أَسْمِعْ بِهِمْ وَأَبْصِرْ يَوْمَ يَأْتُونَنَا لَكِنِ الظَّالِمُونَ الْيَوْمَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ ﴿۳۸﴾ وَأَنْذِرْهُمْ يَوْمَ الْحَسْرَةِ إِذْ قُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَهُمْ فِي غَفْلَةٍ وَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿۳۹﴾ إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَرِثُ الْأَرْضَ وَمَنْ عَلَيْهَا وَإِلَيْنَا يُرْجَعُونَ ﴿۴۰﴾ وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صِدِّيقًا نَبِيًّا ﴿۴۱﴾ إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ يَا أَبَتِ لِمَ تَعْبُدُ مَا لَا يَسْمَعُ وَلَا يُبْصِرُ وَلَا يُغْنِي عَنْكَ شَيْئًا ﴿۴۲﴾

﴾38﴿ Asmi' bihim wa absir Yawma ya'toonanaa laakiniz zaalimoonal yawma fee dalaalin mubeen
﴾39﴿ Wa anzirhum Yawmal hasrati iz qudiyal amr; wa hum fee ghaflatinw wa hum laa yu'minoon
﴾40﴿ Innaa nahnu narisul arda wa man 'alaihaa wa ilainaa yurja'oon
﴾41﴿ Wazkur fil Kitaabi Ibraaheem; innahoo kaana siddeeqan Nabiyyaa
﴾42﴿ Iz qaala li abeehi yaaa abati lima ta'budu maa laa yasma'u wa laa yubsiru wa laa yughnee 'anka shai'aa

﴾38﴿ They will hear well and see clearly on the Day they are brought before Us, but today the wrongdoers are in clear misguidance
﴾39﴿ And warn them of the Day of Regret when matters will be decided, while they are heedless and they do not believe
﴾40﴿ Indeed, We are the inheritors of the earth and whoever is upon it, and to Us they will be returned
﴾41﴿ And mention, as an admonition in the Book of Allah, the story of Ibrahim (Abraham, peace be upon him). Indeed, he was a prophet of utmost truthfulness
﴾42﴿ When he said to his father, O my father, why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees and cannot avail you in anything

[38] In this verse, first there is a warning of the Hereafter, then a tone of rebuke.
The meaning of the verse is that on the Day of Judgment, they will hear and see clearly what they used to deny in this world.
But on that Day, seeing and hearing will be of no benefit—similar to what is mentioned in verse 12 of Surah As-Sajdah.
“Fī ḍalālin mubīn” means that in the world, they neither listened to the truth nor saw it, and this was the cause of their misguidance.
“Asmiʿ bihim wa abṣir” is in the form of an exclamatory verb—used to express amazement—and it indicates emphasis and intensity in how well they will hear and see on that Day.
[39] This verse too contains a warning of the Hereafter, followed by a tone of rebuke.
“The Day of Regret” (yawm al-ḥasrah) is so named because the deniers will be filled with sorrow and regret—
for having rejected Tawḥīd (the Oneness of Allah), as in verse 2 of Surah Al-Ḥijr,
for not following the Messenger, as in verse 27 of Surah Al-Furqān,
for not believing in the Hereafter, as in verse 31 of Surah Al-Anʿām,
and for neglecting the Qur’an, as in verse 27 of Surah Al-Anʿām.
“When the matter is decided” (idh quḍiya al-amr)—the intended phrasing is: they will feel regret when the matter has been concluded (yataḥassarūna idh quḍiya al-amr).
[40] In this, there is affirmation of Allah’s absolute control and authority.
It points to the fact that the entire universe will perish, and Allah, the Exalted, alone will remain.
This is the reason behind the phrase “idh quḍiya al-amr”—because Allah alone has the power to pass the final and just judgment, as He is the true Owner and Sovereign of all.
[41] This is the third account—that of Ibrahim (peace be upon him)—and it serves as a response to a misconception.
The polytheists’ doubt was that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was so close and favored by Allah that Allah had handed over authority and control to him.
For this reason, the polytheists of Makkah placed an image of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in the Ka‘bah, and placed divining arrows (azlām) in his hand—suggesting that he had power over people's fate.
The essence of the response is this: Ibrahim (peace be upon him), due to his belief in tawḥīd, disassociated himself from his own father. How then could he be made a partner with Allah?
He humbled himself before Allah and was in need of Him.
“In the Book” means: relate the events of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in accordance with the Book of Allah, not based on the tales of the polytheists.
“Ṣiddīqan” refers to someone who openly and truthfully proclaims the religion of Allah, without regard for anyone’s opinion. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) did not even show consideration for his father in this regard.
This is proof that he did not lie—and the three so-called “lies” attributed to him were in fact tauriyah (intentional ambiguity), not actual lies.
[42] In this verse, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) gently invites his father to tawḥīd and asks him for proof regarding the worship of anything besides Allah—using the word “lam” (did not), indicating negation of reasoning behind such worship.
The verse also highlights the qualities of the true deity and negates them from all other than Allah.
These three attributes are: hearing everything, seeing everything, and removing harm or calamity.
None of these qualities exist in any created being—whether prophets, saints, or the dead.
The order is meaningful: first is hearing, by which attention is gained; then seeing, to observe the condition; and finally, the ability to fulfill the need.