Al-Mu'minun 23:67–75

(1). Another possible translation of this verse may be as follows: 'but you used to turn back on your heels, being over-proud of it (the Karam being looked after by you), indulging in tales at night, talking nonsense." It is this second translation on which the forthcoming explanation is based.

مُسْتَكْبِرِ‌ينَ بِهِ سَامِرً‌ا تَهْجُرُ‌ونَ (Being over-proud of it (the haram), indulging in tales at night talking non-sense). According to many commentators the word (on it) in this verse has a reference to the Haram (the sanctuary of Makkah). Although there is no specific mention of the Haram in the verse, yet the very close association of the Quraish of Makkah with it and their great pride in this association renders a specific mention of the Haram unnecessary. The purpose of the verse, therefore, is to mention the causes of their aversion against Allah's verses. The first factor was their pride in their being the neighbours and care-takers of Haram. The other two factors are mentioned in the next two words.

The word سَامِرً‌ا is derived from سَمَر meaning "Moon lit night". It was a favourite pastime with the Arabs to assemble on moon lit nights and tell stories. Thus the word سَمَر came to be used in the sense of stories and anecdotes and سَامِر meant a raconteur. Although the word has been used in the singular yet it is often used as a plural also as in this verse. This word points out the second reason for the repudiation of divine communications by the infidels of Makkah which is their preoccupation with petty and frivolous matters such as story-telling and their lack of interest in divine messages. And finally there was a third reason for this state of affairs also namely that they used to indulge in foolish talk and pass unseemly remarks about the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

The word تَهْجُرُ‌ونَ (23:67) is derived from ھُجر - with a dammah mark ( ‘) on the letter ہ and means "to speak nonsense, to use foul language).

Ban on story-telling after ` lsha' prayers

Story telling was favourite pastime among the Arabs and the Persians since ancient times. This habit was not only time wasting but was also the cause of certain evils. With a view to discourage this practice, the Holy Prophet ﷺ enjoined upon the Muslims not to sleep before the ` Isha' prayers. The philosophy behind this injunction was that all daily human activity ended with the ` Isha' prayers which should arguably be a man's last action and which might even atone for his lapses during the day. On the other hand if, after the ` Isha' prayers, he sits down to while away his time listening to silly and frivolous tales which in itself is a foolish act, he renders himself guilty of encouraging falsehood, backbiting and other sins. Another consequence of this evil habit is that such a person will go to bed late, will rise late and miss his early morning prayers. Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ used to admonish people whom he found listening to stories after ` Isha' prayers and advised them to go early to bed so that with Allah's grace they might be enabled to say midnight prayers. (Qurtubi)

The verses 68, 69 and 70 mention five reasons which might possibly have prevented the unbelievers from accepting the faith brought by the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and also give a rebuttal of each of these causes. Thus on the one hand all the arguments advanced by the infidels for not accepting the true faith have been demolished, and on the other hand there are compelling grounds and irrefutable evidence which should convince any right minded person of his error and persuade him to accept the message brought by the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Their persistence in their unbelief is, therefore, the result of their unreasoning hatred towards and blind prejudice against the Holy Prophet ﷺ to which a reference has been made in the latter part of the verse (Instead, the fact is that he has come to them with truth, but it is the truth that most of them dislike - 23:70). In other words, there being no valid and rational ground for repudiating the mission of the Holy Prophet ﷺ their opposition may be explained by their dislike of truth and their unwillingness to pay heed to its message. This, no doubt is due to their love for undisputed power and their reluctance to share it with anyone else.

أَمْ لَمْ يَعْرِ‌فُوا رَ‌سُولَهُمْ

Or did they not recognize their messenger? - 23:69.

One reason for their denial of the true faith could have been if the message was brought to them by an outsider who was a stranger to them and with whose character and antecedents they were unfamiliar. But this argument could not be invoked in the case of the Holy Prophet ﷺ who belonged to the noble family of Quraish, was born in Makkah, grew up among them, and his whole life was like an open book before them: Before prophethood was bestowed upon him, he was known among the unbelievers of Makkah as اَمِین (trustworthy) and صَادِق (truthful) and nobody had ever raised an accusing finger on his character and general behavior. Thus they could not take the plea that their repudiation of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and of the message brought to him was due to their ignorance about him or about his family connections.