سُوْرَةُ الْاَنْۣبِيَآءِ
Surah Al-Anbiyaa (21) — Ayah 3
لَاهِيَةً قُلُوبُهُمْ ۗ وَأَسَرُّوا۟ ٱلنَّجْوَى ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ هَلْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ ۖ أَفَتَأْتُونَ ٱلسِّحْرَ وَأَنتُمْ تُبْصِرُونَ ﴿3﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
With their hearts occupied (with evil things). Those who do wrong, conceal their private counsels, (saying): "Is this (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) more than a human being like you? Will you submit to magic while you see it?"
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
لَاهِيَةًۭ
lāhiyatan
Distracted
قُلُوبُهُمْ ۗ
qulūbuhum
their hearts
وَأَسَرُّوا۟
wa-asarrū
And they conceal
ٱلنَّجْوَى
l-najwā
the private conversation
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
those who
ظَلَمُوا۟
ẓalamū
[they] wronged
هَلْ
hal
Is
هَـٰذَآ
hādhā
this
إِلَّا
illā
except
بَشَرٌۭ
basharun
a human being
مِّثْلُكُمْ ۖ
mith'lukum
like you
أَفَتَأْتُونَ
afatatūna
So would you approach
ٱلسِّحْرَ
l-siḥ'ra
the magic
وَأَنتُمْ
wa-antum
while you
تُبْصِرُونَ
tub'ṣirūna
see (it)
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
3. Their hearts are distracted with other matters, and these wrongdoers confer in secret, saying: "Is this not but a human being like yourselves [4]? Will you then be ensnared by his magic with your eyes wide open?"
[4]
What Measures Did the Chiefs of Quraysh Take to Protect Themselves from the "Magic" of the Quran?
The Quraysh of Makkah were staunch opponents of the message of the Quran, but they themselves acknowledged its style, eloquence, and magical-like effect, and for this reason, they called the Quran "magic." To prevent the influence of this "magic," they initially adopted the method that all the chiefs of Quraysh made an agreement together to impose a ban on listening to and reciting the Quran as much as possible. The ban on listening was imposed upon themselves, but even these Qurayshi chiefs could not abide by this restriction and would secretly listen to the Quran themselves, because their hearts and their minds wanted to enjoy the delight of the Quran. Thus, once, three chiefs were standing around the Ka'bah at night, listening to your recitation of the Quran. Later, when this secret was revealed, one of the chiefs asked Abu Jahl, "What do you think about the Quran you have heard?" Instead of giving a proper answer to this question, he turned the conversation in another direction and said, "We and Banu Abd Manaf were equal in everything; now how can we accept their superiority by accepting their Prophet?" [ابن هشام: ص 108]
From Abu Jahl's answer, two things become clear. First, that all the Qurayshi chiefs were affected by the influence of the Quran, and second, that the only thing preventing them from accepting his ﷺ prophethood was not just that he was a human being, but there were several other reasons as well. And they had imposed a ban on Muslims reciting the Quran aloud, because they feared that their women and children would be influenced by listening to the Quran, and this ban remained in place on the Muslims until the Hijrah of the Prophet ﷺ. In addition, they adopted another measure: whenever the Quran was being recited somewhere, they would create a lot of noise and commotion so that the sound of the Quran would not reach anyone's ears. These were the methods they adopted to protect themselves from the harm of this "magic."
[4]
What Measures Did the Chiefs of Quraysh Take to Protect Themselves from the "Magic" of the Quran?
The Quraysh of Makkah were staunch opponents of the message of the Quran, but they themselves acknowledged its style, eloquence, and magical-like effect, and for this reason, they called the Quran "magic." To prevent the influence of this "magic," they initially adopted the method that all the chiefs of Quraysh made an agreement together to impose a ban on listening to and reciting the Quran as much as possible. The ban on listening was imposed upon themselves, but even these Qurayshi chiefs could not abide by this restriction and would secretly listen to the Quran themselves, because their hearts and their minds wanted to enjoy the delight of the Quran. Thus, once, three chiefs were standing around the Ka'bah at night, listening to your recitation of the Quran. Later, when this secret was revealed, one of the chiefs asked Abu Jahl, "What do you think about the Quran you have heard?" Instead of giving a proper answer to this question, he turned the conversation in another direction and said, "We and Banu Abd Manaf were equal in everything; now how can we accept their superiority by accepting their Prophet?" [ابن هشام: ص 108]
From Abu Jahl's answer, two things become clear. First, that all the Qurayshi chiefs were affected by the influence of the Quran, and second, that the only thing preventing them from accepting his ﷺ prophethood was not just that he was a human being, but there were several other reasons as well. And they had imposed a ban on Muslims reciting the Quran aloud, because they feared that their women and children would be influenced by listening to the Quran, and this ban remained in place on the Muslims until the Hijrah of the Prophet ﷺ. In addition, they adopted another measure: whenever the Quran was being recited somewhere, they would create a lot of noise and commotion so that the sound of the Quran would not reach anyone's ears. These were the methods they adopted to protect themselves from the harm of this "magic."
