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
وَإِذَا عَلِمَ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَا شَيْـًٔا ٱتَّخَذَهَا هُزُوًا ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
And when he knows anything of Our verses, he takes them in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment.
وَلَتَجِدَنَّهُمْ أَحْرَصَ ٱلنَّاسِ عَلَىٰ حَيَوٰةٍ وَمِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا۟ ۚ يَوَدُّ أَحَدُهُمْ لَوْ يُعَمَّرُ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ وَمَا هُوَ بِمُزَحْزِحِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلْعَذَابِ أَن يُعَمَّرَ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بَصِيرٌۢ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ
And you will surely find them the most greedy of people for life - [even] more than those who associate others with Allāh. One of them wishes that he could be granted life a thousand years, but it would not remove him in the least from the [coming] punishment that he should be granted life. And Allāh is Seeing of what they do.
كَذَّبَتْ قَوْمُ لُوطٍۭ بِٱلنُّذُرِ
The people of Lot denied the warning.
وَظِلٍّ مِّن يَحْمُومٍ
And a shade of black smoke,