سَأَصْرِفُ عَنْ ءَايَٰتِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَكَبَّرُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ كُلَّ ءَايَةٍۢ لَّا يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِهَا وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ سَبِيلَ ٱلرُّشْدِ لَا يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلًۭا وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ سَبِيلَ ٱلْغَىِّ يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلًۭا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا وَكَانُوا۟ عَنْهَا غَٰفِلِينَ
I will turn away from My signs those who are arrogant upon the earth without right; and if they should see every sign, they will not believe in it. And if they see the way of consciousness, they will not adopt it as a way; but if they see the way of error, they will adopt it as a way. That is because they have denied Our signs and they were heedless of them.
Introduction
This is āyah 146 of Sūrat Al-A'raaf (The Heights), the 39th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 9. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 39 of 114
- Surah
- Al-A'raaf (7)
I shall turn away from My signs those who are proud in the earth without the Real. Even were they to see all the signs, they would not have faith in them. Were they to see the way of rectitude, they would not take it as a way. Pride is of two sorts: one with the Real, the other without the Real. That which is with the Real is the pride of the poor toward the rich. They are high in aspiration and rich in the heart through the Real. They have turned their aspiration away from the Throne and everything beneath it, cut their hearts off from the creatures, and busied themselves with love for the Real. Their aspiration is greater than this world and better than the afterworld. Their yearning is for the vision of the Patron. WāsiṬī said, “Pride with the Real is pride toward the rich and the sinful and toward the unbelievers and the folk of innovation. It is been transmitted in the traditions, 'Meet the ungodly with dark faces.'” The pride that is without the Real is the pride of the rich and the world-rulers toward the poor. This is what is meant by His words, “who are proud in the earth without the Real.” Ibn ʿAṬāÌ said on this verse: “I shall keep back their hearts, their secret cores, and their spirits from roaming in the dominion of holiness.”5 In other words, “I will bind their hearts and secret cores from going. I will make their own being into their veil. I will turn them away from My road so that their secret cores will not be able to roam in the world of holiness and the Dominion. They will be held back from seeing the wonders of the Dominion and become intimate with their own souls and the creatures of this world. They will not taste the flavor of finding and they will remain unaware of the charismatic gifts of the folk of election. They will never see a day of good fortune for themselves, nor will the rose of union bloom for them.” The poor wretch who has never caught a scent of these words! How can he have anything of the ocean when he has no stream? Were they to see the way of rectitude, they would not take it as a way.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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