Al-Anbya · Makki · ayah 36 of 112

Al-Anbya 21:36

وَإِذَا رَءَاكَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلَّا هُزُوًا أَهَـٰذَا ٱلَّذِى يَذْكُرُ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ وَهُم بِذِكْرِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ هُمْ كَـٰفِرُونَ

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

Saheeh International

Essence

They mocked the Prophet for criticising their idols, while they themselves refused the mention of the Most Merciful.

A reflection

Polite to the idols, rude to the Merciful

A-hādhā alladhī yadhkuru ālihatakum: is this the one who mentions your gods? Notice what they do not say. They do not repeat what the Prophet ﷺ actually said about their idols: that they cannot hear, see, help or harm. They only say "mentions", and let the tone carry the rest.

A classical scholar, in a note on one of the commentaries, explains why. They found it too shocking to repeat his criticism of their gods. They shielded the idols from having their faults spelled out. Then he adds a line that stings. Glory be to the One who let them stray so far that they showed manners to idols, and none to the Most Merciful.

Another commentator states the contradiction plainly. They found fault with anyone who denied the divinity of their idols, while they denied the divinity of the Most Merciful. And that, he says, is the height of ignorance.

Picture a man who loses his temper if anyone criticises his football club. At a family gathering a cousin makes a mild joke about the club's manager, and the man storms out of the room. Half an hour later, back in good humour, he makes a crude joke about God and laughs louder than anyone. He has never noticed the imbalance. His club is sacred to him. His Creator is a punchline.

The ayah asks every reader to check where their sensitivities lie. What makes you bristle when it is criticised? A team, a nation, a political side, a family name? And what do you let pass without a flicker when it is mocked? The things we defend most fiercely reveal what we have placed at the centre. Sometimes the honest answer is uncomfortable. The cure is to move our protectiveness to where it belongs.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.