بَلْ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِمَا لَمْ يُحِيطُوا۟ بِعِلْمِهِۦ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِهِمْ تَأْوِيلُهُۥ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ 39
Translations
Rather, they have denied that which they encompass not in knowledge and whose interpretation has not yet come to them. Thus did those before them deny. Then observe how was the end of the wrongdoers.
Transliteration
Bal kadhdhabo bima lam yuhitoo bi'ilmihi wa lamma ya'tihim ta'weeluhu; kadhalika kadhdhaba alladhina min qablihim; fanthur kayfa kana 'aqibatu adh-dhalimeen.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah criticizes the disbelievers for rejecting the Qur'an without understanding it, denying what they have not yet comprehended fully. Ibn Kathir explains that the disbelievers rejected the Message hastily before witnessing its fulfillment and consequences, following the same pattern of those nations before them who denied their prophets. The ayah emphasizes that rejecting divine guidance based on ignorance leads to inevitable punishment, as demonstrated throughout history.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan surah of Yunus, which addresses the stubbornness of the Quraysh in rejecting the Qur'an despite its clear signs and miracles. The context reflects the early Meccan period when the disbelievers dismissed the Qur'an's teachings without proper reflection or knowledge, and it serves as a general warning applicable to all who reject truth without understanding.
Related Hadiths
Tirmidhi (2519): The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, 'The best of you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it.' This relates to the importance of understanding (not just rejecting) divine revelation. Additionally, the principle of rejecting without knowledge contradicts the Qur'anic injunction in 17:36 about not following what one has no knowledge of, as emphasized in numerous ahadith on the prohibition of spreading ignorance.
Themes
Key Lesson
Before rejecting any truth—especially divine guidance—one must first seek knowledge and understanding rather than acting on prejudice or incomplete information. The inevitable punishment of those who deny truth should serve as a sobering reminder that denying divine messages out of ignorance does not exempt one from accountability.
Related Ayahs
وَقَالَ ٱلْمَلَأُ مِن قَوْمِ فِرْعَوْنَ أَتَذَرُ مُوسَىٰ وَقَوْمَهُۥ لِيُفْسِدُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَيَذَرَكَ وَءَالِهَتَكَ ۚ قَالَ سَنُقَتِّلُ أَبْنَآءَهُمْ وَنَسْتَحْىِۦ نِسَآءَهُمْ وَإِنَّا فَوْقَهُمْ قَـٰهِرُونَ
And the eminent among the people of Pharaoh said, "Will you leave Moses and his people to cause corruption in the land and abandon you and your gods?" [Pharaoh] said, "We will kill their sons and keep their women alive; and indeed, we are subjugators over them."
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ وَإِلَى ٱلرَّسُولِ رَأَيْتَ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ يَصُدُّونَ عَنكَ صُدُودًا
And when it is said to them, "Come to what Allāh has revealed and to the Messenger," you see the hypocrites turning away from you in aversion.
وَحَسِبُوٓا۟ أَلَّا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ فَعَمُوا۟ وَصَمُّوا۟ ثُمَّ تَابَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ثُمَّ عَمُوا۟ وَصَمُّوا۟ كَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بَصِيرٌۢ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ
And they thought there would be no [resulting] punishment, so they became blind and deaf. Then Allāh turned to them in forgiveness; then [again] many of them became blind and deaf. And Allāh is Seeing of what they do.
إِنَّ شَرَّ ٱلدَّوَآبِّ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allāh are those who have disbelieved, and they will not [ever] believe-