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سُورَةُ النَّحۡلِ · 16:38
MeccanRevelation order ٧٠Juzʾ ١٤Page ٢٧١

وَأَقْسَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَٰنِهِمْ ۙ لَا يَبْعَثُ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَمُوتُ ۚ بَلَىٰ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّۭا وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

٣٨
Saheeh International · EN

And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths [that] Allah will not resurrect one who dies. But yes - [it is] a true promise [binding] upon Him, but most of the people do not know.

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Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 38 of Sūrat An-Nahl (The Bee), the 70th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 14. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
70 of 114
Surah
An-Nahl (16)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

(And they swear by Allah their most binding oaths (that) Allah will not raise up him who dieth�) [16:38]. Al-Rabi� ibn Anas reported from Abu�l-�Aliyah: �A Muslim man had a debt with an idolater and he went to ask for it to be paid. As they were talking, the Muslim happened to say: �By Him in Whom I have hope after death�, and the idolater retorted: �And you claim you will be resurrected after death?� And he swore by Allah that Allah will not resurrect those who die. Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse [to confirm the dead will be resurrected]�.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

And they swear by Allah with their strongest oaths, that Allah will not raise up one who dies. Yes, (He will raise them up), a promise (binding) upon Him in truth, but most of mankind know not (38)In order that He may make clear to them what they differed over, and so that those who disbelieved may know that they were liars (39)Verily, Our Word to a thing when We intend it, is only that We say unto it: "Be!" - and it is (40) The Resurrection after Death is true, there is Wisdom behind it, and it is easy for Allah Allah tells us that the idolators swore by Allah their strongest oaths, meaning that they made oaths swore fervently that Allah would not resurrect the one who died. They considered that to be improbable, and did not believe the Messengers when they told them about that, swearing that it could not happen. Allah said, refuting them: بَلَىٰ (Yes), meaning it will indeed happen…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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Provenance

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