The Verse (Surah 8 Al Anfal :31):
وَاِذَا تُتۡلٰى عَلَيۡهِمۡ اٰيٰتُنَا قَالُوۡا قَدۡ سَمِعۡنَا لَوۡ نَشَآءُ لَـقُلۡنَا مِثۡلَ هٰذَٓا ۙ اِنۡ هٰذَاۤ اِلَّاۤ اَسَاطِيۡرُ الۡاَوَّلِيۡنَ
(8:31) And when Our verses are recited to them, they say: 'We have heard. We could, if we willed, compose the like of it. They, are nothing but fables of the ancient times.' (Surah Al-Anfal, 8:31)
Historical Context of Revelation
This verse was revealed in Medina, post the Battle of Badr, but it refers to the attitude of the Meccan disbelievers toward the Quran before the migration. And it is interesting to note that the allegations against Islam and Al Qur'an levelled more than fourteen centuries ago are still prevalent and non Muslim continue to label the same allegations as was done by the pagans of Makkah in the times of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Let us expand this verse for its better understanding.
Who are "they" in this verse?
Refers specifically to the Quraysh leaders such as:
- Al-Nadr ibn Al-Harith
- Abu Jahl
- Umayyah ibn Khalaf
They mocked the Quran when it was recited to them and claimed:
- “We’ve heard it. Nothing new.”
- “We could produce something like this if we wanted.”
- “It’s just old stories, like the ones our ancestors told.”
Why did they say this?
It was a dismissive and arrogant response aimed at:
- Undermining the divine origin of the Quran.
- Avoiding accountability, since accepting its truth would require changing their lifestyle and beliefs.
- Preserving social and political power, which Islam threatened.
Al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, for instance, used to travel to Persia and would come back with fables and tales, saying, “I can tell better stories than Muhammad.”
Explanation of the Verse
- "We have heard..."
- A sarcastic way of saying, “We’ve heard this already; it’s nothing special.”
- Shows their intellectual arrogance and mockery.
- "We could say something like it if we wanted..."
- This reflects their false claim that the Quran is man-made.
- Yet, despite this claim, they never produced anything like it, even when challenged repeatedly:
- The Quran challenges:
- “Then produce a surah like it...” (Surah Yunus 10:38, also Hud 11:13)
- They failed to respond with anything remotely comparable.
- "This is nothing but fables of the ancients"
- They reduced divine revelation to mere myths or legends, i.e., stories from previous generations with no real authority.
- This phrase was common among Quraysh when denying both the Quran and resurrection.
Relevance to the Present Times
This verse perfectly mirrors the attitudes of many in modern times — especially skeptics, secular critics, and anti-theistic voices — who respond to divine guidance with:
- Dismissiveness toward Revelation
- People say: “We've heard this before,” or “Religion is outdated.”
- They view divine texts as irrelevant, repetitive, or lacking originality, despite not genuinely engaging with them.
- Claiming Human Equivalence
- Some argue: “The Quran is just Arabic poetry,” or “Any intelligent writer could come up with something similar.”
- But no one has met the Quran's literary challenge over 14 centuries — in content, structure, law, theology, and effect on hearts.
- Accusing Islam of Being 'Backward' or 'Mythical': The phrase “fables of the ancients” is echoed today in accusations that religion is based on superstition or ancient folklore, ignoring its moral clarity, transformative power, and intellectual depth.
- Irrelevance of Qur'an with science: This is the most interesting accusation among those, specially the ashiest, who find "no relevance" of Qur'an with modern day science.
- While this accusation is meaningless for the simple reason that Divine scriptures are meant to guide mankind to true faith and worship of one true God, it may be noted that none of the earlier Divine Scriptures are non-scientific either. So why single out Qur'an only, despite many scientific proofs presented in Qur'an only.
- Qur'an explains in detail the evolution of birth in all its stages, not even known at the time of its revelation. Rather it was many centuries later that medical science progressed to find out what Qur'an said about the stages of childbirth are but true.
- It is Qur'an which told mankind that iron is not native to the earth but it came down from the outer space. Now science has proved its correctness that iron was bombarded on earth in the shape of meteoroids which were detached from the dying stars.
- It was Qur'an which reassured the Rome after their defeat by the Persians that they will regain their lost pride and will be victorious.
- It is the Qur'an which tells us that mountains are like giant spikes that are holding the earth and supporting it, so proved by the science today.
- There are many more examples that can be quoted out of Qur'an about scientific discoveries that came to be true until recently.
- Yet, despite all this knowledge, Qur'an remains a Book of Guidance and not a book of science, so to say.
Key Lessons from 8:31
- Arrogance blinds from truth: Intellectual pride prevents people from recognizing divine guidance
- Claiming false equivalence with revelation: Many still say religious texts are human-made without serious study
- Repeating old patterns of denial: Human skepticism toward prophets and scriptures is a recurring theme
- Importance of sincerity in seeking truth:
- Truth is not found through mockery, but honest reflection and humility
- The mention of many things only recently found by science to be true and yet not confirming these for sincerity in seeking the truth through Qur'an is lacking.
Final Reflection
Verse 8:31 shows how the same patterns of rejection repeat across time. Whether in 7th-century Mecca or 21st-century secular societies, the human heart often resists what challenges its ego, habits, or worldview.
Yet the Quran continues to stand unchallenged — in its message, beauty, preservation, and power to transform hearts. "This Quran is not such as can be produced by other than Allah..." (Surah Yunus 10:37)
Despite all accusations, it is heartening to note that more and more non Muslims and polytheists of day are reverting to Islam for more one ponders over Qur'an, keeping aside one's arrogance and attachment to one's culture, traditions and faith, the more truth one finds in Qur'an. Those who revert to Islam now know that the misinformation they have been fed with about Islam was not true and was only aimed to keep the world away from Divine truth that Islam and Qur'an teach. Today, Islam is the second religion after Christianity and many researchers believe that by 2050 Islam will be the dominating religions.