Tafseer of The Pilgrimage · Al-Hajj · 22:42
And if they deny you, [O Muhammad] - so, before them, did the people of Noah and 'Aad and Thamud deny [their prophets],
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 — while consoling His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ over the harm that the polytheists inflict upon him, and urging him to patience at the insults and accusations of lying they direct against him: If these polytheists charge you, O Muḥammad, with lying regarding the truth and proof you have brought them, and regarding what you promise them of punishment on account of their disbelief in Allah — then that is the custom of their brethren among the earlier peoples who charged the messengers of Allah with lying and ascribed partners to Allah, and their way of life in former times. So let that not hold you back, for the humiliating punishment awaits them behind their backs, and My victory — which I shall grant to you and your followers over them — comes upon them from behind that, just as My punishment came down upon their predecessors among the earlier peoples after respite until the appointed terms were reached. Before them — that is, before the polytheists of Quraysh — there had already charged with lying: the people of Nūḥ, the people of ʿĀd, and Thamūd.
