Saba · Makki · ayah 5 of 54

Saba 34:5

وَٱلَّذِينَ سَعَوْ فِىٓ ءَايَـٰتِنَا مُعَـٰجِزِينَ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مِّن رِّجْزٍ أَلِيمٌ

“But those who strive against Our verses [seeking] to cause failure[1219] - for them will be a painful punishment of foul nature.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Those who worked hard to defeat Allah's signs, sure they could outrun Him, face a punishment whose very name is a shudder.

A reflection

A forger's workload

The ayah describes people who saʿaw fī āyātinā: they put real effort into Our signs. Saʿy is brisk, purposeful movement. The surprise is the direction. They were working hard, but against.

One classical commentator noticed something about that effort. The one who conveys the Quran does not need to strain to make it compelling. The signs are overwhelming in themselves and need no one's help. It is the denier who must work. Hiding something clear takes great effort and constant energy, so that the lie can keep circulating.

Think of an art forger who has sold a painting as a lost masterpiece. The canvas took him a month. The history takes the rest of his life. He must invent letters from a dead collector and type gallery labels on an old typewriter. He forges receipts from an auction house that closed long ago. Each new buyer asks a new question, and each answer needs another document. The painter he copied simply painted, once.

Truth has low upkeep. A lie needs maintenance staff. When a campaign can never rest and must be renewed every season, it is worth asking which side is doing the forging.

Notice also what the ayah does not describe. It does not describe a person with questions, reading slowly, unsure. It describes active effort, muʿājizīn: racing to defeat, sure they could slip beyond Allah's reach. The commentators gloss it as working to turn people from His path and to make His signs void. That is a campaign, not a doubt. The honest questioner is not the subject of this warning.

For the believer the lesson runs both ways. Do not fear that the truth needs your frantic protection. And do not spend your own energy keeping a convenient story alive.

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.