The Quran

140

Preface

وَقَد نَزَّلَ عَلَيكُم فِي الكِتابِ أَن إِذا سَمِعتُم آياتِ اللَّهِ يُكفَرُ بِها وَيُستَهزَأُ بِها فَلا تَقعُدوا مَعَهُم حَتّىٰ يَخوضوا في حَديثٍ غَيرِهِ ۚ إِنَّكُم إِذًا مِثلُهُم ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ جامِعُ المُنافِقينَ وَالكافِرينَ في جَهَنَّمَ جَميعًا

Yusuf Ali

Already has He sent you¹ Word in the Book, that when ye hear the signs of God held in defiance and ridicule, ye are not to sit with them unless they turn to a different theme: if ye did, ye would be like them. For God will collect the hypocrites and those who defy faith - all in Hell:-

Cf. 6:68, an earlier and Meccan verse. Where we see or hear Truth held in light esteem, we ought to make our protest and withdraw from such company, not out of arrogance, as if we thought ourselves superior to other people, but out of real humility, lest our own nature be corrupted in such society. But it is possible that our protest or our sincere remonstrance may change the theme of discourse. In that case we have done good to those who were inclined to hold Truth in light esteem, if we have saved them for ridiculing Truth.