قَالَتْ يَـٰوَيْلَتَىٰٓ ءَأَلِدُ وَأَنَا۠ عَجُوزٌ وَهَـٰذَا بَعْلِى شَيْخًا ۖ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَشَىْءٌ عَجِيبٌ 72
Translations
She said, "Woe to me! Shall I give birth while I am an old woman and this, my husband, is an old man? Indeed, this is an amazing thing!"
Transliteration
Qalat ya waylatā a-alidu wa anā ajūzun wa hādhā baylī shaykhun inna hādhā la-shay'un ajībun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah records the response of Sarah (wife of Prophet Ibrahim) when informed that she would bear a son despite her advanced age and her husband's old age. Her exclamation expresses astonishment at the divine promise, as both she and Ibrahim were elderly—she beyond childbearing years and he described as a shaykh (old man). Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari note that her amazement was natural from a human perspective, yet she would soon witness the reality of Allah's power to do all things.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within the narrative of Allah's angels visiting Ibrahim to announce the birth of Ishaq (Isaac). The context is from Surah Hud (a Meccan surah), where the story of Ibrahim and the divine promise to grant him a righteous son is presented as a sign of Allah's power and mercy, particularly relevant to the Meccan audience regarding divine promises and resurrection.
Related Hadiths
The story is referenced in Sahih Bukhari regarding the glad tidings given to Sarah. Additionally, Surah Al-Ankabut (29:29-30) and Surah Al-Adiyat contain complementary accounts of this narrative, emphasizing the theme that nothing is difficult for Allah (laysa alayh shay'un).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that what appears humanly impossible or improbable is entirely within Allah's capability; our astonishment at divine promises should not diminish our faith, but rather increase our recognition of Allah's infinite power and mercy beyond human comprehension.
Related Ayahs
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ خَسِرُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَفْتَرُونَ
Those are the ones who will have lost themselves, and lost from them is what they used to invent.
وَلَمَّا جَآءَ أَمْرُنَا نَجَّيْنَا شُعَيْبًا وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِّنَّا وَأَخَذَتِ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ ٱلصَّيْحَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ فِى دِيَـٰرِهِمْ جَـٰثِمِينَ
And when Our command came, We saved Shuʿayb and those who believed with him, by mercy from Us. And the shriek seized those who had wronged, and they became within their homes [corpses] fallen prone
وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَـٰهُ نَعْمَآءَ بَعْدَ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتُ عَنِّىٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ
But if We give him a taste of favor after hardship has touched him, he will surely say, "Bad times have left me." Indeed, he is exultant and boastful -
وَلِلَّهِ غَيْبُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُ ٱلْأَمْرُ كُلُّهُۥ فَٱعْبُدْهُ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ ۚ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ
And to Allāh belong the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth and to Him will be returned the matter, all of it, so worship Him and rely upon Him. And your Lord is not unaware of that which you do.