Transliteration:( Falammaa jaaa'at hum Rusuluhum bilbaiyinaati farihoo bimaa 'indahum minal 'ilmi wa haaqa bihim maa kaanoo bihee yastahzi'oon )
"When their Messengers came to them with clear signs, they kept rejoicing [210] in what knowledge [211] they had. But, what they mocked [212] at, overtook them."
This verse highlights that rejoicing in opposition to the Prophets of Allah is a sign of infidelity, while rejoicing out of love and devotion to the Prophets is considered an act of worship.
Those who boasted about their own understanding and intellect, considering it superior to that of the Prophets, were in grave error. In the Divine Court, obedience, not intellect or arrogance, is what truly matters.
The "knowledge" referred to here can be understood in two ways:
It denotes their polytheistic beliefs, which they wrongly perceived as knowledge. Technically, such beliefs are ignorance even if they appear intellectually sound.
It also refers to their scientific and philosophical reasoning, which they valued more than Divine Revelation.
Examples today include those who:
Deny Mi'raaj (ascension of the Prophet ﷺ),
Claim Heaven is symbolic, or
Insist that the Earth is eternally in motion as a challenge to scriptural truths.
Such ideologies stand in opposition to the Qur'an and Hadith, and thus become tools of misguidance when used arrogantly against Revelation.
That which they ridiculed—the Divine punishment—ultimately overtook them.
They used to laugh at warnings of the Hereafter and punishment, deeming them unintelligent or irrational.
But those very punishments descended upon them, both in this world and the next, nullifying all their false confidence and so-called intellect.
This verse is a powerful warning: those who mock Divine truth in pride will one day be overtaken by the very truth they scorned.
The tafsir of Surah Muminun verse 83 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Muminun ayat 82 which provides the complete commentary from verse 82 through 85.
(40:83) When their Messengers came to them with Clear Signs, they arrogantly exulted in whatever knowledge they had.[112] They were then encompassed by what they had mocked.
112. That is, they took their philosophy and their science, their law, their secular sciences and their mythology and theology invented by their religious guides as the real knowledge, and regarded the Knowledge brought by the Prophets of Allah as worthless and therefore paid no heed to it.
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