Forgetting what one was reminded of
نَسُوا۟ مَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِهِۦ
nasū mā dhukkirū bihi — they forgot what they had been reminded with
In these verses the roots ن س ي and ذ ك ر are repeatedly set against each other within a single verse, often as forgetting (active) what one has been reminded of (passive), with forgetting framed as the failure that follows a delivered reminder.
The two roots are paired in all twelve verses given, and the pairing is grammatically asymmetric. In four verses a perfect active verb of ن س ي is followed by a perfect passive (II) verb of ذ ك ر: 'they forgot a share of what they had been reminded with' (5:13), 'they forgot a share of what they had been reminded of' (5:14), 'when they forgot what they had been reminded of' (6:44, 7:165); in 18:57 the passive ذُكِّرَ comes first and the active نَسِىَ second: 'who has been reminded by the signs of his Lord... and forgot' (18:57); and 18:24 pairs the imperative ٱذْكُر with the 2MS perfect نَسِيتَ: 'remember your Lord when you forget' (18:24). In the passive verses the reminder is something done to the subject, while the forgetting is the subject's own act. A second pattern uses the causative (IV) form of ن س ي: in 12:42, 23:110 and 58:19 it takes the ذ ك ر noun as its object — the shayṭān 'made him forget the mention of his lord' (12:42), 'they made you forget My remembrance' (23:110), 'he made them forget the remembrance of Allah' (58:19); in 6:68 its object is the person made to forget ('makes you forget'), with ٱلذِّكْرَىٰ following بَعْدَ ('after the reminder'); in 18:63 its object is the fish, followed by the verb أَذْكُرَهُ: 'none made me forget it except the shayṭān, so that I did not remember it'. Here forgetting is caused by an external agent; the thing forgotten is a mention or remembrance in 12:42, 23:110 and 58:19, the fish in 18:63, and unstated in 6:68. In (25:18) the pattern is the simple one: 'they forgot the Reminder'. Across the verses, forgetting usually takes a reminder, a mention, or a remembrance as its object, but 18:57 has 'what his hands had sent ahead', 18:63 the fish, and 6:68 and 18:24 leave the object unstated; the verses attach consequences to it: enmity (5:14), sudden seizure (6:44), punishment (7:165), and being the faction of the shayṭān (58:19).
Where it occurs
- 5:13 They forgot a share of what they had been reminded with, among a list of covenant-breaking acts.
- 5:14 They forgot a share of what they had been reminded of, after the taking of their binding pledge.
- 6:44 When they forgot what they had been reminded of, gates of every thing were opened upon them before sudden seizure.
- 6:68 The shayṭān may make you forget, and after the reminder you are not to sit with the wrongdoing people.
- 7:165 When they forgot what they had been reminded of, those restraining from the bad were delivered and the wrongdoers seized.
- 12:42 The shayṭān made him forget the mention of his lord after he was asked to mention him.
- 18:24 Command to remember your Lord when you forget.
- 18:57 One reminded by the signs of his Lord turned away and forgot what his hands had sent ahead.
- 18:63 I forgot the fish, and none made me forget it except the shayṭān, so that I did not remember it.
- 23:110 You took them as an object of ridicule until they made you forget My remembrance.
- 25:18 Enjoyment was given until they forgot the Reminder and became a ruined people.
- 58:19 The shayṭān took hold of them so he made them forget the remembrance of Allah.
All Qur'anic expressions