تِلْكَ ٱلْقُرَىٰ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآئِهَا ۚ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ فَمَا كَانُوا۟ لِيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِمَا كَذَّبُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يَطْبَعُ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ 101
Translations
Those cities - We relate to you, [O Muḥammad], some of their news. And certainly did their messengers come to them with clear proofs, but they were not to believe in that which they had denied before. Thus does Allāh seal over the hearts of the disbelievers.
Transliteration
Tilka al-qura naqussu alayka min anbaa'iha wa-laqad jaa'at-hum rusuluhum bil-bayyinati fama kanoo liyuminoo bima kadhdhaboo min qablu kadhalika yatba'u Allahu ala qulubi al-kafireen
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah concludes the narratives of destroyed nations by emphasizing that Allah is recounting their histories to the Prophet (ﷺ) and believers as lessons. Despite the messengers coming with clear proofs and miracles, these nations refused to believe because they had already rejected the truth beforehand—thus Allah sealed their hearts as a consequence of their persistent disbelief. As Ibn Kathir explains, this sealing (tab') is both a punishment for their rejection and a natural consequence of their obstinate denial of the truth.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-A'raf's repeated narratives of past nations and their rejection of messengers (stories of Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut, Shu'ayb, and Musa). It serves as a concluding reflection on the pattern of disbelief and divine consequence, reinforcing to the Meccan audience that they face the same choice their predecessors did.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Muslim records that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'When Allah wishes good for a servant, He gives him understanding of the religion. And when a people are united upon misguidance, Allah does not change their state until they change what is within themselves.' This relates to the concept of Allah's sealing of hearts mentioned in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
Persistent rejection of truth and stubbornness against divine guidance can lead to spiritual blindness and hardness of heart; believers must remain vigilant against complacency and continuously open their hearts to Allah's guidance, recognizing that the stories of past nations serve as warnings for our own spiritual journey.
Related Ayahs
فَهَلْ تَرَىٰ لَهُم مِّنۢ بَاقِيَةٍ
Then do you see of them any remains?
وَذَرِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ دِينَهُمْ لَعِبًا وَلَهْوًا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ وَذَكِّرْ بِهِۦٓ أَن تُبْسَلَ نَفْسٌۢ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ لَيْسَ لَهَا مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِىٌّ وَلَا شَفِيعٌ وَإِن تَعْدِلْ كُلَّ عَدْلٍ لَّا يُؤْخَذْ مِنْهَآ ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُبْسِلُوا۟ بِمَا كَسَبُوا۟ ۖ لَهُمْ شَرَابٌ مِّنْ حَمِيمٍ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْفُرُونَ
And leave those who take their religion as amusement and diversion and whom the worldly life has deluded. But remind with it [i.e., the Qur’ān], lest a soul be given up to destruction for what it earned; it will have other than Allāh no protector and no intercessor. And if it should offer every compensation, it would not be taken from it [i.e., that soul]. Those are the ones who are given to destruction for what they have earned. For them will be a drink of scalding water and a painful punishment because they used to disbelieve.
فَإِنَّهُمْ لَـَٔاكِلُونَ مِنْهَا فَمَالِـُٔونَ مِنْهَا ٱلْبُطُونَ
And indeed, they will eat from it and fill with it their bellies.
وَكَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَمَا بَلَغُوا۟ مِعْشَارَ مَآ ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُمْ فَكَذَّبُوا۟ رُسُلِى ۖ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ
And those before them denied, and they [i.e., the people of Makkah] have not attained a tenth of what We had given them. But they [i.e., the former peoples] denied My messengers, so how [terrible] was My reproach.