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wa-ʾin yaraw kisfan mina s-samāʾi sāqiṭan yaqūlū saḥābun markūmun
Were they to see a fragment falling from the sky, they would say, ‘A cumulous cloud.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
52Aṭ-ṬūrالطورVerse 44 of 49
The Mount52. Aṭ-Ṭūrالطور
al-Ṭūr
The Mount
MeccanVerse 44 of 49
Surah al-Tur - Verse 44
44. They are so obdurate that even if they see a piece of the heaven falling down, they would say: “Clouds gathered in heaps [but it is not Divine Wrath]!”
Resuming the discussion with obdurate polytheists and disbelievers enlightening any truth seeking man, the blessed Verses expose their prejudice and obduracy saying that they are so obdurate that even if they see rocks fall down from the heaven as a result of Divine torment, they will say: "You are mistaken. This is not a rock but a condensed cloud falling onto the earth." Such obdurate people who deny sense perceptions and interpret rocks falling down from the heaven as condensed clouds while it is common knowledge that clouds which descend upon the earth are nothing but fog and such delicate fog may not be condensed to change into rocks, such attitude toward spiritual truths is crystal clear.
Shadows of sin, lustfulness, obduracy, and animosity may darken human vision to the extent that he denies sense perceptions. There is no hope for the guidance of such people. It may be noted in passing that the Arabic word kisf denotes "piece" which ad hoc connotes "falling down a piece of stone from the heaven as a token of Divine torment. The word markum designates "condensed," connoting something placed above something else.