سُوْرَةُ سَبَاٍ
Surah Saba (34) — Ayah 53
وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا۟ بِهِۦ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَيَقْذِفُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ مِن مَّكَانٍۭ بَعِيدٍ ﴿53﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Indeed they did disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allâh, Islâm, the Qur’ân and Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) before (in this world), and they (used to) conjecture about the Unseen [i.e. the Hereafter, Hell, Paradise, Resurrection and the Promise of Allâh (by saying) all that is untrue], from a far place.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَقَدْ
waqad
And certainly
كَفَرُوا۟
kafarū
they disbelieved
بِهِۦ
bihi
in it
مِن
min
before
قَبْلُ ۖ
qablu
before
وَيَقْذِفُونَ
wayaqdhifūna
And they utter conjectures
بِٱلْغَيْبِ
bil-ghaybi
about the unseen
مِن
min
from
مَّكَانٍۭ
makānin
a place
بَعِيدٍۢ
baʿīdin
far off
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 53) ➊ {وَ قَدْ كَفَرُوْا بِهٖ مِنْ قَبْلُ:} That is, before this, when it was time to believe, they persisted in disbelief along with it.
➋ { وَ يَقْذِفُوْنَ بِالْغَيْبِ مِنْ مَّكَانٍۭ بَعِيْدٍ :} "Unseen" means without seeing. If a stone or arrow is thrown from a distance, and then thrown at a target that is not even seen, how can that stone or arrow reach the target? That is, these people persisted in denying the oneness of Allah Almighty, His Messenger, and the Hereafter in the world, and without knowing anything about them, kept making various statements—sometimes mocking the Messenger, calling him mad, a sorcerer, a liar; sometimes taunting the believers; sometimes declaring life after death impossible. In short, they kept uttering whatever came to their mouths with boldness and fearlessness, and they themselves admitted that whatever they were saying was based on conjecture, as He said: « اِنْ نَّظُنُّ اِلَّا ظَنًّا وَّ مَا نَحْنُ بِمُسْتَيْقِنِيْنَ» [ الجاثیۃ : ۳۲ ] "We only have a slight conjecture, and we are by no means certain." The reality is that no one adopts the beliefs of polytheism, atheism, and denial of the Hereafter based on certainty, nor can they. The entire structure of disbelief is based solely on assumption and conjecture, not on knowledge and certainty.
➋ { وَ يَقْذِفُوْنَ بِالْغَيْبِ مِنْ مَّكَانٍۭ بَعِيْدٍ :} "Unseen" means without seeing. If a stone or arrow is thrown from a distance, and then thrown at a target that is not even seen, how can that stone or arrow reach the target? That is, these people persisted in denying the oneness of Allah Almighty, His Messenger, and the Hereafter in the world, and without knowing anything about them, kept making various statements—sometimes mocking the Messenger, calling him mad, a sorcerer, a liar; sometimes taunting the believers; sometimes declaring life after death impossible. In short, they kept uttering whatever came to their mouths with boldness and fearlessness, and they themselves admitted that whatever they were saying was based on conjecture, as He said: « اِنْ نَّظُنُّ اِلَّا ظَنًّا وَّ مَا نَحْنُ بِمُسْتَيْقِنِيْنَ» [ الجاثیۃ : ۳۲ ] "We only have a slight conjecture, and we are by no means certain." The reality is that no one adopts the beliefs of polytheism, atheism, and denial of the Hereafter based on certainty, nor can they. The entire structure of disbelief is based solely on assumption and conjecture, not on knowledge and certainty.
