Surah Anbiya Ayat 36 (21:36 Quran) With Tafsir

Surah Al-Anbiya >> Currently viewing Surah Al-Anbiya Ayat 36 (21:36)

Surah Al-Anbiya Ayat 36 in Arabic Text

وَإِذَا رَءَاكَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓاْ إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلَّا هُزُوًا أَهَٰذَا ٱلَّذِي يَذۡكُرُ ءَالِهَتَكُمۡ وَهُم بِذِكۡرِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ هُمۡ كَٰفِرُونَ

Wa izaa ra aakal lazeena kafarooo iny-yattakhizoonaka illa huzuwan; ahaazal lazee yazkuru aalihatakum wa hum bi zikrir Rahmaani hum kaafiroon

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 36

Sahih International
And when those who disbelieve see you, [O Muhammad], they take you not except in ridicule, [saying], “Is this the one who insults your gods?” And they are, at the mention of the Most Merciful, disbelievers.

Yusuf Ali
When the Unbelievers see thee, they treat thee not except with ridicule. “Is this,” (they say), “the one who talks of your gods?” and they blaspheme at the mention of (Allah) Most Gracious!

Abul Ala Maududi
When the unbelievers see you they make you an object of fun, saying: “Is he the one who mentions your gods?” They say so, and yet they reject with disdain the very mention of the Most Compassionate Lord.

Muhsin Khan
And when those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah) see you (O Muhammad SAW), they take you not except for mockery (saying): “Is this the one who talks (badly) about your gods?” While they disbelieve at the mention of the Most Beneficent (Allah). [Tafsir. Al-Qurtubi].

Pickthall
And when those who disbelieve behold thee, they but choose thee out for mockery, (saying): Is this he who maketh mention of your gods? And they would deny all mention of the Beneficent.

Dr. Ghali
And when the ones who have disbelieved see you, decidedly they take you only for mockery, (saying), “Is this the one who makes mention of (i.e., mentions (their uselessness) your gods?” And they are they who in the Remembrance of The All-Merciful are the ones (who) are disbelievers.

Abdel Haleem
When the disbelievers see you, they laugh at you: ‘Is this the one who talks about your gods?’ They reject any talk of the Lord of Mercy.

Muhammad Junagarhi
یہ منکرین تجھے جب بھی دیکھتے ہیں تو تمہارا مذاق ہی اڑاتے ہیں کہ کیا یہی وه ہے جو تمہارے معبودوں کا ذکر برائی سے کرتا ہے، اور وه خود ہی رحمٰن کی یاد کے بالکل ہی منکر ہیں

Quran 21 Verse 36 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Al-Anbiya ayat 36, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(21:36) When the unbelievers see you they make you an object of fun, saying: Is he the one who mentions your gods?^[39] They say so, and yet they reject with disdain the very mention of the Most Compassionate Lord.^[40]

39. It should be noted that this sentence contains only the reason why they scoffed at him, but does not refer to the expression of scoff itself. Obviously, the disbelievers must have been using some other words or expressions of derision to avenge themselves on the Prophet (peace be upon him) for his rejecting their self-made deities.

40. This is to rebuke the disbelieves as if to say: You cherish so much love of your self-made idols and false gods that you cannot tolerate anything against them. So much so, that you scoff at the Messenger of Allah, and you are not ashamed when you hear the name of the Merciful and discard His mention with disdain.

Ibn-Kathir

36. And when those who disbelieved see you, they take you not except for mockery (saying): “Is this the one who talks about your gods” While they disbelieve at the mention of the Most Gracious. 37. Man is created of haste. I will show you My Ayat. So ask Me not to hasten (them).

How the Idolators mocked the Prophet Allah tells His Prophet …

﴿وَإِذَا رَآكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ﴾

(And when those who disbelieved see you,) meaning, the disbelievers of the Quraysh, such as Abu Jahl and his like.

﴿إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلاَّ هُزُواً﴾

(they take you not except for mockery) means, they make fun of you and insult you, saying,

﴿أَهَـذَا الَّذِى يَذْكُرُ آلِهَتَكُمْ﴾

(“Is this the one who talks about your gods”) meaning, is this the one who insults your gods and ridicules your intelligence Allah says:

﴿وَهُمْ بِذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَـنِ هُمْ كَـفِرُونَ﴾

(While they disbelieve at the mention of the Most Gracious.) meaning, they disbelieve in Allah and yet they mock the Messenger of Allah . As Allah says:

﴿وَإِذَا رَأَوْكَ إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلاَّ هُزُواً أَهَـذَا الَّذِى بَعَثَ اللَّهُ رَسُولاً – إِن كَادَ لَيُضِلُّنَا عَنْ ءَالِهَتِنَا لَوْلاَ أَن صَبْرَنَا عَلَيْهَا وَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ حِينَ يَرَوْنَ الْعَذَابَ مَنْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلاً ﴾

(And when they see you, they treat you only in mockery (saying): “Is this the one whom Allah has sent as a Messenger He would have nearly misled us from our gods, had it not been that we were patient and constant in their worship!” And they will know, when they see the torment, who it is that is most astray from the path!) ﴿25:41-42﴾

﴿خُلِقَ الإنْسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ﴾

(Man is created of haste.) This is like the Ayah:

﴿وَكَانَ الإِنْسَـنُ عَجُولاً﴾

(and man is ever hasty) ﴿17:11﴾, in all matters. The reason why the haste of man is mentioned here is that when mention is made of those who mock the Messenger , (the believers) will want to avenge them swiftly, and that so should happen sooner. Allah says,

﴿خُلِقَ الإنْسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ﴾

(Man is created of haste.) because He delays (the punishment) until a time when, once He seizes him, He will never let him go. He delays it, then He hastens it; He waits, then He does not delay any longer. So He says:

﴿سَأُوْرِيكُمْ ءَايَـتِى﴾

(I will show you My Ayat) meaning, My vengeance, ruling and power over those who disobey Me.

﴿فَلاَ تَسْتَعْجِلُونِ﴾

(So ask Me not to hasten (them).)

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