بَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فِى عِزَّةٍ وَشِقَاقٍ 2
Translations
But those who disbelieve are in pride and dissension.
Transliteration
Bal alladhīna kafarū fī izzatin wa-shiqāq
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the disbelievers as being in a state of arrogance (izzah) and opposition/discord (shiqāq) against Allah's truth and His Messenger. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the disbelievers clung to their power, wealth, and tribal pride while stubbornly rejecting the message, refusing to humble themselves before Allah. The ayah emphasizes that their rejection stems not from intellectual doubt but from spiritual arrogance and deliberate opposition to the divine truth.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the opening of Surah Sad, which addresses the stubbornness of the Meccan disbelievers who rejected the Quran despite its clarity. The surah was revealed during the Meccan period when the polytheists of Quraysh were at the height of their power and influence, making their arrogance a defining characteristic of their rejection of Islam.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Pride is despising the truth and belittling people' (Sahih Muslim 91). Additionally, 'The most hated of people to Allah is the most arrogant' relates thematically to those described in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
Arrogance and worldly status are among the greatest barriers to accepting truth and guidance; believers must guard against pride and remain humble before Allah, recognizing that true honor lies in submission to the Divine, not in rejecting it.
Related Ayahs
إِنَّا سَخَّرْنَا ٱلْجِبَالَ مَعَهُۥ يُسَبِّحْنَ بِٱلْعَشِىِّ وَٱلْإِشْرَاقِ
Indeed, We subjected the mountains [to praise] with him, exalting [Allāh] in the [late] afternoon and [after] sunrise.
وَءَاخَرِينَ مُقَرَّنِينَ فِى ٱلْأَصْفَادِ
And others bound together in irons.
قَالُوا۟ بَلْ أَنتُمْ لَا مَرْحَبًۢا بِكُمْ ۖ أَنتُمْ قَدَّمْتُمُوهُ لَنَا ۖ فَبِئْسَ ٱلْقَرَارُ
They will say, "Nor you! No welcome for you. You, [our leaders], brought this upon us, and wretched is the settlement."
قَالَ لَقَدْ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ نَعْجَتِكَ إِلَىٰ نِعَاجِهِۦ ۖ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ ٱلْخُلَطَآءِ لَيَبْغِى بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَّا هُمْ ۗ وَظَنَّ دَاوُۥدُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّـٰهُ فَٱسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُۥ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ ۩
[David] said, "He has certainly wronged you in demanding your ewe [in addition] to his ewes. And indeed, many associates oppress one another, except for those who believe and do righteous deeds - and few are they." And David became certain that We had tried him, and he asked forgiveness of his Lord and fell down bowing [in prostration] and turned in repentance [to Allāh].