وَأَلْقَوْا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ يَوْمَئِذٍ ٱلسَّلَمَ ۖ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَفْتَرُونَ 87
Translations
And they will impart to Allāh that Day [their] submission, and lost from them is what they used to invent.
Transliteration
Wa alqaw ilallahi yawma idhin assalam wa dalla anhum ma kanu yaftaroon
Tafsir (Explanation)
On the Day of Judgment, the disbelievers will surrender completely to Allah, abandoning all resistance and false pretenses, while all the lies and fabrications they invented during their earthly lives will vanish from them. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret this as the moment when disbelievers realize the futility of their false gods and invented deities, which will desert them when they need them most. This ayah emphasizes both the inevitable submission to Allah's authority in the afterlife and the utter abandonment of idolatry and falsehood.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within Surah An-Nahl's discussion of the Day of Judgment and the fate of those who rejected Allah's signs. It comes in the broader context of Meccan revelations addressing polytheism and warning against the consequences of associating partners with Allah. The immediate context (16:84-87) describes how the disbelievers will wish they had followed guidance when they witness the truth on Judgment Day.
Related Hadiths
The theme relates to Hadith Qudsi where Allah says: 'On the Day of Judgment, the disbeliever will say: "O Lord, if only You had given me respite..."' (reported in various forms in Sahih Muslim and Tirmidhi). Also relevant is the hadith in Sahih Bukhari describing how idols will be cast into Hell before those who worshipped them.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that all resistance to Allah's truth is ultimately futile, and that sincere submission to monotheism in this life is far better than forced submission on the Day of Judgment when regret becomes meaningless. It serves as a powerful incentive to abandon falsehood and embrace authentic faith while opportunity remains.
Related Ayahs
وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِم مَّا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۖ فَإِذَا جَآءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لَا يَسْتَـْٔخِرُونَ سَاعَةً ۖ وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ
And if Allāh were to impose blame on the people for their wrongdoing, He would not have left upon it [i.e., the earth] any creature, but He defers them for a specified term. And when their term has come, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede [it].
وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِلَّهِ ٱلْبَنَـٰتِ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ ۙ وَلَهُم مَّا يَشْتَهُونَ
And they attribute to Allāh daughters - exalted is He - and for them is what they desire [i.e., sons].
۞ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْعَدْلِ وَٱلْإِحْسَـٰنِ وَإِيتَآئِ ذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱلْبَغْىِ ۚ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
Indeed, Allāh orders justice and good conduct and giving [help] to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن تَأْتِيَهُمُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِىَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ فَعَلَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَلَـٰكِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
Do they [i.e., the disbelievers] await except that the angels should come to them or there comes the command of your Lord? Thus did those do before them. And Allāh wronged them not, but they had been wronging themselves.