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
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَقَالُوا۟ لِإِخْوَٰنِهِمْ إِذَا ضَرَبُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ أَوْ كَانُوا۟ غُزًّى لَّوْ كَانُوا۟ عِندَنَا مَا مَاتُوا۟ وَمَا قُتِلُوا۟ لِيَجْعَلَ ٱللَّهُ ذَٰلِكَ حَسْرَةً فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحْىِۦ وَيُمِيتُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
O you who have believed, do not be like those who disbelieved and said about their brothers when they traveled through the land or went out to fight, "If they had been with us, they would not have died or have been killed," so Allāh makes that [misconception] a regret within their hearts. And it is Allāh who gives life and causes death, and Allāh is Seeing of what you do.
لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَهُوَ ٱلْغَنِىُّ ٱلْحَمِيدُ
To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth. And indeed, Allāh is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy.
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَرِثُ ٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَنْ عَلَيْهَا وَإِلَيْنَا يُرْجَعُونَ
Indeed, it is We who will inherit the earth and whoever is on it, and to Us they will be returned.
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.