Transliteration:( Balil lazeena kafaroo fee 'izzatinw wa shiqaaq )
"But the infidels are in false pride [2] and are in full hostility [3]."
This verse highlights that the arrogance of disbelievers is not a sign of true honor, but a form of divine punishment. Their pride is false, stemming from rebellion and opposition to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. It is not the kind of honor that leads to dignity but one that deepens them in misguidance.
As Allah states elsewhere in the Qur’an: "The honour is for Allah and the Messenger and for the believers" (Surah Al-Munafiqun, 63:8). Any honor claimed outside obedience to Allah is empty and ultimately leads to humiliation.
Their deep hostility prevents them from accepting the truth of the Qur’an. It is due to this enmity and arrogance that they neither obey the Prophet ﷺ nor believe in the divine revelation.
This kind of opposition is not based on reasoning or misunderstanding—it is rooted in pride and stubborn rejection, despite clear signs and guidance.
The tafsir of Surah Sad verse 2 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Sad ayat 1 which provides the complete commentary from verse 1 through 3.
(38:2) Nay, but the unbelievers are steeped in arrogance and stubborn defiance.[3]
3. If the interpretation given of suad by Ibn Abbas and Dahhak is accepted, the sentence would mean this: By this noble Quran, or by this Quran which is full of admonition, Muhammad (peace be upon him) is presenting the truth, but the people who persist in their denial, are in fact, involved in arrogance and stubbornness. And if Suad is taken as one of those enigmatic letters whose meaning cannot be determined, then the answer to the oath is omitted, which is indicated by “but” and the sentence following it. The meaning then would be: The reason for the denial of these disbelievers is not that the religion which is being presented before them is unsound, or that Muhammad (peace be upon him) has shown some slackness in the matter of presenting the truth before them, but their own boasting and bragging, their haughtiness and stubbornness, and this is borne out by this Quran itself, which is full of admonition. Every unbiased person who studies it will admit that full justice has been done in it to the task of making the people understand the truth.
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