تَرْجِعُونَهَآ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ 87
Translations
Bring it back, if you should be truthful?
Transliteration
Tarji'oonaha in kuntum sadiqeen
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah is part of Allah's challenge to those who deny the Quran and the resurrection, asking them to return the soul to the body if they are truthful in their claim that there is no afterlife. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir explain this as a rhetorical challenge demonstrating human powerlessness over life and death, which only Allah controls. The verse emphasizes that if the deniers truly believed their position, they should be able to restore life to the dead—a task only the All-Powerful can accomplish.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Waqi'ah is a Meccan surah revealed during the early period of Islam when the Quraysh denied the resurrection and the Day of Judgment. This ayah appears in the context of Allah's argument against those who reject the Hereafter, using the inability of humans to control life and death as proof of Allah's absolute power and the certainty of the resurrection.
Related Hadiths
While no hadith directly addresses this specific ayah, Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim contain numerous hadiths about the Day of Judgment and resurrection (e.g., the hadith about the signs of the Hour), which relate thematically to the surah's overall message about the inevitability of the afterlife.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah invites believers to reflect on their complete dependence on Allah for life itself, humbling any human pride or arrogance about controlling their destiny. For modern readers, it serves as a reminder that ultimate power belongs only to Allah, encouraging sincere belief in the Hereafter and submission to His will.
Related Ayahs
قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يَجْمَعُكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Say, "Allāh causes you to live, then causes you to die; then He will assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt, but most of the people do not know."
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَنزَلَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَسَلَكَهُۥ يَنَـٰبِيعَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُ بِهِۦ زَرْعًا مُّخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَٰنُهُۥ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَىٰهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُۥ حُطَـٰمًا ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَذِكْرَىٰ لِأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ
Do you not see that Allāh sends down rain from the sky and makes it flow as springs [and rivers] in the earth; then He produces thereby crops of varying colors; then they dry and you see them turned yellow; then He makes them [scattered] debris. Indeed in that is a reminder for those of understanding.
وَمَآ أَمْرُنَآ إِلَّا وَٰحِدَةٌ كَلَمْحٍۭ بِٱلْبَصَرِ
And Our command is but one, like a glance of the eye.
فَالِقُ ٱلْإِصْبَاحِ وَجَعَلَ ٱلَّيْلَ سَكَنًا وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ حُسْبَانًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْعَلِيمِ
[He is] the cleaver of daybreak and has made the night for rest and the sun and moon for calculation. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.