Ghafir · Makki · ayah 70 of 85

Ghafir 40:70

ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَبِمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا بِهِۦ رُسُلَنَا ۖ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ

“Those who deny the Book [i.e., the Qur’ān] and that with which We sent Our messengers - they are going to know,”

Saheeh International

Essence

Those who called the Book a lie, and everything the messengers brought, will come to know; truth does not wait for their agreement.

A reflection

Arguing over parts, rejecting the whole

Alladhīna kadhdhabū bil-kitāb. Those who denied the Book.

A later commentary notices a careful shift in the grammar between the last ayah and this one. There, the disputers were described with a present verb: they keep disputing, again and again. Here, their denial is in the past tense: they denied, a settled fact. And it explains why. Disputing usually happens over particular points, not everything at once. But behind the disputes over particular points lay a denial of the whole.

That is a sharp observation about human behaviour. Many arguments about details are really about something else. A person who has already rejected the whole will contest each part, one by one, as if each were the real issue.

The root of kadhdhabū has a revealing picture in the lexicons. A charge that stops short of its target. Words that fall short of what is. And a heart that calls the truth a lie, and insists on it. This is established.

A prospective tenant goes through a lease with the landlord line by line. He objects to the deposit. Then to the rule about bins. Then to the date the rent is due. Then to the paint colour. After an hour, the landlord realises the details are not the problem. The man never intended to sign.

That is what the commentary describes. The arguments over Allah's signs were real arguments, with real words. But underneath, the matter had already been decided.

The lesson cuts both ways. When someone argues endlessly over details of faith, it can help to ask gently about the whole. And when we find ourselves contesting every small command, it is worth asking whether something larger in us has already said no.

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.