قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يَجْمَعُكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ 26
Translations
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."
Transliteration
Qul-Allahu yuhyikum thumma yumiitukum thumma yajmaAAukum ila yawmi al-qiyamati la rayba fih wa-lakinna akthara al-nasi la yaAAlamun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah presents the fundamental cycle of life, death, and resurrection as a direct response to those who deny the afterlife. Allah affirms His complete power over creation through three sequential actions: giving life, causing death, and gathering all humanity on the Day of Judgment—an event described as certain with no doubt. Ibn Kathir explains that this ayah refutes the disbelievers' arguments against resurrection, while Al-Qurtubi emphasizes that the mention of gathering to the Day of Judgment serves as both a warning and a reminder of divine justice and accountability.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Jathiyah was revealed in Mecca during a period when the Quraysh were actively rejecting the concept of resurrection and the afterlife. This ayah appears within a section addressing those who denied Allah's signs and the Day of Judgment, directly responding to their skepticism with a clear declaration of divine power and certainty.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: 'The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it' (Sahih Bukhari 5027). Additionally, the Prophet emphasized: 'Every soul shall taste death, and only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your wages in full' (Quran 3:185, with related hadith in Sahih Muslim 2370 on certainty of death).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that death is an absolute certainty and that accountability on the Day of Judgment is inevitable, encouraging us to live with conscious awareness of our mortality and the purpose of our existence. For modern readers, it serves as a spiritual anchor against materialism and worldly preoccupation, redirecting focus toward meaningful living guided by faith.
Related Ayahs
قَالُوا۟ تِلْكَ إِذًا كَرَّةٌ خَاسِرَةٌ
They say, "That, then, would be a losing return."
وَسِيقَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَٰبُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَٱدْخُلُوهَا خَـٰلِدِينَ
But those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups until, when they reach it while its gates have been opened and its keepers say, "Peace be upon you; you have become pure; so enter it to abide eternally therein," [they will enter].
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى يَبْدَؤُا۟ ٱلْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُۥ وَهُوَ أَهْوَنُ عَلَيْهِ ۚ وَلَهُ ٱلْمَثَلُ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
And it is He who begins creation; then He repeats it, and that is [even] easier for Him. To Him belongs the highest description [i.e., attribute] in the heavens and earth. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَـٰهُمْ لِنَعْلَمَ أَىُّ ٱلْحِزْبَيْنِ أَحْصَىٰ لِمَا لَبِثُوٓا۟ أَمَدًا
Then We awakened them that We might show which of the two factions was most precise in calculating what [extent] they had remained in time.