Surah Al-Baqarah 2:24
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 24 of 286
فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُوا۟ وَلَن تَفْعَلُوا۟ فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱلنَّارَ ٱلَّتِى وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلْحِجَارَةُ ۖ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَٰفِرِينَ
Translation
If you cannot do this- and you never will- then beware of the Fire prepared for the disbelievers, whose fuel is men and stones.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'But if you do not, and you will never be able to, then fear the Fire whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.' al-Saadi and Ibn Kathir note the certainty of the prediction, 'lan taf'alu', you will never do it, a bold, permanent claim that has held, followed at once by a sober warning. Ask yourself: the verse pairs an intellectual proof (the unmeetable challenge) with a moral consequence (the Fire), because truth is not merely to be admired but responded to. Once the case is made, indifference is not a neutral option. It confronts my tendency to treat matters of God as fascinating ideas to discuss rather than realities to act on. If the challenge truly stands unanswered, if the Book truly is what it claims, then it demands not just my agreement but my life. Am I treating the Qur'an as a settled proof to obey, or an interesting debate to enjoy?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ashur.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:24 is discussed in 8 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Baqarah 2:24 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.