Tafseer of The Rock · Al-Hijr · 15:12
Thus do We insert denial into the hearts of the criminals.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted be His remembrance, says: just as We caused unbelief (kufr) to penetrate into the hearts of the factions of the earlier peoples through their mocking of the messengers, so do We likewise cause it in the hearts of the polytheists (mushrikīn) of your people who committed the crime of disbelief in Allah. لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ (they do not believe in it): this means: they do not believe the reminder that has been sent down to you. The pronoun in His word نَسْلُكُهُ refers to the mocking of the messengers and the denial of them.
Thus al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ : he said: "The denial."
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ : he said: "When they denied, Allah caused it to penetrate into their hearts that they would not believe in it."
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Ḥumayd, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ : he said: "The ascribing of partners to Allah (shirk)."
Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd, who said: "I recited the entire Qurʾān to al-Ḥasan in the house of Abū Khalīfa, and he explained everything on the basis of affirmation. I asked him about His word كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ — he said: deeds that they will yet perform but have not yet performed."
Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Suwayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Salama, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Ṭawīl, who said: "I recited the entire Qurʾān to al-Ḥasan, and he explained it only on the basis of affirmation." He said: "I asked him to stop at نَسْلُكُهُ — he said: the ascribing of partners to Allah (shirk)." Ibn al-Mubārak said: "I heard Sufyān say concerning His word نَسْلُكُهُ : We place it."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ * لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ : he said: "They are as Allah has said — He has led them astray and withheld faith from them." One says of this: salakahu yaslukunahu sulūkan wa-sulūkan, and aslakaahu yaslukuhu islākan. From the sulūk usage comes the saying of ʿAdī ibn Zayd:
وَكُنْتُ لِزَازَ خَصْمِكَ لَمْ أعَرِّدْ وَقَدْ سَلَكُوكَ فِي يَوْمٍ عَصِيبٍ
And from the islāk usage the saying of another poet:
حَتَّى إذَا أسْلَكُوهُمْ فِي قُتَائِدَةٍ شَلا كَمَا تَطْرُدُ الجَمَّالَةُ الشَّرَدَا