ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَٱسْتَكْبَرَ 23
Translations
Then he turned back and was arrogant
Transliteration
Thumma adbara wa-stakbara
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the arrogant rejection and turning away of those who refuse to accept the message of the Quran. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the words 'adbara' (turned his back) and 'stakbara' (was arrogant/grew proud) depict the deliberate rejection of truth coupled with spiritual haughtiness. The ayah illustrates how disbelievers not only reject the divine message but compound their error by manifesting arrogance and disdain toward it.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-Muddaththir, which describes the Prophet's call to warn mankind. The specific verse refers to the response of those who hear the Quran yet choose to turn away and persist in their arrogance—a pattern that characterized many of the Meccan disbelievers who encountered the Prophet Muhammad and rejected his message despite its clarity.
Related Hadiths
The hadith in Sahih Bukhari (Hadith 4642) describes how the Quran increases the disbelievers in arrogance and rejection: 'We increase not the unjust except in disbelief' (Surah Al-Isra 17:60). Additionally, Surah Al-Muddaththir 74:16 contextualizes this rejection as a deliberate choice against clear signs.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us that knowledge of the truth without humble acceptance leads to spiritual ruin; arrogance toward divine guidance is not merely intellectual disagreement but a dangerous spiritual disease that hardens the heart. We should reflect on whether we are truly receptive to guidance or merely defending our egos against it.
Related Ayahs
أَرَءَيْتَ إِن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰٓ
Have you seen if he denies and turns away -
قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا تَطَيَّرْنَا بِكُمْ ۖ لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهُوا۟ لَنَرْجُمَنَّكُمْ وَلَيَمَسَّنَّكُم مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
They said, "Indeed, we consider you a bad omen. If you do not desist, we will surely stone you, and there will surely touch you, from us, a painful punishment."
وَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ نَبَذَ فَرِيقٌ مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ كِتَـٰبَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَآءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
And when a messenger from Allāh came to them confirming that which was with them, a party of those who had been given the Scripture threw the Scripture of Allāh [i.e., the Torah] behind their backs as if they did not know [what it contained].
قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِن كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ وَكَفَرْتُم بِهِۦ وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِّنۢ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ عَلَىٰ مِثْلِهِۦ فَـَٔامَنَ وَٱسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
Say, "Have you considered: if it [i.e., the Qur’ān] was from Allāh, and you disbelieved in it while a witness from the Children of Israel has testified to something similar and believed while you were arrogant...?" Indeed, Allāh does not guide the wrongdoing people.