وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ نُحْىِۦ وَنُمِيتُ وَنَحْنُ ٱلْوَٰرِثُونَ 23
Translations
And indeed, it is We who give life and cause death, and We are the Inheritor.
Transliteration
Wa inna lana nahnu nuhyi wa numitu wa nahnu al-warithu n
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms Allah's absolute sovereignty over life and death, asserting that He alone gives life and takes it away, and that He is the ultimate inheritor of all creation. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir emphasize that this statement refutes polytheistic beliefs where people attributed life-giving and death-dealing powers to idols or false deities, while Al-Tabari notes that 'the inheritor' means Allah remains after all creation perishes, possessing everything eternally. The ayah serves as a powerful rhetorical argument against idolatry, demonstrating Allah's unique divine attributes that no created being can possess.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-Hijr, a Meccan chapter revealed during the early Meccan period when the Prophet faced intense polytheistic opposition. The surah addresses the mockery and rejection of the Quran by Meccan disbelievers, and this particular verse is part of a broader section establishing Allah's complete control and dominion, countering the pagan Arabs' attribution of divine powers to their idols and ancestors.
Related Hadiths
Hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, 'The most truthful word spoken by a poet is the statement of Luqman al-'Adawi when he said: Everything is but vanity except for the face of Allah.' This relates thematically to the concept of Allah's eternity and all else being transient. Additionally, the hadith about 'the best supplication is asking for justice' (Tirmidhi) connects to acknowledging Allah's justice in giving and taking life.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to recognize that life and death are entirely in Allah's hands, fostering humility and trust in divine will rather than human effort alone. For modern readers, it encourages releasing anxiety about mortality and the future, redirecting reliance from worldly powers and material means toward complete dependence on the Divine, while reminding us that ultimate inheritance and permanence belong only to Allah.
Related Ayahs
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا يَلِجُ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا وَمَا يَنزِلُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَمَا يَعْرُجُ فِيهَا ۖ وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
It is He who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne. He knows what penetrates into the earth and what emerges from it and what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein; and He is with you wherever you are. And Allāh, of what you do, is Seeing.
وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ ٱلسَّاعَةُ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَخْسَرُ ٱلْمُبْطِلُونَ
And to Allāh belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. And the Day the Hour appears - that Day the falsifiers will lose.
يَسْـَٔلُهُۥ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِى شَأْنٍ
Whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him; every day He is in [i.e., bringing about] a matter.
أَلَآ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ شُرَكَآءَ ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ
Unquestionably, to Allāh belongs whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth. And those who invoke other than Allāh do not [actually] follow [His] "partners." They follow not except assumption, and they are not but misjudging.