قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَـٰنَ رَبِّنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَـٰلِمِينَ 29
Translations
They said, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers."
Transliteration
Qāloo subḥāna rabbinā innā kunnā ẓālimīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
The people of the garden acknowledge their Lord's perfection and confess their own wrongdoing, saying 'Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, we were wrongdoers.' This statement represents sincere repentance and recognition of injustice after witnessing the destruction of their orchard. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this confession demonstrates how calamity awakens the hearts to divine justice and human accountability, showing that true repentance begins with acknowledging one's transgressions before Allah.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within the narrative of the two men with the garden (68:17-33), a Meccan surah. The owners of the garden had made an oath to harvest it but failed to give the poor their due share, displaying miserliness and injustice. When their garden was destroyed as divine punishment, they finally recognized their error—this ayah captures their moment of sincere remorse and submission to Allah's will.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The best repentance is that the servant recognizes his sin and repents from it' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi). Additionally, the hadith 'Whoever repents before the sun rises from the west, Allah accepts his repentance' (Sahih Muslim) relates to the theme of sincere repentance emphasized in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
True repentance begins with sincere acknowledgment of one's faults and recognition of Allah's perfection and justice. This ayah teaches us that hardship and loss often serve as reminders to turn back to Allah and rectify our wrongs before it is too late.