Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:50
Those before them had already said it, but they were not availed by what they used to earn.
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.
The explanation of the statement of the Exalted: قَدْ قَالَهَا الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَمَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ (39:50) (Those before them had already said this, but what they earned did not avail them.)
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: This statement — namely their words concerning the favor of Allah that He bestowed upon them while they were polytheists: "This has been given to us on the basis of knowledge that we possess" — those (الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ) had already said, that is to say: those who came before the polytheists of Quraysh, from the bygone communities, to their messengers, out of denial on their part toward them and out of mockery of them. And His statement (فَمَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ) says: so there did not avail them, when the punishment of Allah befell them on account of their denial of the messengers of Allah and their mockery of them, that which they earned in deeds — and that was their worship of the idols. He says: their service to those idols brought them no benefit, and their gods did not intercede for them at that moment with Allah, but rather they abandoned them and dissociated themselves from them.
