مَا كَذَبَ ٱلْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَىٰٓ 11
Translations
The heart did not lie [about] what it saw.
Transliteration
Mā kadhaba al-fu'ādu mā ra'ā
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms that the Prophet Muhammad's heart did not deceive him regarding what he witnessed during his night journey (Isra') and ascension (Mi'raj). Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret this as a divine confirmation that the Prophet's perception and experience of the miraculous events were true and accurate, not hallucinations or delusions. The ayah serves as a categorical denial of any accusation that the Prophet fabricated or misperceived the spiritual realities he encountered.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within Surah An-Najm, which primarily discusses the Prophet's vision during the Isra' and Mi'raj—his miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and subsequent ascension through the heavens. The context addresses the skepticism and disbelief of the Meccan polytheists who rejected the extraordinary nature of this event, making this ayah a divine reassurance of the truthfulness of the experience.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Bukhari 349: Anas ibn Malik narrated details of the Isra' and Mi'raj, confirming the Prophet's account of meeting the angels and previous prophets. Additionally, Sunan Ibn Majah contains hadiths where the Prophet describes the Mi'raj in response to questions about its reality.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us to have unwavering confidence in the Prophet's truthfulness and the authentic reports of Islamic tradition, even when they describe miraculous or extraordinary events beyond ordinary human experience. It reminds us that faith requires accepting divinely-confirmed truths even when they transcend rational skepticism.