Saba · Makki · ayah 31 of 54

Saba 34:31

وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ وَلَا بِٱلَّذِى بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ ۗ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ مَوْقُوفُونَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يَرْجِعُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ٱلْقَوْلَ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتُضْعِفُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ لَوْلَآ أَنتُمْ لَكُنَّا مُؤْمِنِينَ

“And those who disbelieve say, "We will never believe in this Qur’ān nor in that before it." But if you could see when the wrongdoers are made to stand before their Lord, refuting each others' words...[1234] Those who were oppressed will say to those who were arrogant, "If not for you, we would have been believers."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Those who refused every scripture will be held before their Lord, trading blame, and the followers' first words admit the message had reached them.

A reflection

Held still on the rock

The ayah opens with a vow. We will never believe in this Quran, nor in anything that came before it. One commentator notes that the word for 'never' here makes the refusal permanent. These are people who will not stop to listen. They have closed the matter in advance.

Then the scene changes. The same people are mawqūfūn: made to stand, held in place. The form is passive. They do not stop themselves. Someone stops them.

The lexicons give this root a sharp first picture, and it is established. The waqīfa was a wild goat cornered on a rock by dogs or archers. It could not climb down. It simply stood there until it was taken. Riders halting camels, land held back as a trust: all of it is staying put because something holds you there.

One concise commentary glosses the word as held, detained. Another adds where: in the place of reckoning. The Quranic corpus records this exact form only here.

Now put the two halves together. People who would not pause for a single ayah are made to stand without moving. People who said 'never' are held where 'never' no longer works. One commentator says the Prophet ﷺ was being promised a sight of them in their most humbled state.

And where are they held? Before their Lord. Not before a court of their peers, nor a crowd they could charm. Before the One who raised them, fed them and waited for them.

That is the end of every arrogant stride. The ego loves movement: walking out, scrolling past, changing the subject. Pride is often just the refusal to stand still in front of the truth. This ayah describes the moment when standing still is no longer optional.

The humble choose it now. They stop at an ayah, let it hold them, and listen. Better to be held by the Quran today than to be held, unwilling, on that rock.

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.