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Ayah
Word by Word
وَقَالُواْ
And they say
مَا
Not
هِيَ
it
إِلَّا
(is) but
حَيَاتُنَا
our life
ٱلدُّنۡيَا
(of) the world
نَمُوتُ
we die
وَنَحۡيَا
and we live
وَمَا
and not
يُهۡلِكُنَآ
destroys us
إِلَّا
except
ٱلدَّهۡرُۚ
the time
وَمَا
And not
لَهُم
for them
بِذَٰلِكَ
of that
مِنۡ
any
عِلۡمٍۖ
knowledge
إِنۡ
not
هُمۡ
they
إِلَّا
(do) but
يَظُنُّونَ
guess
وَقَالُواْ
And they say
مَا
Not
هِيَ
it
إِلَّا
(is) but
حَيَاتُنَا
our life
ٱلدُّنۡيَا
(of) the world
نَمُوتُ
we die
وَنَحۡيَا
and we live
وَمَا
and not
يُهۡلِكُنَآ
destroys us
إِلَّا
except
ٱلدَّهۡرُۚ
the time
وَمَا
And not
لَهُم
for them
بِذَٰلِكَ
of that
مِنۡ
any
عِلۡمٍۖ
knowledge
إِنۡ
not
هُمۡ
they
إِلَّا
(do) but
يَظُنُّونَ
guess
Translation
And they say, "There is not but our worldly life; we die and live,1 and nothing destroys us except time." And they have of that no knowledge; they are only assuming.
Footnotes
1 - i.e., some people die and others live, replacing them.
Tafsir
And they, those who deny the Resurrection, say, 'There is only, that is to say, [the only] life [is], our life, the one that is, in this world. We die and we live, that is to say, some die, while others are given life by [virtue of] being born, and nothing but time, that is, [nothing but] the passage of time, destroys us'. God, exalted be He, says: Of that, saying, they have no knowledge; they are only making conjectures.
The Life and the Death of the Believers and the Disbelievers are not Equal
Allah the Exalted states here that the believers and the disbelievers are never equal. Allah said in another Ayah,
لَا يَسْتَوِى أَصْحَـبُ النَّارِ وَأَصْحَـبُ الْجَنَّةِ أَصْحَـبُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمُ الْفَأيِزُونَ
Not equal are the dwellers of the Fire and the dwellers of the Paradise. It is the dwellers of Paradise that will be successful. (59:20)
Allah said here,
أًمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ اجْتَرَحُوا السَّيِّيَاتِ
Or do those who earn evil deeds think,
those who commit and practice evil,
أّن نَّجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ
سَوَاء مَّحْيَاهُم وَمَمَاتُهُمْ
that We shall hold them equal with those who believe and do righteous good deeds, in their life and their death,
i.e. treat them equally in the present life of the world and in the Hereafter
سَاء مَا يَحْكُمُونَ
Worst is the judgement that they make.
`worst is the thought that they have about Us and about Our justice, thinking that We will ever make the pious and the wicked equal in the Hereafter or this life.'
At-Tabarani recorded that Shubah said that Amr bin Murrah narrated that Abu Ad-Duha said that Masruq said that;
Tamim Ad-Dari once stood in voluntary prayer through the night until the morning only reciting this Ayah,
أًمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ اجْتَرَحُوا السَّيِّيَاتِ
أّن نَّجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ
Or do those who earn evil deeds think that We shall hold them equal with those who believe and do righteous good deeds...
Allah said in reply:
سَاء مَا يَحْكُمُونَ
(Worst is the judgement that they make.)
Allah said
وَخَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَْرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ
And Allah has created the heavens and the earth with truth,
meaning, in justice,
وَلِتُجْزَى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ
وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
in order that each person may be recompensed what he has earned, and they will not be wronged.
Allah the Exalted said
أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ
Have you seen him who takes his own lust as his god,
who abides by his lust, and whatever his lust portrays as good he implements it, and whatever his lust portrays as evil, he abandons it!
Allah's statement,
وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ
And Allah left him astray with knowledge,
has two meanings.
- One of them is that Allah knew that this person deserves to be misguided, so He left him astray.
- The second meaning is that Allah led this person astray after knowledge reached him and the proof was established before him.
The second meaning includes the first meaning, but not the opposite.
Allah said,
وَخَتَمَ عَلَى سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ
غِشَاوَةً
and sealed his hearing and his heart, and put a cover on his sight.
so he does not hear what benefits him, understands not what would lead him to the guidance and sees not the evidence with which he can be enlightened.
This is why Allah said,
فَمَن يَهْدِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ اللَّهِ أَفَلَ تَذَكَّرُونَ
Who then will guide him after Allah? Will you not then remember?
Allah said in a similar Ayah,
مَن يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَلَ هَادِيَ لَهُ وَيَذَرُهُمْ فِى طُغْيَـنِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
Whomsoever Allah sends astray, none can guide him; and He lets them wander blindly in their transgressions. (7:186)
The Conviction of the Disbelievers, Their Argument and the Refutation of it
Allah mentions here the creed of Ad-Dahriyyah and the Arab idolators who embraced their creed, denying Resurrection,
وَقَالُوا مَا هِيَ إِلاَّ حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا
And they say:There is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live....
They say that there is only this life, some people die while others are born to life, without Resurrection or Judgement.
This was the creed of Arab idolators who used to deny Resurrection, in addition to, the creed of the atheist philosophers among them who denied the creation and Resurrection.
This was also the statement of atheist philosophers who deny the Creator and think that the world will return to its original form once every thirty--six thousand years, when everything will restart its life--cycle again! They claim that this cycle was repeated for infinity, thus contradicting the sound reason and the divine revelation.
They said,
وَمَا يُهْلِكُنَا إِلاَّ الدَّهْرُ
and nothing destroys us except Ad-Dahr (time).
Allah the Exalted said in reply,
وَمَا لَهُم بِذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِنْ هُمْ إِلاَّ يَظُنُّونَ
And they have no knowledge of it, they only presume.
they speculate and guess!
As for the Hadith recorded by the two collectors of the Sahih, and Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i, from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah said,
يَقُولُ تَعَالَى
يُوْذِينِي ابْنُ ادَمَ يَسُبُّ الدَّهْرَ وَأَنَا الدَّهْرُ بِيَدِيَ الاَْمْرُ أُقَلِّبُ لَيْلَهُ وَنَهَارَه
Allah the Exalted says,
The Son of `Adam annoys Me when he curses Ad-Dahr (time), while I am Ad-Dahr. In My Hand are all matters; I cause the alternation of his days and nights.
In another narration;
لَاا تَسُبُّوا الدَّهْرَ فَإِنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى هُوَ الدَّهْر
Do not curse Ad-Dahr (time), for Allah is Ad-Dahr.
Ash-Shafi`i, Abu Ubaydah and several other Imams of Tafsir explained the meaning of the Prophet's statement,
لَاا تَسُبُّوا الدَّهْرَ فَإِنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى هُوَ الدَّهْر
(Do not abuse Ad-Dahr (time), for Allah is Ad-Dahr.) They said,
During the time of Jahiliyyah, when an affliction, a calamity or a disaster struck them, the Arabs used to say,
`Woe to Ad-Dahr (time)!'
So they used to blame such incidents on Ad-Dahr, cursing Ad-Dahr in the process. Surely, it is Allah the Exalted and Most Honored Who causes these (and all) things to happen. This is why when they cursed Ad-Dahr, it was as if they were cursing Allah Himself, since truthfully, He causes all incidents to happen. Therefore, abusing Ad-Dahr was prohibited due to this consideration, for it was Allah Whom they meant by abusing Ad-Dahr, which -- as we said-- they accused of causing (distressful) incidents.
This is the best explanation for this subject, and it is the desired meaning. Allah knows best.
We should mention that Ibn Hazm and those of the Zahiriyyah like him made an error when they used this Hadith to include Ad-Dahr among Allah's most beautiful Names.
Allah's statement
وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ ايَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ
And when Our Clear Ayat are recited to them,
means, when the truth is made plain to them and used as evidence against them, asserting that Allah is able to resurrect the bodies after they have perished and disintegrated,
مَّا كَانَ حُجَّتَهُمْ إِلاَّا أَن قَالُوا
ايْتُوا بِأبَايِنَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
their argument is no other than that they say:Bring back our fathers, if you are truthful!
`bring them back to life, if what you say is true.'
Allah the Exalted said
قُلِ اللَّهُ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ
Say (to them):
Allah gives you life and then causes you to die...
`for you are witnesses that He brings you (or new life) to existence after non--existence,'
كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَتًا فَأَحْيَـكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ
How can you disbelieve in Allah? Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life. (2:28)
Therefore, He Who is able to initiate creation, is able to restart it, as well and more obviously,
وَهُوَ الَّذِى يَبْدَأُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ وَهُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْهِ
And He it is Who originates the creation, then He will repeat it; and this is easier for Him. (30:27)
Allah said next,
ثُمَّ يَجْمَعُكُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيبَ فِيهِ
then He will assemble you on the Day of Resurrection about which there is no doubt.
`when He resurrects you, it will be on and for the Day of Resurrection, not in this life. Therefore, your statement is groundless,'
ايْتُوا بِأبَايِنَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
(Bring back our (dead) fathers, if you are truthful!) Allah said,
يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُكُمْ لِيَوْمِ الْجَمْعِ
The Day when He will gather you (all) on the Day of Gathering. (64:9),
لاأَيِّ يَوْمٍ أُجِّلَتْ
لِيَوْمِ الْفَصْلِ
For what Day are these signs postponed? For the Day of sorting out. (77:12-13),
and,
وَمَا نُوَخِّرُهُ إِلاَّ لاًّجَلٍ مَّعْدُودٍ
And We delay it only for a term (already) fixed. (11:104)
Allah said here,
ثُمَّ يَجْمَعُكُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيبَ فِيهِ
(then He will assemble you on the Day of Resurrection about which there is no doubt.) there is no doubt that it will come,
وَلَكِنَّ أَكَثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
But most of mankind know not.
and this is why they deny Resurrection and discount the fact that the bodies will be brought back to life.
Allah the Exalted said,
إِنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَهُ بَعِيداً
وَنَرَاهُ قَرِيباً
Verily, they see it afar off. But We see it (quite) near. (70:6),
they discount the possibility that Resurrection will ever come, while the believers believe that its occurrence is easy and imminent.
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