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
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.
ءَأَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ ءَالِهَةً إِن يُرِدْنِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ بِضُرٍّ لَّا تُغْنِ عَنِّى شَفَـٰعَتُهُمْ شَيْـًٔا وَلَا يُنقِذُونِ
Should I take other than Him [false] deities [while], if the Most Merciful intends for me some adversity, their intercession will not avail me at all, nor can they save me?
وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَمْلِكُ لَهُمْ رِزْقًا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ شَيْـًٔا وَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ
And they worship besides Allāh that which does not possess for them [the power of] provision from the heavens and the earth at all, and [in fact], they are unable.
وَرَبُّكَ ٱلْغَنِىُّ ذُو ٱلرَّحْمَةِ ۚ إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفْ مِنۢ بَعْدِكُم مَّا يَشَآءُ كَمَآ أَنشَأَكُم مِّن ذُرِّيَّةِ قَوْمٍ ءَاخَرِينَ
And your Lord is the Free of need, the possessor of mercy. If He wills, He can do away with you and give succession after you to whomever He wills, just as He produced you from the descendants of another people.