Tafseer of The Believers · Al-Muminoon · 23:89
They will say, "[All belongs] to Allah." Say, "Then how are you deluded?"
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.
For they will surely say: The malakūt of everything and the dominion over all matters belongs to Allah. Then say to them, O Muḥammad: فَأَنَّى تُسْحَرُونَ (How then are you bewitched?), that is to say: from which direction are you then turned away from affirming the signs of Allah, acknowledging His tidings and the tidings of His messenger, and the faith (īmān) that Allah is able to do whatever He wills and is able to bring you to life after your death — while you indeed know what you say about His tremendous sovereignty and power?!
Ibn ʿAbbās said — according to what has been transmitted from him — concerning the meaning of His word تُسْحَرُونَ (are bewitched), which ʿAlī related to me: ʿAbdullāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: فأنى تُسْحَرُونَ — he said: you are deceived.
I have explained in what preceded that siḥr (sorcery) consists in presenting a matter to the onlooker as though it were other than it really is. That is the meaning of His word: فَأَنَّى تُسْحَرُونَ (How then are you bewitched?). For the meaning is: from which direction is falsehood presented to you as truth, and the corrupt as sound, so that you are turned away from acknowledging the truth to which our messenger Muḥammad ﷺ calls you?
