سُوْرَةُ سَبَاٍ
Surah Saba (34) — Ayah 8
أَفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَم بِهِۦ جِنَّةٌۢ ۗ بَلِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ فِى ٱلْعَذَابِ وَٱلضَّلَـٰلِ ٱلْبَعِيدِ ﴿8﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Has he (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) invented a lie against Allâh, or is there a madness in him? Nay, but those who disbelieve in the Hereafter are (themselves) in a torment, and in far error.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
أَفْتَرَىٰ
aftarā
Has he invented
عَلَى
ʿalā
about
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
Allah
كَذِبًا
kadhiban
a lie
أَم
am
or
بِهِۦ
bihi
in him
جِنَّةٌۢ ۗ
jinnatun
(is) madness
بَلِ
bali
Nay
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
those who
لَا
lā
(do) not
يُؤْمِنُونَ
yu'minūna
believe
بِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ
bil-ākhirati
in the Hereafter
فِى
fī
(will be) in
ٱلْعَذَابِ
l-ʿadhābi
the punishment
وَٱلضَّلَـٰلِ
wal-ḍalāli
and error
ٱلْبَعِيدِ
l-baʿīdi
far
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.
"Does he invent a lie against Allah, or is he afflicted with madness [10]?" No [11], rather those who do not believe in the Hereafter are the ones who are in punishment and have strayed far into error.
[10]
The Disagreement of the Disbelievers of Makkah with the Muslims in Three Matters of Belief:
The disbelievers of Makkah could not call you a liar, because this was contrary to their lifelong experience. But they were also not willing to accept your message. There were three things in the message of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that were unpleasant to them or in which they did not believe.
(1) They did not believe in the destruction of this earth and sky or the universe. In other words, they did not believe in the establishment of the Day of Judgment.
(2) They also did not believe in resurrection after death. That is, when a person dies and mixes with the soil and becomes dust, according to their view, his being brought back to life was among the impossibilities.
(3) As a result, they also did not believe in the reward and punishment of the Hereafter. Therefore, instead of binding themselves to the commands of Allah in their worldly life, they preferred to remain free. Whenever these people mocked, it was about these matters, and especially the first two points they would often repeat in different ways. In this verse, the tone of their question is mocking. They thought that this Prophet’s message could not be empty-handed: either he is fabricating lies against Allah, or his mind has failed him.
[11]
The Council of Consultation at the House of Walid bin Mughirah:
They themselves did not consider either of these two possibilities to be correct, and the chiefs of Quraysh, even in their private conversations, could not be satisfied with these possibilities, nor could they satisfy each other. The requirement of your truthfulness was that a person who does not lie to people, how could he lie about Allah? And the idea of madness was even more far-fetched. When these same chiefs of Quraysh gathered at the house of Walid bin Mughirah, the topic under discussion was how they could stop the message of this Prophet and what they could say to people about him. One chief said that they could tell others that he is mad. But Walid bin Mughirah, the chief of Quraysh, said: “By Allah! He is not mad. We have seen madmen; he has none of the suffocating fits of madmen, nor any strange movements, nor any incoherent speech like theirs.” Walid bin Mughirah’s answer was also only a negative rejection of madness, because he too was your enemy ﷺ. Whereas the reality was that anyone unfamiliar with your dealings with others, your high character, and your rational arguments and speech could easily estimate your greatness as a human being. The idea of madness was out of the question. Allah Almighty, among the three points of the disbelievers, especially declared the third point as the real reason for their denial, saying that these people do not deny the Hereafter because they do not understand or cannot understand its proofs. Rather, the real reason is that they fear the reckoning of the Hereafter, and they think that by closing their eyes like a pigeon, the cat will disappear by itself. They themselves have closed their eyes to the facts and to facing them bravely. And with this approach, they are continuously moving forward.
[10]
The Disagreement of the Disbelievers of Makkah with the Muslims in Three Matters of Belief:
The disbelievers of Makkah could not call you a liar, because this was contrary to their lifelong experience. But they were also not willing to accept your message. There were three things in the message of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that were unpleasant to them or in which they did not believe.
(1) They did not believe in the destruction of this earth and sky or the universe. In other words, they did not believe in the establishment of the Day of Judgment.
(2) They also did not believe in resurrection after death. That is, when a person dies and mixes with the soil and becomes dust, according to their view, his being brought back to life was among the impossibilities.
(3) As a result, they also did not believe in the reward and punishment of the Hereafter. Therefore, instead of binding themselves to the commands of Allah in their worldly life, they preferred to remain free. Whenever these people mocked, it was about these matters, and especially the first two points they would often repeat in different ways. In this verse, the tone of their question is mocking. They thought that this Prophet’s message could not be empty-handed: either he is fabricating lies against Allah, or his mind has failed him.
[11]
The Council of Consultation at the House of Walid bin Mughirah:
They themselves did not consider either of these two possibilities to be correct, and the chiefs of Quraysh, even in their private conversations, could not be satisfied with these possibilities, nor could they satisfy each other. The requirement of your truthfulness was that a person who does not lie to people, how could he lie about Allah? And the idea of madness was even more far-fetched. When these same chiefs of Quraysh gathered at the house of Walid bin Mughirah, the topic under discussion was how they could stop the message of this Prophet and what they could say to people about him. One chief said that they could tell others that he is mad. But Walid bin Mughirah, the chief of Quraysh, said: “By Allah! He is not mad. We have seen madmen; he has none of the suffocating fits of madmen, nor any strange movements, nor any incoherent speech like theirs.” Walid bin Mughirah’s answer was also only a negative rejection of madness, because he too was your enemy ﷺ. Whereas the reality was that anyone unfamiliar with your dealings with others, your high character, and your rational arguments and speech could easily estimate your greatness as a human being. The idea of madness was out of the question. Allah Almighty, among the three points of the disbelievers, especially declared the third point as the real reason for their denial, saying that these people do not deny the Hereafter because they do not understand or cannot understand its proofs. Rather, the real reason is that they fear the reckoning of the Hereafter, and they think that by closing their eyes like a pigeon, the cat will disappear by itself. They themselves have closed their eyes to the facts and to facing them bravely. And with this approach, they are continuously moving forward.
