Surah 74

Surah 74:20

"Once again, may he perish (for) how he decided!"
A Threat for Whoever claims that the Qur'an is Magic Verses 74:11-30
Show Full Scripture Context (74:11-30) — 20 Verses
Verse 11

ذَرۡنِي وَمَنۡ خَلَقۡتُ وَحِيدٗا

Leave Me (to deal with) him whom I created alone,

Verse 12

وَجَعَلۡتُ لَهُۥ مَالٗا مَّمۡدُودٗا

and for whom I supplied extensive wealth,

Verse 13

وَبَنِينَ شُهُودٗا

and sons as witnesses,

Verse 14

وَمَهَّدتُّ لَهُۥ تَمۡهِيدٗا

and made everything smooth for him.

Verse 15

ثُمَّ يَطۡمَعُ أَنۡ أَزِيدَ

Then he is eager that I should do more.

Verse 16

كَلَّآۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لِأٓيَٰتِنَا عَنِيدٗا

By no means! He is stubborn to Our signs.

Verse 17

سَأُرۡهِقُهُۥ صَعُودًا

I shall burden him with a hard climb.

Verse 18

إِنَّهُۥ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ

Surely he thought and decided –

Verse 19

فَقُتِلَ كَيۡفَ قَدَّرَ

so may he perish (for) how he decided!

Verse 20

ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيۡفَ قَدَّرَ

Once again, may he perish (for) how he decided!

Verse 21

ثُمَّ نَظَرَ

Then he looked,

Verse 22

ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ

then he frowned and scowled,

Verse 23

ثُمَّ أَدۡبَرَ وَٱسۡتَكۡبَرَ

then he turned back and became arrogant,

Verse 24

فَقَالَ إِنۡ هَٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحۡرٞ يُؤۡثَرُ

and said, ‘This is nothing but ordinary magic.

Verse 25

إِنۡ هَٰذَآ إِلَّا قَوۡلُ ٱلۡبَشَرِ

This is nothing but the word of a human being.’

Verse 26

سَأُصۡلِيهِ سَقَرَ

I shall burn him in Saqar!

Verse 27

وَمَآ أَدۡرَىٰكَ مَا سَقَرُ

And what will make you know what Saqar is?

Verse 28

لَا تُبۡقِي وَلَا تَذَرُ

It spares nothing, and leaves nothing,

Verse 29

لَوَّاحَةٞ لِّلۡبَشَرِ

scorching all flesh.

Verse 30

عَلَيۡهَا تِسۡعَةَ عَشَرَ

Over it are nineteen.

Allah threatens this wicked person whom He has favored with the blessings of this world, yet he is ungrateful for the blessings of Allah and he meets them with disbelief (in Allah) and rejection of His Ayat. He invents lies against Allah's Ayat and claims that they are the words of a man. Allah recounts to him His favors upon him when He says, (Leave Me alone (to deal) with whom I created lonely.) meaning, he came out of the womb of his mother alone, without any wealth or children. Then, Allah provided him with (resources in abundance.) meaning, vast and abundant. Allah then made for him, (And children attending.) Mujahid said, "They are not absent." This means that they are present with him. They do not travel for business and trade. Rather, their servants and hired workers handle all of that for them while they are sitting with their father. He enjoys their company and delights in being with them. According to what has been stated by As-Suddi, Abu Malik and 'Asim bin 'Umar bin Qatadah, they were thirteen (children) in number. Ibn 'Abbas and Mujahid said that they were ten. This was a great blessing in their living with him. (And made life smooth and comfortable for him.) meaning, 'I made possible for him to amass wealth, luxuries and other than that.' (After all that he desires that I should give more. Nay! Verily, he has been opposing Our Ayat.) meaning, obstinate. This refers to his ungratefulness for his blessings after knowing (these blessings). Allah says. (I shall force him to Sa'ud!) Qatadah reported from Ibn 'Abbas that he said, "Sa'ud is a rock in Hell that the disbeliever will be dragged across on his face." As-Suddi said, "Sa'ud is a slippery rock in Hell that he will be forced to climb." Mujahid said, (I shall force him to Sa'ud!) "This is a harsh portion of the torment." Qatadah said, "It is a torment that contains no pleasure (or relaxation)." Concerning Allah's statement, (Verily, he thought and plotted.) meaning, 'We only will force him to a harsh torment because he thought and plotted.' This means that he contemplated what he should say about the Qur'an when he was asked about it, so he thought and plotted. He deliberated with himself and gathered his thoughts, (So let him be cursed, how he plotted! And once more let him be cursed, how he plotted!) This is a supplication against him. (Then he thought.) meaning, he thought again. (Then he frowned) meaning, he contracted his eyebrows together. (and he looked in a bad tempered way;) meaning, he scowled and was disgusted. Concerning Allah's statement, (Then he turned back, and was proud.) meaning, he turned away from the truth and was arrogant towards submitting to the Qur'an. (Then he said: "This is nothing but magic from that of old.") meaning, 'this is magic that Muhammad received from those who were before him, and he is merely saying what he got from them.' This is why he said, (This is nothing but the word of a human being!) meaning, it is not the Words of Allah. The person who is mentioned in this discussion is Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah Al-Makhzumi. He was one of the chiefs of the Quraysh - may Allah curse him. Among the narrations about this is what was reported by Al-'Awfi from Ibn 'Abbas. He (Ibn 'Abbas) said, "Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah entered the house of Abu Bakr bin Abi Quhafah and asked him about the Qur'an. When Abu Bakr informed him about it, he left and went to the Quraysh saying, 'What a great thing this is that Ibn Abi Kabshah is saying. I swear by Allah that it is not poetry, nor magic, nor the prattling of insanity. Verily, his speech is from the Words of Allah!' So when a group of the Quraysh heard this they gathered and said, 'By Allah, if Al-Walid converts (to Islam) all of the Quraysh will convert.' When Abu Jahl bin Hisham heard this he said, 'By Allah, I will deal with him for you.' So he went to Al-Walid's house and entered upon him. He said to Al-Walid, 'Don't you see that your people are collecting charity for you?' Al-Walid replied, 'Don't I have more wealth and children than they do?' Abu Jahl answered, 'They are saying that you only went to Ibn Abi Quhafah's house so that you can get some of his food.' Al-Walid then said, 'Is this what my tribe is saying? Nay, by Allah, I am not seeking to be close to Ibn Abi Quhafah, nor 'Umar, nor Ibn Abi Kabshah. And his speech is only inherited magic of old.' So Allah revealed to His Messenger, (Leave me alone with whom I created lonely.) until His statement, (It spares not, nor does it leave (anything)!)" Qatadah said, "They claim that he (Al-Walid) said, 'By Allah, I thought about what the man says, and it is not poetry. Verily, it has a sweetness and it is truly elegant. Verily, it is exalted and it is not overcome. And I have no doubt that it is magic.' So Allah revealed, (Leave Me alone (to deal) with whom I created lonely.)"

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.