Surah 16

Surah 16:24

"When it is said to them, ‘What has your Lord sent down?,’ they say, ‘Old tales!’"
The Destruction of the Disbelievers and Intensification of their Punishment for rejecting the Revelation Verses 16:24-25
Show Full Scripture Context (16:24-25) — 2 Verses
Verse 24

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُم مَّاذَآ أَنزَلَ رَبُّكُمۡ قَالُوٓاْ أَسَٰطِيرُ ٱلۡأَوَّلِينَ

When it is said to them, ‘What has your Lord sent down?,’ they say, ‘Old tales!’

Verse 25

لِيَحۡمِلُوٓاْ أَوۡزَارَهُمۡ كَامِلَةٗ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِ وَمِنۡ أَوۡزَارِ ٱلَّذِينَ يُضِلُّونَهُم بِغَيۡرِ عِلۡمٍۗ أَلَا سَآءَ مَا يَزِرُونَ

– that they may bear their own burdens fully on the Day of Resurrection, and (also) some of the burdens of those whom they led astray without (their) realizing (it). Evil is what they will bear!

Quoted Scripture
"24. And when it is said to them : "What is it that your Lord has revealed?" They say : "Tales of the men of old!""

"25. They will bear their own burdens in full on the Day of Resurrection, and also the burdens of those whom they misled without knowledge. Evil indeed is that which they shall bear !"

Allah informs us that when it is said to those liars,

{"What is it that your Lord has revealed?" They say,} not wanting to answer,

Quoted Scripture
""Tales of the men of old !""

meaning nothing is revealed to him, what he is reciting to us is just tales of the men of old, taken from the previous Books. As Allah says,

{And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon."} (25:5)

i.e., they tell lies against the Messenger and say things contradicting one another, but all of it is false, as Allah says,

{Look at the parables they make of you, so they have gone astray, and they are not able to find the right way.} (17:48)

Once they have gone beyond the bounds of the truth, whatever they say will be in error. They used to say that he (the Prophet) was a sorcerer, a poet, a soothsayer, or a madman, then they settled on an idea proposed by their leader, an individual known as Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah Al-Makhzumi, when:

{He thought, and plotted. So let him be cursed, how he plotted! And once more let him be cursed, how he plotted! Then he thought. Then he frowned and he looked in a bad tempered way; then he turned back, and was proud. Then he said: "This is nothing but the magic of old."} (74:18-24)

meaning something that had been transmitted and passed down. So they dispersed having agreed on this opinion, may Allah punish them.

Quoted Scripture
"They will bear their own burdens in full on the Day of Resurrection, and also of the burdens of those whom they misled without knowledge."

meaning, 'We decreed that they would say that, so they will carry the burden of their own sins and some of the burden of those who followed them and agreed with them,' i.e., they will be held guilty not only for going astray themselves, but also for tempting others and having them follow them. As it says in a Hadith :

«Whoever invites people to guidance, he will receive a reward like that of those who follow him, without diminishing their reward in the least. And whoever invites people to misguidance, he will bear a burden of sin like that of those who follow him, without diminishing their burden in the least.»

Allah says;

{They shall bear their own loads, and other loads besides their own; and they shall be questioned about their false allegations on the Day of Resurrection} (29:13)

Al-'Awfi reported from Ibn 'Abbas that it is like the Ayah:

{That they may bear their own burdens in full on the Day of Resurrection, and also of the burdens of those whom they misled without knowledge} (16:25)

Allah says,

{They shall bear their own loads, and other loads besides their own} (29: 13).

Mujahid said: "They will bear the burden of their own sins, and they will bear the sins of those who obeyed them, but that will not lessen the punishment of those who obeyed them at all."

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.