سُوْرَةُ الْفُرْقَانِ
Surah Al-Furqaan (25) — Ayah 21
۞ وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ لِقَآءَنَا لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ أَوْ نَرَىٰ رَبَّنَا ۗ لَقَدِ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَعَتَوْ عُتُوًّا كَبِيرًا ﴿21﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And those who expect not a Meeting with Us (i.e. those who deny the Day of Resurrection and the life of the Hereafter) said: "Why are not the angels sent down to us, or why do we not see our Lord?" Indeed they think too highly of themselves, and are scornful with great pride.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
۞ وَقَالَ
waqāla
And said
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
those who
لَا
lā
(do) not
يَرْجُونَ
yarjūna
expect
لِقَآءَنَا
liqāanā
(the) meeting with Us
لَوْلَآ
lawlā
Why not
أُنزِلَ
unzila
are sent down
عَلَيْنَا
ʿalaynā
to us
ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ
l-malāikatu
the Angels
أَوْ
aw
or
نَرَىٰ
narā
we see
رَبَّنَا ۗ
rabbanā
our Lord
لَقَدِ
laqadi
Indeed
ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟
is'takbarū
they have become arrogant
فِىٓ
fī
within
أَنفُسِهِمْ
anfusihim
themselves
وَعَتَوْ
waʿataw
and (become) insolent
عُتُوًّۭا
ʿutuwwan
(with) insolence
كَبِيرًۭا
kabīran
great
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 21) ➊ {وَ قَالَ الَّذِيْنَ لَا يَرْجُوْنَ لِقَآءَنَا …:} This is the fourth objection of the deniers of the Prophethood of this Prophet (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty, instead of saying {’’وَقَالُوْا‘‘} (And they said) or {’’وَ قَالَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا‘‘} (And those who disbelieved said), said: «{وَ قَالَ الَّذِيْنَ لَا يَرْجُوْنَ لِقَآءَنَا }» (And those who do not expect to meet Us said), meaning they dared to be so insolent because they do not expect to meet Us. Let alone certainty, if they even had hope of the Resurrection and being presented before Us, such a grave statement would not have come from their mouths.
➋ The deniers said, “(If an angel descends with revelation upon this Prophet,) why are angels not sent down upon us, or why does it not happen that we see our Lord (with our own eyes)?” This is such a statement that no human has the right to dare utter, because it is an objection against that Pure Being whose greatness has no limit and whose wisdoms cannot be known. Therefore, Allah Almighty, with words {’’ لَقَدْ ‘‘} that carry the meaning of an oath, said that I swear these people have become very arrogant in their hearts and have adopted such rebellion which is a very great rebellion. Whereas, in reality, they have no greatness, nor in the eyes of people. Another meaning of the verse could be: why did it not happen that angels descended with this Prophet, or the Lord Himself came forward to confirm him. As if, for them, the clear miracles of the Prophet, especially the Qur’an, have no value, even though they could not produce the like of a single surah.
➌ Allah Almighty has mentioned this objection of the disbelievers at several other places as well. Thus, in Surah Al-An’am, He said: «{ وَ اِذَا جَآءَتْهُمْ اٰيَةٌ قَالُوْا لَنْ نُّؤْمِنَ حَتّٰى نُؤْتٰى مِثْلَ مَاۤ اُوْتِيَ رُسُلُ اللّٰهِ اَللّٰهُ اَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهٗ سَيُصِيْبُ الَّذِيْنَ اَجْرَمُوْا صَغَارٌ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ وَ عَذَابٌ شَدِيْدٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوْا يَمْكُرُوْنَ }» [ الأنعام : ۱۲۴ ] “And when a sign comes to them, they say, ‘We will never believe until we are given the like of what was given to Allah’s messengers.’ Allah knows best where to place His message. Soon, those who committed crimes will be afflicted with humiliation from Allah and a severe punishment for what they used to plot.” And in Surah Bani Isra’il, verses (90 to 93), the demands are mentioned which they presented as conditions for believing in the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), among which was this demand: «{ اَوْ تَاْتِيَ بِاللّٰهِ وَ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةِ قَبِيْلًا }» [ بني إسرائیل : ۹۲ ] “Or you bring Allah and the angels before us.”
➍ Allah Almighty declared this to be great arrogance and great rebellion because they demanded for every person the rank of a Prophet, which would be attained by the descent of an angel. (See Al-Muddathir: 52, 53) Then they did not stop there, but demanded the descent of several angels who would bring Allah’s message to them. They went even further and demanded to see the Lord Himself. As if, they demanded things that were not even granted to the Prophets. Here, a question arises: the request to see Allah was also made by Musa (peace be upon him), so why was that not called arrogance? The answer is that Musa (peace be upon him) did not make the request to see Allah as a condition of faith, but out of longing.
➋ The deniers said, “(If an angel descends with revelation upon this Prophet,) why are angels not sent down upon us, or why does it not happen that we see our Lord (with our own eyes)?” This is such a statement that no human has the right to dare utter, because it is an objection against that Pure Being whose greatness has no limit and whose wisdoms cannot be known. Therefore, Allah Almighty, with words {’’ لَقَدْ ‘‘} that carry the meaning of an oath, said that I swear these people have become very arrogant in their hearts and have adopted such rebellion which is a very great rebellion. Whereas, in reality, they have no greatness, nor in the eyes of people. Another meaning of the verse could be: why did it not happen that angels descended with this Prophet, or the Lord Himself came forward to confirm him. As if, for them, the clear miracles of the Prophet, especially the Qur’an, have no value, even though they could not produce the like of a single surah.
➌ Allah Almighty has mentioned this objection of the disbelievers at several other places as well. Thus, in Surah Al-An’am, He said: «{ وَ اِذَا جَآءَتْهُمْ اٰيَةٌ قَالُوْا لَنْ نُّؤْمِنَ حَتّٰى نُؤْتٰى مِثْلَ مَاۤ اُوْتِيَ رُسُلُ اللّٰهِ اَللّٰهُ اَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهٗ سَيُصِيْبُ الَّذِيْنَ اَجْرَمُوْا صَغَارٌ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ وَ عَذَابٌ شَدِيْدٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوْا يَمْكُرُوْنَ }» [ الأنعام : ۱۲۴ ] “And when a sign comes to them, they say, ‘We will never believe until we are given the like of what was given to Allah’s messengers.’ Allah knows best where to place His message. Soon, those who committed crimes will be afflicted with humiliation from Allah and a severe punishment for what they used to plot.” And in Surah Bani Isra’il, verses (90 to 93), the demands are mentioned which they presented as conditions for believing in the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), among which was this demand: «{ اَوْ تَاْتِيَ بِاللّٰهِ وَ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةِ قَبِيْلًا }» [ بني إسرائیل : ۹۲ ] “Or you bring Allah and the angels before us.”
➍ Allah Almighty declared this to be great arrogance and great rebellion because they demanded for every person the rank of a Prophet, which would be attained by the descent of an angel. (See Al-Muddathir: 52, 53) Then they did not stop there, but demanded the descent of several angels who would bring Allah’s message to them. They went even further and demanded to see the Lord Himself. As if, they demanded things that were not even granted to the Prophets. Here, a question arises: the request to see Allah was also made by Musa (peace be upon him), so why was that not called arrogance? The answer is that Musa (peace be upon him) did not make the request to see Allah as a condition of faith, but out of longing.
