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سُورَةُ الفُرۡقَانِ · 25:21
MeccanRevelation order ٤٢Juzʾ ١٩Page ٣٦٢

۞ وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ لِقَآءَنَا لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ أَوْ نَرَىٰ رَبَّنَا ۗ لَقَدِ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَعَتَوْ عُتُوًّۭا كَبِيرًۭا

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Saheeh International · EN

And those who do not expect the meeting with Us say, "Why were not angels sent down to us, or [why] do we [not] see our Lord?" They have certainly become arrogant within themselves and [become] insolent with great insolence.

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Introduction

This is āyah 21 of Sūrat Al-Furqaan (The Criterion), the 42nd sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 19. 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.

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Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
42 of 114
Surah
Al-Furqaan (25)

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 those who expect not a meeting with Us said: "Why are not the angels sent down to us, or why do we not see our Lord" Indeed they think too highly of themselves, and are scornful with great pride (21)On the Day they will see the angels – no good news will there be for the criminals that day. And they will say: "Hijran Mahjura. (22)And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust (23)The dwellers of Paradise will, on that Day, have the best abode, and have the fairest of places for repose (24) The Stubbornness of the Disbelievers Allah describes how stubborn the disbelievers were in their disbelief when they said: لَوْلَا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ (Why are not the angels sent down to us,) meaning, 'so that we may see them with our own eyes and they may tell us that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.' This is …
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.

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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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