۞ إِنَّمَا يَسْتَجِيبُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْمَعُونَ ۘ وَٱلْمَوْتَىٰ يَبْعَثُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُونَ 36
Translations
Only those who hear will respond. But the dead - Allāh will resurrect them; then to Him they will be returned.
Transliteration
Innama yastajeebu allatheena yasmaAAoon. Walmawtaa yabAAathuhumu Allahu thumma ilayhi yurjaAAoon.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah conveys that only those with living hearts—those who listen and reflect with understanding—will respond to the message of Allah. The dead (both literally and spiritually, referring to those whose hearts are sealed from guidance) will be resurrected by Allah on the Day of Judgment, after which they return to Him for reckoning. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir interpret the 'dead' as those who are heedless and turn away from the divine message, emphasizing that spiritual deafness and hardness of heart prevent one from accepting guidance in this life.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan period of Surah Al-An'am, which addresses the pagans of Mecca who rejected the Qur'an despite hearing it clearly. The verse responds to their willful rejection and spiritual blindness, reminding them that resurrection is inevitable and that their unwillingness to listen in this world does not exempt them from accountability in the hereafter.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'The best among you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it' (Sahih Bukhari 5027), emphasizing the importance of listening and understanding. Additionally, 'Whoever Allah intends good for, He gives him understanding of the religion' (Sahih Bukhari 71), which relates to the spiritual capacity to hear and comprehend.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that hearing the divine message requires not just physical ears but an attentive, open heart willing to reflect and respond. It also serves as a sobering reminder that worldly heedlessness does not negate accountability before Allah, and all souls will ultimately return to Him for judgment.
Related Ayahs
وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذْ وُقِفُوا۟ عَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ ۚ قَالَ أَلَيْسَ هَـٰذَا بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ وَرَبِّنَا ۚ قَالَ فَذُوقُوا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ
If you could but see when they will be made to stand before their Lord. He will say, "Is this not the truth?" They will say, "Yes, by our Lord." He will [then] say, "So taste the punishment for what you used to deny."
قُلْ هُوَ ٱلْقَادِرُ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابًا مِّن فَوْقِكُمْ أَوْ مِن تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِكُمْ أَوْ يَلْبِسَكُمْ شِيَعًا وَيُذِيقَ بَعْضَكُم بَأْسَ بَعْضٍ ۗ ٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ نُصَرِّفُ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَفْقَهُونَ
Say, "He is the [one] Able to send upon you affliction from above you or from beneath your feet or to confuse you [so you become] sects and make you taste the violence of one another." Look how We diversify the signs that they might understand.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ فَتَنَّا بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ لِّيَقُولُوٓا۟ أَهَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنۢ بَيْنِنَآ ۗ أَلَيْسَ ٱللَّهُ بِأَعْلَمَ بِٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ
And thus We have tried some of them through others that they [i.e., the disbelievers] might say, "Is it these whom Allāh has favored among us?" Is not Allāh most knowing of those who are grateful?
وَجَعَلُوا۟ لِلَّهِ مِمَّا ذَرَأَ مِنَ ٱلْحَرْثِ وَٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ نَصِيبًا فَقَالُوا۟ هَـٰذَا لِلَّهِ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَهَـٰذَا لِشُرَكَآئِنَا ۖ فَمَا كَانَ لِشُرَكَآئِهِمْ فَلَا يَصِلُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَمَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ فَهُوَ يَصِلُ إِلَىٰ شُرَكَآئِهِمْ ۗ سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ
And they [i.e., the polytheists] assign to Allāh from that which He created of crops and livestock a share and say, "This is for Allāh," by their claim, "and this is for our 'partners' [associated with Him]." But what is for their "partners" does not reach Allāh, while what is for Allāh - this reaches their "partners." Evil is that which they rule.