سُوْرَةُ الْجَاثِيَةِ
Surah Al-Jaathiya (45) — Ayah 24
وَقَالُوا۟ مَا هِىَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا ٱلدُّنْيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا وَمَا يُهْلِكُنَآ إِلَّا ٱلدَّهْرُ ۚ وَمَا لَهُم بِذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ ۖ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ ﴿24﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And they say: "There is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live and nothing destroys us except Ad-Dahr (time). And they have no knowledge of it: they only conjecture.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَقَالُوا۟
waqālū
And they say
مَا
mā
Not
هِىَ
hiya
it
إِلَّا
illā
(is) but
حَيَاتُنَا
ḥayātunā
our life
ٱلدُّنْيَا
l-dun'yā
(of) the world
نَمُوتُ
namūtu
we die
وَنَحْيَا
wanaḥyā
and we live
وَمَا
wamā
and not
يُهْلِكُنَآ
yuh'likunā
destroys us
إِلَّا
illā
except
ٱلدَّهْرُ ۚ
l-dahru
the time
وَمَا
wamā
And not
لَهُم
lahum
for them
بِذَٰلِكَ
bidhālika
of that
مِنْ
min
any
عِلْمٍ ۖ
ʿil'min
knowledge
إِنْ
in
not
هُمْ
hum
they
إِلَّا
illā
(do) but
يَظُنُّونَ
yaẓunnūna
guess
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
They say, "There is nothing but our worldly life; we die and we live, and nothing destroys us except time [35]." Yet they have no knowledge of this; they only speculate [36].
[35]
The Philosophy of Materialism and Its Refutation:
The philosophy of these people is that this universe is a boundless ocean, in which waves constantly rise and then merge back into the same ocean. Bubbles rise and then dissolve back into it. This is the same situation with the events and incidents in this world, and our example is merely that of a bubble, which is formed and then disappears into the ocean. We are born and then, after dying, merge back into it. These are the events of time, that we keep being born and dying. The universe is running in this way and will continue to run so. In this, the question of anyone dying and then coming back to life does not arise at all.
[36]
The Basis of Denial of the Hereafter is Mere Conjecture and Analogy, for Which No Scholarly Proof Can Be Presented:
The error in drawing conclusions from this philosophy is self-evident. If a wave rises in the ocean and then disappears into it, and then another wave rises from the same ocean, then if a wave can rise again from the ocean, why can a human being, after being created from dust and then merging into it, not be created again from the same dust? Furthermore, regarding the conditions after death, if anything can be said on the basis of human knowledge, it is only this: "We do not know whether there is another life after death or not." It cannot be said that "there is no life after death." Man has no means of investigation by which he can claim with certainty that "there is no other life after death." Then, another question arises here: where does the soul go after death? It is evident that it does not die, because this has been the belief of all people regarding the soul. The death of a human is not an incident like a clock that stops after running for a while. From all these things, it becomes clear that even the predominant assumption is towards being brought back to life, not towards complete annihilation after death. And these people who deny life after death do not say this on the basis of any knowledge, but rather their hearts do not wish that there should be any life after death in which they would be questioned about their evil deeds. Therefore, they consider it safer to deny it altogether. And this is merely their conjecture and assumption. They can never present any scholarly proof for this.
The Deception of Materialists: "Time" is Actually Allah:
Materialists are, in fact, caught up in deception and wish to remain so. They say, "It is time that destroys us." Whereas time is merely another name for the alternation of night and day, which has neither perception nor consciousness, nor control nor authority—so how can it destroy us? Inevitably, there is something else in their minds that possesses perception, consciousness, control, and authority, but they do not wish to name it, and instead, they use the name of time. And the thing they do not wish to name is Allah, whose existence and absolute control are proven by clear arguments, and the alternation of time and the rotation of night and day are also in His power. Thus, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairahؓ says that the Messenger of Allahﷺ said: Allah Almighty says: "The son of Adam hurts Me when he abuses time (dahr), whereas I am time itself. All matters are in My hand. I am the One who alternates the night and the day." [بخاری۔ کتاب التفسیر۔ تفسیر سورۃ الجاثیہ۔ زیر آیت مذکورہ]
[35]
The Philosophy of Materialism and Its Refutation:
The philosophy of these people is that this universe is a boundless ocean, in which waves constantly rise and then merge back into the same ocean. Bubbles rise and then dissolve back into it. This is the same situation with the events and incidents in this world, and our example is merely that of a bubble, which is formed and then disappears into the ocean. We are born and then, after dying, merge back into it. These are the events of time, that we keep being born and dying. The universe is running in this way and will continue to run so. In this, the question of anyone dying and then coming back to life does not arise at all.
[36]
The Basis of Denial of the Hereafter is Mere Conjecture and Analogy, for Which No Scholarly Proof Can Be Presented:
The error in drawing conclusions from this philosophy is self-evident. If a wave rises in the ocean and then disappears into it, and then another wave rises from the same ocean, then if a wave can rise again from the ocean, why can a human being, after being created from dust and then merging into it, not be created again from the same dust? Furthermore, regarding the conditions after death, if anything can be said on the basis of human knowledge, it is only this: "We do not know whether there is another life after death or not." It cannot be said that "there is no life after death." Man has no means of investigation by which he can claim with certainty that "there is no other life after death." Then, another question arises here: where does the soul go after death? It is evident that it does not die, because this has been the belief of all people regarding the soul. The death of a human is not an incident like a clock that stops after running for a while. From all these things, it becomes clear that even the predominant assumption is towards being brought back to life, not towards complete annihilation after death. And these people who deny life after death do not say this on the basis of any knowledge, but rather their hearts do not wish that there should be any life after death in which they would be questioned about their evil deeds. Therefore, they consider it safer to deny it altogether. And this is merely their conjecture and assumption. They can never present any scholarly proof for this.
The Deception of Materialists: "Time" is Actually Allah:
Materialists are, in fact, caught up in deception and wish to remain so. They say, "It is time that destroys us." Whereas time is merely another name for the alternation of night and day, which has neither perception nor consciousness, nor control nor authority—so how can it destroy us? Inevitably, there is something else in their minds that possesses perception, consciousness, control, and authority, but they do not wish to name it, and instead, they use the name of time. And the thing they do not wish to name is Allah, whose existence and absolute control are proven by clear arguments, and the alternation of time and the rotation of night and day are also in His power. Thus, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairahؓ says that the Messenger of Allahﷺ said: Allah Almighty says: "The son of Adam hurts Me when he abuses time (dahr), whereas I am time itself. All matters are in My hand. I am the One who alternates the night and the day." [بخاری۔ کتاب التفسیر۔ تفسیر سورۃ الجاثیہ۔ زیر آیت مذکورہ]
