Al-Jathiyah · Makki · ayah 31 of 37

Al-Jathiyah 45:31

وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَفَلَمْ تَكُنْ ءَايَـٰتِى تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فَٱسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ وَكُنتُمْ قَوْمًا مُّجْرِمِينَ

“But as for those who disbelieved, [it will be said], "Were not Our verses recited to you, but you were arrogant and became a criminal people?”

Saheeh International

Essence

The charge on that Day is not 'you never knew'; it is a question with only one answer: were My verses not recited to you?

A reflection

Signs every fifty metres

A reader worried about fairness will notice what this ayah actually accuses the disbelievers of. Not ignorance. Not bad luck in where they were born. The charge is: 'Were My verses not recited to you, and you were arrogant?'

One classical commentator draws a principle from this. Allah links their deserving punishment to the fact that His verses were recited to them and they proudly refused to accept them. He concludes that liability to punishment arises only after the revealed message has come. Another commentator expands the question: did My messengers not come to you, so that My verses were recited to you?

Picture two drivers fined for speeding on the same day. One was on a village road with a limit sign every fifty metres. A flashing display warned him, and the camera was painted bright yellow. He sped anyway. The other was on an unlit country lane where the only sign had been knocked over months ago. Nobody would treat the two cases as the same, and a fair magistrate would not.

The ayah describes the first driver. The signs were recited. They heard them, more than once. Their response was not 'I don't understand' but 'I'm above this'.

That leaves real room for Allah's justice towards those who never received the message clearly, which is His to judge. And it places responsibility exactly where it belongs for those who did.

It also sharpens the question for any reader holding this page. The verses have now been recited to you. Not by an angel or a prophet, but by a book open in your hand. The only question left is what you will do with them.

This ayah is a reminder that hearing is itself a kind of responsibility.

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.