Tafsir for verses: 25:20, 25:21
وَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَا قَبۡلَكَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُرۡسَلِينَ إِلَّآ إِنَّهُمۡ لَيَأۡكُلُونَ ٱلطَّعَامَ وَيَمۡشُونَ فِي ٱلۡأَسۡوَاقِۗ وَجَعَلۡنَا بَعۡضَكُمۡ لِبَعۡضٖ فِتۡنَةً أَتَصۡبِرُونَۗ وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ بَصِيرٗا ٢٠ ﴿20 ۞ وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَرۡجُونَ لِقَآءَنَا لَوۡلَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيۡنَا ٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ أَوۡ نَرَىٰ رَبَّنَاۗ لَقَدِ ٱسۡتَكۡبَرُواْ فِيٓ أَنفُسِهِمۡ وَعَتَوۡ عُتُوّٗا كَبِيرٗا ٢١ ﴿21
20We did not send any messengers before you (O prophet,) but all of them used to eat food and walk in the markets. And We have made some of you a test for some others. Would you observe patience? And your Lord is Ever-seeing. 21Said those who do not even expect to meet Us, “Why the angels are not sent down to us or why do we not see our Lord?” Indeed they think too highly of themselves, and have gone too far in rebellion.
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Commentary

'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And We did not send before you any of the messengers except that they surely ate food and walked in the markets. And We made some of you a trial for others. Will you be patient? And your Lord is All-Seer." And those who do not expect to meet Us said, "If only angels were sent down to us or we see our Lord!" They have certainly grown arrogant in themselves and have transgressed with a great transgression." This verse is a response to the disbelievers of Quraysh in their disbelief that a messenger could be from among humans. And their saying: "What is [the matter] with this messenger that he eats food and walks in the markets?" [Al-Furqan: 7]. And Allah, the Exalted, informed Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and his nation that He did not send before in ancient times a prophet except with this attribute. The object of "We sent" is omitted, which is indicated by the speech. Its estimation is: men or messengers. And upon this omitted estimation returns the pronoun in His saying: "except that they." A group went to say that His saying: "surely they eat food" is a metaphor for the event. The majority of people read: "and they walk" with a opened 'ya' and a silent 'm' and a softened 'sh'. And Ali, Abd al-Rahman, and Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with them, read: "and they are made to walk" with a closed 'ya', an opened 'm', and a stressed opened 'sh', meaning: they call to walking and carry it. And Abu Abd al-Rahman read with a closed 'ya', an opened 'm', and a closed stressed 'sh', which is in the meaning of they walk. And from this is the saying of the poet: I walk by the watering places and seek camels from it, difficult is the riding. Then He, blessed and exalted is He, informed that the reason for that is that He, glorified is He, wanted to make some of the servants a trial for others in general among all people, believer and disbeliever. The rich is a trial for the poor, and the grateful poor is a trial for the rich, and the messenger, who is honored with the nobility of prophethood, is a trial for the noble disbelievers of his time, as are the scholars and just rulers. Ibn al-Qasim recited this verse when he saw Ashhab. The pause with "Will you be patient?" is specific to the believing righteous, for it is for the nation of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, as if He made the delay of the disbelievers a trial for the believers, that is, a test for them. Then He paused them: Will you be patient or not? Then He explained His saying: "And your Lord is All-Seer" regarding the promise to the patient and the warning to the disobedient. Then He informed about the statement of the disbelievers: "If only angels were sent down to us" and His saying, exalted is He: "they expect," Abu Ubaidah and a group said: its meaning is: they fear. The evidence for that is the saying of al-Hudhali: If the bee stings him, he does not expect its sting, and he opposed it in the house of Nub, the laborers. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And what appears to me is that hope in the verse and the poetry is in its proper place. This is because the fear of meeting Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is always accompanied by hope. So if hope is negated for someone, it is only informing that he is denying resurrection due to the negation of fear and hope. In mentioning the disbelievers by negating hope, there is a reminder of the regret for what they have missed of the hope of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. As for the mentioned poetry, its meaning to me is: he does not hope for its removal nor for being free from it. Therefore, he remains steadfast in patience and strives in his work.

And when the disbelievers of Quraysh wished to see their Lord, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, informed about them that they magnified themselves and asked for what they are not worthy of. And "'atawu" means: they became obstinate against the truth and became severe. It is said: 'atiyy and 'itawa, 'itawa is from the root, and 'atiyy is for the heaviness of the joining on the waw, so it was changed to a ya, then what preceded it was broken in search of harmony.

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Ibn AtiyyahʿAbd al-Ḥaqq ibn Ghālib Ibn ʿAṭiyyah
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