Do you know to what the Lord of the Worlds likens those who turn away from the Qur`ān?
Donkeys.
Fleeing donkeys.
[Then what is the matter with them that they are, from the Reminder (the Qur`ān), turning away
As if they were alarmed donkeys
Fleeing from a lion.] Muddathir:49-51
Al-Qurṭubī, a commentator of Tafsīr explains that there are two ways in which a person turns away from the Qur`ān: 1. by denying it outright. 2. By not acting according to its commandments.
And the linguistic composition of the first āyah tells us that it is a rhetorical question aimed to express sheer amazement at their insolence; what is wrong with them?! How can they turn away?!
Scholars of Tafsīr suggest that this particular comparison is to a zebra (in common Arabic a zebra is known as ḥimār waḥshī – wild donkey). Disregarding species, picture the imagery: a zebra out in the open, grazing, with not a care in the world. It barely senses its predator, the lion, but it takes off, racing the wind. This is the reality of those who zone out any reminder presented to them, this is the reality of their repulsion from reminders of the Qur`ān. Like a fleeing wild donkey, but little does it know, as it flees, its soul could a breath away from the throes of death. Little does it know.
Ask yourself the following question: when was the last time you read the Qur`ān and were reminded by and heedful of its Message?
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