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سُورَةُ السَّجۡدَةِ · 32:18
MeccanRevelation order ٧٥Juzʾ ٢١Page ٤١٦

أَفَمَن كَانَ مُؤْمِنًۭا كَمَن كَانَ فَاسِقًۭا ۚ لَّا يَسْتَوُۥنَ

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Saheeh International · EN

Then is one who was a believer like one who was defiantly disobedient? They are not equal.

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Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 18 of Sūrat As-Sajda (The Prostration), the 75th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 21. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

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Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
75 of 114
Surah
As-Sajda (32)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

(Is he who is a believer like unto him who is an evil-liver?) [32:18]. This verse was revealed about �Ali ibn Abi Talib and al-Walid ibn �Uqbah. Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Asfahani informed us> �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Hafiz> Ishaq ibn Banan al-Anmati> Hubaysh ibn Mubashshir al-Faqih> �Ubayd Allah ibn Musa> Ibn Abi Layla> al-Hakam> Sa�id ibn Jubayr> Ibn �Abbas who said: �Al-Walid ibn �Uqbah ibn Abi Mu�ayt said to �Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be well pleased with him: �I am tougher than you, more eloquent than you, and I have more leadership skills than you�. �Ali responded by saying: �Be quiet, you are but an evil-liver!� This verse was then revealed (Is he who is a believer like unto him who is an evil-liver? They are not alike), by the believer is meant �Ali ibn Abi Talib and the evil-liver refers to al-Walid ibn �Uqbah�.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Is then he who is a believer like him who is rebellious? Not equal are they (18)As for those who believe and do righteous good deeds, for them are Gardens of Abode as an entertainment for what they used to do (19)And as for those who rebel, their abode will be the Fire, every time they wish to get away therefrom, they will be put back thereto, and it will be said to them: "Taste you the torment of the Fire which you used to deny. (20)And verily, We will make them taste of the near lighter torment prior to the greater torment, in order that they may return (21)And who does more wrong than he who is reminded of the Ayat of his Lord, then turns aside therefrom? Verily, We shall exact retribution from the criminals (22) The Believer and the Rebellious are not equal Allah tells us that in His justice and generosity, on the Day of Judgement He will not judge those who believed in His signs a…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. 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

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. 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.

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Provenance

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