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سُورَةُ الأَنبِيَاءِ · 21:53
MeccanRevelation order ٧٣Juzʾ ١٧Page ٣٢٦

قَالُوا۟ وَجَدْنَآ ءَابَآءَنَا لَهَا عَٰبِدِينَ

٥٣
Saheeh International · EN

They said, "We found our fathers worshippers of them."

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Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 53 of Sūrat Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets), the 73rd sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 17. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
73 of 114
Surah
Al-Anbiyaa (21)

No specific occasion of revelation (Asbāb al-Nuzūl) is recorded for this āyah in al-Wāḥidī's collection. Many verses were revealed without a single triggering event.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

And indeed We bestowed aforetime on Ibrahim his guidance, and We were Well-Acquainted with him (51)When he said to his father and his people: "What are these images to which you are devoted? (52)They said: "We found our fathers worshipping them. (53)He said: "Indeed you and your fathers have been in manifest error. (54)They said: "Have you brought us the Truth, or are you one of those who play about?? (55)He said: "Nay, your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Who created them and to that I am one of the witnesses. (56) The Story of Ibrahim and his People Allah tells us about His close Friend Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and how He bestowed upon him guidance aforetime, i.e., from an early age He inspired him with truth and evidence against his people, as Allah says elsewhere: وَتِلْكَ حُجَّتُنَا آتَيْنَاهَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ (And that was Our proof which We gave …
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

The wall

And now — what do you think?

The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.

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Provenance

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