أَمْ لَكُمْ كِتَـٰبٌ فِيهِ تَدْرُسُونَ 37
Translations
Or do you have a scripture in which you learn
Transliteration
Am lakum kitabun fihi tadrusun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah poses a rhetorical question challenging the polytheists of Mecca: 'Do you have a scripture that you study?' The verse implies that the disbelievers have no divine book or authority to support their claims and idol worship, contrasting with the Muslims who possess the Quran as their guidance. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this is Allah addressing the Quraysh's baseless assertions about their gods, demanding they produce written evidence from any revealed scripture to justify their polytheistic practices.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-Qalam's discussion of the disbelievers' arrogance and their rejection of the Quran as divine revelation. The surah was revealed in Mecca during a period of intense opposition to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), where the polytheists made unfounded claims about the Quran's origins without any scriptural basis.
Related Hadiths
The hadith in Sahih Bukhari (3:97) about the preservation of the Quran relates to this theme, emphasizing that unlike other scriptures, the Quran is God's protected word. Additionally, the principle from Surah Al-Anbiya (21:24) asking the polytheists to bring their proof parallels this ayah's challenge.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that true faith must be grounded in authentic revelation and evidence, not mere tradition or assumption. It reminds believers to seek knowledge from authoritative sources and challenges us to examine the foundations of our beliefs critically.