Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:24
And when it is said to them, "What has your Lord sent down?" They say, "Legends of the former peoples,"
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 praise, says: when it is said to these polytheists (mushrikīn) who do not believe in the Hereafter, "What has your Lord sent down? What has your Lord revealed?" — they say, "What those before us have written down of fabrications" (asāṭīr al-awwalīn).
This was — as Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the words مَاذَا أَنزَلَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ : he said: the reports (aḥādīth) and fabrications of the ancients. This was said by a group of polytheists among the Arabs (mushrikī l-ʿArab) who would sit on the road in front of those coming to the Prophet of Allah ﷺ; when a believer passed by them wishing to seek out the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, they would say to him, "asāṭīr al-awwalīn" — that is to say: the reports and fabrications of the ancients.
Al-Muthanná related to me, he said: ʿAbdullāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the words أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ : he said: the reports (aḥādīth) of the ancients.
