'Whoever shows enmity to My allies, I declare war upon him' (Sahih Bukhari).
Themes
Key Lesson
Active rejection and mockery of Allah's revelations carries severe consequences; believers should recognize that opposing divine truth is not merely a personal choice but an act of defiance against the Almighty that will be answered with punishment. This serves as a warning to guard one's heart against arrogance and to accept the signs of Allah with humility.
Related Ayahs
قُلْ أَرُونِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَلْحَقْتُم بِهِۦ شُرَكَآءَ ۖ كَلَّا ۚ بَلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
Say, "Show me those whom you have attached to Him as partners. No! Rather, He [alone] is Allāh, the Exalted in Might, the Wise."
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَا تَأْتِينَا ٱلسَّاعَةُ ۖ قُلْ بَلَىٰ وَرَبِّى لَتَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ عَـٰلِمِ ٱلْغَيْبِ ۖ لَا يَعْزُبُ عَنْهُ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَلَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَآ أَصْغَرُ مِن ذَٰلِكَ وَلَآ أَكْبَرُ إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍ مُّبِينٍ
But those who disbelieve say, "The Hour will not come to us." Say, "Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you. [Allāh is] the Knower of the unseen." Not absent from Him is an atom's weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than that or greater, except that it is in a clear register -
فَلَمَّا قَضَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ ٱلْمَوْتَ مَا دَلَّهُمْ عَلَىٰ مَوْتِهِۦٓ إِلَّا دَآبَّةُ ٱلْأَرْضِ تَأْكُلُ مِنسَأَتَهُۥ ۖ فَلَمَّا خَرَّ تَبَيَّنَتِ ٱلْجِنُّ أَن لَّوْ كَانُوا۟ يَعْلَمُونَ ٱلْغَيْبَ مَا لَبِثُوا۟ فِى ٱلْعَذَابِ ٱلْمُهِينِ
And when We decreed for him [i.e., Solomon] death, nothing indicated to them [i.e., the jinn] his death except a creature of the earth eating his staff. But when he fell, it became clear to the jinn that if they had known the unseen, they would not have remained in humiliating punishment.
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ بَلْ مَكْرُ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذْ تَأْمُرُونَنَآ أَن نَّكْفُرَ بِٱللَّهِ وَنَجْعَلَ لَهُۥٓ أَندَادًا ۚ وَأَسَرُّوا۟ ٱلنَّدَامَةَ لَمَّا رَأَوُا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلْأَغْلَـٰلَ فِىٓ أَعْنَاقِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ۚ هَلْ يُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, "Rather, [it was your] conspiracy of night and day when you were ordering us to disbelieve in Allāh and attribute to Him equals." But they will [all] confide regret when they see the punishment; and We will put shackles on the necks of those who disbelieved. Will they be recompensed except for what they used to do?