Qaf • Verse 5

Qaf 50:5 — Denial of the Truth and the Consequent State of Confusion

بَلْ كَذَّبُوا بِالْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ فَهُمْ فِي أَمْرٍ مَّرِيجٍ

“Rather (the truth of the matter is), they have declared the truth to be a lie when it came to them. As such, they are in a confused state”.

Takdheeb: declaring the truth a lie Al‑Haqq: truth, right, reality, purpose Consequence: فَ → Mareej (confused, let loose)

Nuance of Rejection: Kufr vs Takdheeb

Key Terms

كُفْر (Kufr — “Disbelief”)

Implies rejection, denial, and disbelief in something.

Passive stance: turning away from or denying.

تَكْذِيب (Takdheeb — “Declaring something to be a lie”)

A step beyond disbelief: proactively going out of one’s way to tell others that something is a lie or someone is a liar.

كَذَّبُوا بِالْحَقِّ “They do Takdheeb with the Haqq (truth)” implies an active campaign against the truth.

الْحَقّ (Al‑Haqq): Four Interlocked Meanings

Semantic Field

1) Evidence‑Established Truth

That which is established by evidence is حَقّ; its opposite is بَاطِل (unsupported).

حَقّ ⇄ بَاطِل

2) Reality vs. Imaginary

That which actually exists is حَقّ; that which is imaginary or unreal is بَاطِل. Related term: حَقِيقَة (“true reality”).

حَقِيقَة • “Reality”

3) Rightful Due

حَقّ denotes what is due as a right (e.g., حَقُّ الوَالِدَيْنِ — “the right of the parents”).

Entails rights and responsibilities.

4) Purposefulness

حَقّ signifies purpose, opposed to عَبَث (purposelessness).

وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ
“And it is He who created the heavens and earth with purpose” (Al‑An’am: 73).
وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاءَ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا بَاطِلًا
“And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that between them without purpose” (Sad: 38).

Applying the Four Meanings to 50:5

Interpretive Lens

  1. Evidence

    They consider that which has been arrived at by evidence to be a lie.

  2. Reality

    They call reality a lie. Whether they call it a lie or not, reality is reality and cannot change.

  3. Rights and Responsibilities

    They call the giving of dues and what people deserve a lie. This revelation demands giving people and Allah their rightful due, which requires taking responsibility — something they resist.

  4. Purpose

    They deny purpose — that life has a purpose tied to the afterlife — and they reject its implications.

مَرِيج: A State Let Loose, Mixed, and Unsettled

Semantic Imagery

Core Sense: Confused and Unsettled

The implied meanings combine disorder and lack of direction with being “let loose” — a state that does not bring peace.

Linguistic Illustrations

  • مَرَجَتِ الدَّابَّة: “The animal went off to graze” in the مَرْج (pasture) — free‑roaming, opposite of being constrained by rights and responsibilities.
  • مَرَجَتْ أُمُورُ النَّاس: “The affairs of the people have become mixed up, unsettled, and confused.”
  • مَّارِجٍ مِّن نَّارٍ: the part of a flame that moves in every direction, unstable.
    وَخَلَقَ الْجَانَّ مِن مَّارِجٍ مِّن نَّارٍ — “And the Jinn He created from the flame of fire” (Ar‑Rahman: 15).
  • مَرِجَ الخَاتِم فِي الإِصْبَع: “The ring became loose or unsteady on the finger” — does not fit comfortably.

Contradictory Critique of the Message

Their criticism of the message is incoherent and unstable, making contradictory claims:

“poet” “magician” “taught by someone foreign” “insane”

Whilst Islam remains stable and consistent, those who attack it are “all over the place.”

Underlying Motive

Their denial of the afterlife and truth is not based on deep philosophical criticism but because they want to continue in a “Mareej” state and lifestyle — unconstrained, lacking direction, purpose, and stability.

Causality: فَاءُ السَّبَبِيَّة (Faa’ of Consequence)

Logical Flow

The verse’s فَ indicates that their being in a state of مَرِيج is a consequence of their denial of the truth.

كَذَّبُوا بِالْحَقِّ
They declared the truth a lie
فَ
therefore
فَهُمْ فِي أَمْرٍ مَّرِيجٍ
They are in a confused, unsettled state

Had they not denied the truth, they would not be in such a directionless and unstable state.

Section Summary: Their Stance

Surah Qaf — Opening

This concludes the first section of the Surah and depicts “their stance”: rejecting the truth as a lie (تَكْذِيب) and, as a result, dwelling in a state of مَرِيج — mixed, contradictory, purposeless, and let loose.

Ayah 5