Surah Al-Anfaal · Ayah 21·Madanī

21

وَلَا كَٱلَّذِينَ وَهُمْ لَا ﴿٢١﴾

Translation

Saheeh International

And do not be like those who say, "We have heard," while they do not hear.

Compare all 34 translations →

Tafsīr

No commentary indexed for this ayah yet.

Verse DNA · this āyah at a glance

Vocabulary and recitation are counted from the morphology and the Uthmani marks; commentary reports whether an authored tafsīr entry reaches this āyah. A structural read, not a judgement — a denser strip is not a weightier verse.

Vocabulary · 3 roots in 4 of 8 words

Recitation · 10 points across 2 rule families

  • Madd ṭabīʿī9
  • Iẓhār shafawī1

Commentary

No tafsīr entry reaches this āyah yet — the interpretive layer covers a pilot, not the whole Book.

Shape

8 words · 36 letters · āyah 21 of 75

once in the Qurʾān2–10×11–50×51–300×300+×

Similar verses by meaning

Ranked by semantic similarity over translation embeddings — a model’s proxy for meaning, not a claim about it, and not tafsīr. Verses may be kin in theme while differing entirely in wording.

  • Quran 28:55 · Al-Qasasclose

    وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا۟ لَنَآ أَعْمَٰلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَٰلُكُمْ سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَا نَبْتَغِى ٱلْجَٰهِلِينَ

    And when they hear ill speech, they turn away from it and say, "For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds. Peace will be upon you; we seek not the ignorant."

  • Quran 21:45 · Al-Anbiyaaclose

    قُلْ إِنَّمَآ أُنذِرُكُم بِٱلْوَحْىِ وَلَا يَسْمَعُ ٱلصُّمُّ ٱلدُّعَآءَ إِذَا مَا يُنذَرُونَ

    Say, "I only warn you by revelation." But the deaf do not hear the call when they are warned.

  • Quran 6:25 · Al-An'aamclose

    وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَسْتَمِعُ إِلَيْكَ وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ كُلَّ ءَايَةٍ لَّا يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِهَا حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءُوكَ يُجَٰدِلُونَكَ يَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِنْ هَٰذَآ إِلَّآ أَسَٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ

    And among them are those who listen to you, but We have placed over their hearts coverings, lest they understand it, and in their ears deafness. And if they should see every sign…

  • Quran 8:31 · Al-Anfaalclose

    وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَٰتُنَا قَالُوا۟ قَدْ سَمِعْنَا لَوْ نَشَآءُ لَقُلْنَا مِثْلَ هَٰذَآ إِنْ هَٰذَآ إِلَّآ أَسَٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ

    And when Our verses are recited to them, they say, "We have heard. If we willed, we could say [something] like this. This is not but legends of the former peoples."

  • Quran 41:4 · Fussilatclose

    بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا فَأَعْرَضَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ

    As a giver of good tidings and a warner; but most of them turn away, so they do not hear.

  • Quran 43:80 · Az-Zukhrufclose

    أَمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّا لَا نَسْمَعُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَىٰهُم بَلَىٰ وَرُسُلُنَا لَدَيْهِمْ يَكْتُبُونَ

    Or do they think that We hear not their secrets and their private conversations? Yes, [We do], and Our messengers are with them recording.

Verses built from the same roots

Ranked by shared vocabulary (idf-cosine over each verse’s root-set). Shared words are a fact about form — they do not by themselves mean two verses are about the same thing.

Questions

Which verses are similar to Quran 8:21?

Verses close in meaning to Quran 8:21 include Quran 28:55 (Surah Al-Qasas), Quran 21:45 (Surah Al-Anbiyaa), Quran 6:25 (Surah Al-An'aam), and Quran 8:31 (Surah Al-Anfaal). For example, 28:55 reads: “And when they hear ill speech, they turn away from it and say, "For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds. Peace will be upon you; we seek not the ignorant."” These are ranked by comparing translations of every verse in the Qurʾān, so they are a measure of similar wording and theme — not a tafsīr ruling.

What does Quran 8:21 say?

In Saheeh International, Quran 8:21 (Surah Al-Anfaal, The Spoils of War) reads: “And do not be like those who say, "We have heard," while they do not hear.”

Which surah is verse 8:21 in?

Quran 8:21 is āyah 21 of Surah Al-Anfaal (The Spoils of War), chapter 8 of the Qurʾān — a Medinan (Madanī) surah of 75 verses.

In how many languages can I read Quran 8:21?

Tartīl presents Quran 8:21 in the original Arabic alongside 34 translations, with audio recitation.