أَفَنَضْرِبُ عَنكُمُ ٱلذِّكْرَ صَفْحًا أَن كُنتُمْ قَوْمًۭا مُّسْرِفِينَ
Then should We turn the message away, disregarding you, because you are a transgressing people?
Introduction
This is āyah 5 of Sūrat Az-Zukhruf (The Ornaments of Gold), the 63rd sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 25. 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.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 63 of 114
- Surah
- Az-Zukhruf (43)
Shall We turn the remembrance away from you because you are an immoderate people? When today He does not cut off His words addressed to those who persist in disobeying Him and who are immoderate in most of what they do, then tomorrow how would He hold back His forgive- ness and the subtle favors of His beautiful doing from those who have not curtailed their faith in Him nor been defective in their recognition of Him, even if they are stained by disobedience? The Pir of the Tariqah said in his whispered prayer, “It is You who see unworthiness from the servant and do not hurry to punish. You hear unbelief from the servant and do not hold back blessings. You offer him repentance and pardon, and You call him back with Your message and address. If he does come back, You promise him forgiveness. 'If they desist, He will forgive them what is past' [8:38]. Since You are like this with the bad-doing enemy, what will You be like with the beautiful-doing friend?”
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- 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
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- 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.
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.
Community resources
No community resources for this verse yet.