قَالَ لَقَدْ كُنتُمْ أَنتُمْ وَءَابَآؤُكُمْ فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ 54
Translations
He said, "You were certainly, you and your fathers, in manifest error."
Transliteration
Qāla laqad kuntum antum wa-ābaāʾukum fī ḍalālin mubīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) addresses his people, declaring that they and their forefathers have been in clear and manifest error regarding the worship of idols. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this statement emphasizes the obviousness of their spiritual misguidance—they have strayed from the path of monotheism (tawhid) so evidently that it requires no further proof. This ayah reflects Ibrahim's direct confrontation of polytheism with logical clarity, distinguishing between the fabricated beliefs of his community and the truth of worshipping Allah alone.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within the narrative of Prophet Ibrahim's debate with his people regarding idolatry (21:51-67). The surah, revealed in Mecca during a period of intense opposition to the Prophet Muhammad's message of monotheism, presents Ibrahim's confrontation as a parallel to the struggle against polytheism. The context shows Ibrahim's people worshipping idols and stars, with Ibrahim systematically refuting their false beliefs through logical reasoning.
Related Hadiths
The hadith in Sahih Bukhari (3:48:819) records the Prophet Muhammad's statement about following the path of the previous prophets, including Ibrahim. Additionally, Surah Al-Anbya' 21:51-67 is often studied with hadiths about the importance of calling to monotheism and rejecting shirk (polytheism).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that spiritual error, especially in matters of belief, can become so normalized across generations that people lose sight of the truth—yet this normalization does not make falsehood acceptable. For modern readers, it serves as a reminder to question inherited beliefs critically and seek absolute truth through reason and revelation rather than blind tradition.