And this rejection to the Divine faith continues till date as many a non Muslims, specially the polytheists of today still continue to raise same objections against Islam as was raised fourteen hundred years ago against Islam and Qur'an when Prophet Muhammad ﷺ extended Da'wah (invitation to Islam) to them. Let us share a verse from Al Qur'an and then expand it to see its closeness to the echoes of the polytheistic mindset still be heard today.
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.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
Please refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from Surah 8. Al-Anfāl - سورة ٱلْأَنْفَال (The Spoils of War) for verses from this Surah.
You may also refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
For more Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. .
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, other sources which have been explored and views of other scholars have been incorporated while explaining meaning of a verse. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
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