Quran Universe
38:68

أَنتُمۡ عَنۡهُ مُعۡرِضُونَ

Antum AAanhu muAAridoona

From which you turn away.

Word by word
  1. أَنتُمۡYou
  2. عَنۡهُfrom it
  3. مُعۡرِضُونَturn away
Sad · 38:68Makkah

Great news, and you turn away from it.

Neglect is a quieter kind of rejection

The response
great newsdelivered
met with
turning awayneglect
Turning away looks like
loud rejectiononly that counts
simple neglectit sits unopened

Ibn Kathir explains turning away simply: you neglect it. The chiefs rejected loudly, but neglect is the wider problem. The greatest news can be ignored without anyone saying a word against it.

The Quran on the shelf, dusted at Eid. The app installed, opened in Ramadan. You never rejected it. You just never got to it. Neglect is quiet, and it adds up.

As long as I do not reject the Quran, I am fine.

Leaving it unopened is also a way of turning away.

Try this

Put a Quran or the app somewhere you will see it first thing tomorrow, and open it once.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 38:65)

Say: "I am only a warner and there is no God (worthy of worship) except Allah the One, the Irresistible, (65)"The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, the Almighty, the Oft-Forgiving. (66)Say: "That is a great news, (67)"From which you turn away! (68)"I had no knowledge of the chiefs (angels) on high when they were disputing and discussing. (69)"Only this has been revealed to me, that I am a plain warner. (70)

The Message of the Messenger ﷺ is a Great News

Allah tells His Messenger ﷺ to say to those who disbelieved in Allah, associated others in worship with Him and denied His Messenger: 'I am a warner, I am not as you claim.'

وَمَا مِنْ إِلَٰهٍ إِلَّا اللَّهُ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ

(and there is no God (worthy of worship) except Allah, the One, the Irresistible,) means, He Alone has subjugated and controlled everything.

رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا

(The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them,) means, He is the Sovereign of all that and is in control of it.

الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفَّارُ

(the Almighty, the Oft-Forgiving.) means, He is Oft-Forgiving as well as being Almighty and All-Powerful.

قُلْ هُوَ نَبَأٌ عَظِيمٌ 

(Say: "That (this Qur'an) is a great news,") means, 'something very important, which is that Allah has sent me to you.

أَنْتُمْ عَنْهُ مُعْرِضُونَ 

(From which you turn away!) means, 'you neglect it.'

مَا كَانَ لِيَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ بِالْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَىٰ إِذْ يَخْتَصِمُونَ

(I had no knowledge of the chiefs (angels) on high when they were disputing and discussing.) meaning, 'were it not for the divine revelation, how could I have known about the dispute of the chiefs on high (the angels)?' This refers to their dispute concerning Adam, peace be upon him, and how Iblis refused to prostrate to him and argued with his Lord because He preferred him (Adam) over him. This is what Allah says: