وَمَا يَسْتَوِى ٱلْأَعْمَىٰ وَٱلْبَصِيرُ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَلَا ٱلْمُسِىٓءُ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ 58
Translations
And not equal are the blind and the seeing, nor are those who believe and do righteous deeds and the evildoer. Little do you remember.
Transliteration
Wa mā yastawī al-a'mā wa-al-basīr wa-alladhīna āmanū wa-'amilū al-sālihāt wa-lā al-musi', qalīlan mā tatadhakkarūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah establishes that the blind and the sighted are not equal, just as believers who perform righteous deeds are not equal to those who do evil. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the 'blindness' and 'sight' refer both to physical conditions and spiritual states—the blind representing those spiritually blind to truth and guidance, while the sighted represent those with spiritual insight and faith. The ayah concludes with a rebuke that humans rarely reflect upon and remember these fundamental distinctions in their moral and spiritual conditions.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the middle section of Surah Ghafir, a Meccan surah that emphasizes divine attributes, accountability, and the contrast between believers and disbelievers. It follows discussions about those who dispute the signs of Allah and precedes warnings about the Day of Judgment. The broader context addresses the Meccan disbelievers' refusal to acknowledge the obvious differences between faith and disbelief.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The similitude of guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me is like abundant rain falling on the earth; some of which are fertile plains that absorb water and bring forth vegetation and grass in abundance. [This is like the person who understands the religion of Allah and gets the benefit, learning and acting upon it]' (Sahih Bukhari 79:1). Also related is the hadith about the heart's condition: 'Verily, in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be wholesome, the whole body is wholesome, and which, if it be diseased, the whole body is diseased. This is the heart' (Sahih Bukhari 52:49).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us that there are profound and real differences between those who believe and act righteously and those who reject truth and commit evil—differences that have eternal consequences. It calls us to reflect consciously on our spiritual state and to seek the 'sight' of faith and guidance rather than remaining spiritually 'blind' to Allah's signs and moral truths.