Tafseer of Consultation · Ash-Shura · 42:16
And those who argue concerning Allah after He has been responded to - their argument is invalid with their Lord, and upon them is [His] wrath, and for them is a severe punishment.
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 saying of the Exalted: وَالَّذِينَ يُحَاجُّونَ فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا اسْتُجِيبَ لَهُ حُجَّتُهُمْ دَاحِضَةٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَعَلَيْهِمْ غَضَبٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ (42:16) (And those who dispute concerning Allah after He has been responded to — their argument is invalid in the sight of their Lord, and upon them is wrath, and for them is a severe punishment.)
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and those who dispute concerning the religion of Allah with which He sent His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, after the people have responded to Him and entered into it — among those to whom the Book was bequeathed — ( حُجَّتُهُمْ دَاحِضَةٌ ) — He says: their dispute in which they argue is null and perishes in the sight of their Lord. ( وَعَلَيْهِمْ غَضَبٌ ) — He says: and upon them is wrath from Allah, and for them in the Hereafter is a severe punishment (ʿadhāb), and that is the punishment of the Fire.
And it has been mentioned that this verse came down concerning a group of the Jews who disputed with the companions (ṣaḥāba) of the messenger of Allah ﷺ about their religion, and who desired to turn them away from it and to bring them back from Islam to disbelief (kufr).
* Mention of the narration from him from whom that is related:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying: ( وَالَّذِينَ يُحَاجُّونَ فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا اسْتُجِيبَ لَهُ حُجَّتُهُمْ دَاحِضَةٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَعَلَيْهِمْ غَضَبٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ ) he said: those are the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb); they disputed with the Muslims and turned them away from the guidance, after they had responded to Allah. And he said: they are the people of error; their error was responded to, and they awaited that the time of ignorance (jāhiliyyah) would return to them.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: ( وَالَّذِينَ يُحَاجُّونَ فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا اسْتُجِيبَ لَهُ ) he said: men desired that the time of ignorance (jāhiliyyah) would return.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, that concerning this verse ( وَالَّذِينَ يُحَاجُّونَ فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا اسْتُجِيبَ لَهُ ) he said: after the people had entered into Islam.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: ( وَالَّذِينَ يُحَاجُّونَ فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا اسْتُجِيبَ لَهُ حُجَّتُهُمْ دَاحِضَةٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ ) he said: those are the Jews and the Christians; they said: our Book is before your Book, and our prophet is before your prophet, and we are better than you.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: ( وَالَّذِينَ يُحَاجُّونَ فِي اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا اسْتُجِيبَ لَهُ حُجَّتُهُمْ دَاحِضَةٌ ) ... the verse, he said: those are the Jews and the Christians; they disputed with the companions of the prophet of Allah ﷺ and said: our Book is before your Book, and our prophet is before your prophet, and we are closer to Allah than you.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: ( وَالَّذِينَ يُحَاجُّونَ فِي اللَّهِ ) ... to the end of the verse, he said: He forbade him the dispute.
