Az-Zukhruf · Makki · ayah 7 of 89

Az-Zukhruf 43:7

وَمَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن نَّبِىٍّ إِلَّا كَانُوا۟ بِهِۦ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ

“But there would not come to them a prophet except that they used to ridicule him.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Every prophet was met with the same reflex, a laugh, because mockery spares the mocker the trouble of answering.

A reflection

A mirage that mocks the riders

Yastahziʾūn, they mocked. The word sounds simple, but its root had a particular texture for its first hearers.

One lexicon describes huzʾ as joking in secret: ridicule kept behind a straight face. The form used here, istahzaʾa, adds effort. It means seeking out chances to mock, looking for the opening. The lexicons give this plainly, and the picture is established.

The Arabs used the word in two striking ways. A mirage was said to mock a party of riders, drawing them on towards water that was not there. And one lexicographer read a poet's line about a coat of mail that mocked the arrows bouncing off it.

Both images say something about mockery. The mirage mocks by deceiving. It promises water and delivers sand. The coat of mail mocks by being untouched. The arrows fly, and nothing gets through.

Now look at the people in this ayah. They thought they were the coat of mail, untouchable, letting the prophet's words glance off them. The Quran's other descriptions suggest they were closer to the riders. They were the ones being drawn on by something that looked like water. Their confidence was the mirage.

There is a sobering thought here for any age that prizes irony. Mockery feels like armour. It lets you engage without risk, laugh without committing, dismiss without having to argue. But armour that nothing can penetrate is also armour that nothing good can reach.

The early commentaries note that this mockery was a settled habit. They mocked every prophet who came. That is what a coat of mail does when it is never taken off. It stops being protection and becomes a cage.

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.