Tafseer of The Light · An-Noor · 24:39
But those who disbelieved - their deeds are like a mirage in a lowland which a thirsty one thinks is water until, when he comes to it, he finds it is nothing but finds Allah before Him, and He will pay him in full his due; and Allah is swift in account.
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.
This is a parable that Allah struck for the works of the unbelievers, and He said: those who denied the oneness of their Lord and rejected this Qurʾān and the one who brought it — the likeness of their works which they did is كَسَرَابٍ (like a mirage). Al-sarāb is that which clings to the surface of the earth — this appears around midday when the heat is intense; al-āl is that which looks like water between the sky and the earth — this appears early in the morning and lifts everything up in the forenoon.
His saying بِقِيعَةٍ — qīʿa is the plural of qāʿ, just as "jīra" is the plural of "jār"; al-qāʿ is flat and expansive land — and in it the mirage appears.
His saying يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَاءً (the thirsty one supposes it to be water) — the thirsty man supposes the mirage to be water. حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُ (until, when he comes to it) — the pronoun refers to the mirage; the meaning is: until the thirsty one comes to the mirage seeking water to quench his thirst. لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا (he finds it to be nothing) — he finds that the mirage is nothing. Such are the unbelievers with the works they performed in self-delusion — they supposed that these works would save them with Allah from His punishment, like the thirsty one who saw the mirage and supposed it to be water that would quench his thirst, until he had drawn nearer to it and had need of it — whereupon he found it to be nothing that could be of use to him; for his work had been performed in unbelief in Allah. And Allah — this unbeliever, Allah confronted him at his death like a watchman on the lookout; and on the Day of Resurrection He settled the account of his works in this world and requited him for them with the requital that he deserves.
If someone asks: how then is it said حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا — if the mirage is nothing, what then is the function of the pronoun in "jāʾahu"? It is answered: it is indeed something that is seen from afar like mist that from afar appears dense, and fine particles of dust; but when one draws nearer it becomes rarefied and like air. It may also mean: until he came to the place of the mirage — he found the mirage to be nothing, and the mirage was mentioned in place of the place of it.
وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ (and Allah is swift in reckoning) — Allah, exalted is His praise, says: His reckoning is swift, for He needs no fingers to count nor a heart to retain; He knows it all already before the servant did it and afterwards.
In a like sense the exegetes have explained this verse.
Mention of those who said this:
ʿAbd al-Aʿlā ibn Wāṣil related to me, saying: ʿUbaydallāh ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī reported to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, on the authority of Abū l-ʿĀliya, on the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb — he said: then He struck yet another parable and said وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ — he said: thus will the unbeliever come on the Day of Resurrection, convinced that he has good with Allah, but he will find nothing, and [Allah] will lead him into the Fire.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: ʿAbdallāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiyah related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ : he said: flat land.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ up to وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ : he said — this is a parable that Allah struck for a man who was thirsty and whose thirst had grown intense; he saw a mirage and supposed it to be water and strove toward it and supposed that he had reached it, until he arrived at it and found nothing and at that moment died. Such is the unbeliever: he supposes that his work will help him or be of some use to him, and he attains nothing until death reaches him; and when death reaches him he finds his work to be of no use to him, just as the thirsty one gained nothing by running toward the mirage.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — concerning كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ : he said — on a plain of the earth; the mirage is his work. Al-Ḥārith added: the mirage is the work of the unbeliever; إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا — his "coming" to it is his death and his departure from this world; وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ at his departure from this world فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ .
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq reported to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda — concerning كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ : he said — on a plain of the earth. يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَاءً — this is a parable that Allah struck for the work of the unbeliever: he supposes that he has something, just as this one takes the mirage to be water. حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا — thus the unbeliever, when he dies, finds his work to be nothing. وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ حِسَابَهُ .
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb reported to us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning this verse: this is a parable that Allah struck for the unbelievers; they supposed that their works were beneficial and that they would receive something good for them, but they receive for them nothing other than what the seeker of thirst receives at the mirage.
