فَلِلَّهِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةُ وَٱلْأُولَىٰ 25
Translations
Rather, to Allāh belongs the Hereafter and the first [life].
Transliteration
Falillāhi al-ākhiratu wa-al-ūlā
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms that both the life of the Hereafter and the present life belong to Allah alone in their entirety. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this verse serves as a response to the polytheists' false claims of ownership and authority, emphasizing divine sovereignty over all dimensions of existence. The ayah concludes a passage refuting the pagan Arabs' attributions of daughters to Allah and their polytheistic beliefs.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah An-Najm's refutation of pre-Islamic Arabian idolatry and false beliefs about divinity. Specifically, it follows verses addressing the pagan Arabs' baseless claims about angels and Allah's supposed daughters (53:19-24), using this statement of divine ownership to underscore that all authority and dominion belong exclusively to Allah.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Bukhari (4:54:513): The Prophet ﷺ said, 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah.' This relates thematically to the surah's emphasis on absolute monotheism and Allah's exclusive sovereignty. Also relevant: Surah Al-Fatiha's opening emphasizing Allah as 'Lord of the worlds' (Rabb al-'ālamīn).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah invites believers to recognize that all aspects of their lives—present and future—are under Allah's dominion, encouraging complete trust in Him and rejection of false authorities or deities. It serves as a powerful reminder that true freedom and security come only from acknowledging Allah's complete sovereignty and submitting exclusively to His will.
Related Ayahs
ٱلْمُلْكُ يَوْمَئِذٍ ٱلْحَقُّ لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ۚ وَكَانَ يَوْمًا عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ عَسِيرًا
True sovereignty, that Day, is for the Most Merciful. And it will be upon the disbelievers a difficult Day.
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.
يَخْتَصُّ بِرَحْمَتِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو ٱلْفَضْلِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ
He selects for His mercy whom He wills. And Allāh is the possessor of great bounty.
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.