وَمَا نُرْسِلُ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ ۚ وَيُجَٰدِلُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ لِيُدْحِضُوا۟ بِهِ ٱلْحَقَّ ۖ وَٱتَّخَذُوٓا۟ ءَايَٰتِى وَمَآ أُنذِرُوا۟ هُزُوًا
2:214; 4:166; 6:49; 17:106.
Important Words:
لید حضوا (that they may rebut) is derived from دحض . They say دحضت رجله i.e. his foot slipped. دحضت حجته means, his argument, plea, allegation or evidence was or became null or void. ادحض means, he rendered null and void an argument, etc.; he rebutted it. The Quranic words لیدحضوا به الحق mean, that they might rebut thereby the truth (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse means to say that signs are shown to disbelievers that they may benefit by them and by accepting truth save themselves from Divine punishment. But they mock at them and treat them as vagaries of superstitious and ignorant people and reject them with contempt. They accept, however, as holy writ the half-baked theories of their own philosophers and social thinkers. These verses describe the mental attitude of western nations towards spiritual matters.
2:214; 4:166; 6:49; 17:106.