Rhetorical rebuke A question that exposes denial

أَفَسِحْرٌ هَٰذَا أَمْ أَنتُمْ لَا تُبْصِرُونَ

“So, is this magic? Or it is that you can’t see?”

“Magic?” “Or can’t you see?” Confronted with reality

Language points and insights

Sarcastic rebuke exposing contradiction

As they are pushed to their destination and shown the Fire, the question is posed not to seek an answer but to expose denial: “So, is this magic? Or do you not see?”

The “Fa” (So) — continuation from past accusations

“So” connects to their worldly claims, when they called the Qur’an and the Prophet’s ﷺ message “magic” — just as Fir‘awn accused Musa (as). It evokes: “You dismissed this as magic. Does it look like magic now?”

“Or it is that you can’t see?” — what this implies

It can mean “are your eyes lying to you?” or probe whether blindness was real or wilful — they now see the Fire clearly, just as they should have clearly seen the truth before but chose not to.

“I’ll believe when I see it” — turned against them

The message is meant to be heard and reasoned with. Those who demanded sight are rebuked: Do you see now? Is what you see punishment “magic,” or are you blind to it just as you were blind to the truth in worldly life?

Texts cited in the explanation

Surah Al-An’am

وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ كِتَابًا فِي قِرْطَاسٍ فَلَمَسُوهُ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ لَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ

“And even if We had sent down to you, [O Muhammad], a written scripture on a page and they touched it with their hands, the disbelievers would say: This is nothing but obvious magic!” (7).

Denial would persist regardless of clear proofs.

Surah Al-Hijr

وَلَوْ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَابًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَظَلُّوا فِيهِ يَعْرُجُونَ (14) لَقَالُوا إِنَّمَا سُكِّرَتْ أَبْصَارُنَا بَلْ نَحْنُ قَوْمٌ مَسْحُورُونَ

“And even if We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they were to continue ascending therein, (14) They would surely say: “Our eyes have been dazzled (or put in an intoxicated state). Nay, we are a people affected by magic” (14).

Even extraordinary signs would be dismissed as “magic.”

Surah Al-A’raf

وَإِن تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى الْهُدَىٰ لَا يَسْمَعُوا ۖ وَتَرَاهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ وَهُمْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ

“And if you invite them to guidance, they do not hear; and you see them looking at you while they do not see” (Al-A’raf: 198).

A portrait of looking without perceiving.

Comments from the scholars of Tafsir

“Is this also magic?!” — reality matches what was warned

You claimed the revelation and its warnings were magic or sorcery. What you now see affirms what was said to you — will you still call this magic?

“Or you can’t see?” — blindness to reality

Are you blind to the reality being conveyed now, just as you were blind in worldly life to the message itself?

Key takeaways

Rhetorical rebuke.
The question unmasks their self-contradiction: they called the truth “magic,” yet now face the very reality they denied.
“So” (Fa) ties it together.
It links their Day of Judgment state with past dismissals, recalling their charge of “magic.”
Willful blindness unmasked.
“Or you can’t see?” questions whether their blindness was chosen; now the truth is unmistakable.
Demanding sight is no excuse.
Those insisting “we’ll believe when we see” are rebuked when the unseen meets their sight.