قَالَ إِنَّمَا ٱلْعِلْمُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَأُبَلِّغُكُم مَّآ أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِۦ وَلَـٰكِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰكُمْ قَوْمًا تَجْهَلُونَ 23
Translations
He said, "Knowledge [of its time] is only with Allāh, and I convey to you that with which I was sent; but I see you [to be] a people behaving ignorantly."
Transliteration
Qala innamal-'ilmu 'indallahi wa-uballighukum ma ursiltu bihi wa-lakinni ara-yakum qawman tajhalun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This statement is attributed to Nuh (Noah) in response to his people's mockery and rejection of his message. He declares that true knowledge belongs solely to Allah, and he conveys only what he has been commanded to deliver, while observing that his people persist in ignorance. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this ayah emphasizes the limitation of human knowledge compared to divine knowledge, and the prophet's role as a messenger bound to deliver the divine message without adding or diminishing from it.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within the narrative of Surah Al-Ahqaf recounting the story of Prophet Nuh and his people's rejection of monotheism. The context describes how Nuh patiently called his people to worship Allah alone for 950 years, yet they remained in disbelief and ignorance, providing a historical lesson about the struggle between faith and willful rejection.
Related Hadiths
The principle reflected here relates to the hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, 'The best knowledge is the knowledge of the Qur'an,' emphasizing that divine knowledge transmitted through revelation is superior to human conjecture. Additionally, Surah 53:3-4 states the Prophet does not speak from personal desire but conveys revelation.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that true wisdom lies in recognizing the boundaries of human knowledge and submitting to divine guidance transmitted through the prophets. For modern believers, it serves as a reminder to distinguish between personal opinion and revealed truth, and to approach divine teachings with humility rather than arrogance.
Related Ayahs
مَا خَلَقْنَا ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَآ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ عَمَّآ أُنذِرُوا۟ مُعْرِضُونَ
We did not create the heavens and earth and what is between them except in truth and [for] a specified term. But those who disbelieve, from that of which they are warned, are turning away.
قُلْ مَا كُنتُ بِدْعًا مِّنَ ٱلرُّسُلِ وَمَآ أَدْرِى مَا يُفْعَلُ بِى وَلَا بِكُمْ ۖ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَىَّ وَمَآ أَنَا۠ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
Say, "I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner."
تَنزِيلُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ
The revelation of the Book is from Allāh, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
وَلَقَدْ مَكَّنَّـٰهُمْ فِيمَآ إِن مَّكَّنَّـٰكُمْ فِيهِ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ سَمْعًا وَأَبْصَـٰرًا وَأَفْـِٔدَةً فَمَآ أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَلَآ أَبْصَـٰرُهُمْ وَلَآ أَفْـِٔدَتُهُم مِّن شَىْءٍ إِذْ كَانُوا۟ يَجْحَدُونَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَحَاقَ بِهِم مَّا كَانُوا۟ بِهِۦ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
And We had certainly established them in such as We have not established you, and We made for them hearing and vision and hearts [i.e., intellect]. But their hearing and vision and hearts availed them not from anything [of the punishment] when they were [continually] rejecting the signs of Allāh; and they were enveloped by what they used to ridicule.