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Surah An-Nahl, Ayah 70 (16:70)

ٱلنَّحْل

وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ ثُمَّ يَتَوَفَّىٰكُمْ ۚ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰٓ أَرْذَلِ ٱلْعُمُرِ لِكَىْ لَا …

Quran 16:70 is ayah 70 of Surah An-Nahl (“The Bee”), a Meccan surah of 128 ayahs. It is in Juz 14, on page 274 of the Madani Mushaf.

16:70
وَٱللَّهُخَلَقَكُمْثُمَّيَتَوَفَّىٰكُمْ ۚوَمِنكُممَّنيُرَدُّإِلَىٰٓأَرْذَلِٱلْعُمُرِلِكَىْلَايَعْلَمَبَعْدَعِلْمٍشَئًْا ۚإِنَّٱللَّهَعَلِيمٌقَدِيرٌ٧٠
wal-lahu khalaqakum thumma yatawaffākum waminkum man yuraddu ilā ardhali l-ʿumuri likay lā yaʿlama baʿda ʿil'min shayan inna l-laha ʿalīmun qadīrun

And Allāh created you; then He will take you in death. And among you is he who is reversed to the most decrepit [old] age so that he will not know, after [having had] knowledge, a thing. Indeed, Allāh is Knowing and Competent.(70)

Word by word

  1. وَٱللَّهُwal-lahuAnd Allah
  2. خَلَقَكُمْkhalaqakumcreated you
  3. ثُمَّthummathen
  4. يَتَوَفَّىٰكُمْ ۚyatawaffākumwill cause you to die
  5. وَمِنكُمwaminkumAnd among you
  6. مَّنman(is one) who
  7. يُرَدُّyuradduis sent back
  8. إِلَىٰٓilāto
  9. أَرْذَلِardhalithe worst
  10. ٱلْعُمُرِl-ʿumuri(of) the age
  11. لِكَىْlikayso that
  12. لَاlānot
  13. يَعْلَمَyaʿlamahe will know
  14. بَعْدَbaʿdaafter
  15. عِلْمٍʿil'minknowledge
  16. شَئًْا ۚshayana thing
  17. إِنَّinnaIndeed
  18. ٱللَّهَl-lahaAllah
  19. عَلِيمٌʿalīmun(is) All-Knowing
  20. قَدِيرٌqadīrunAll-Powerful

Tafsir (commentary) of 16:70

Available in English, Bengali, Urdu, Arabic, Russian.

English · EnglishTafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

In Man there is a Lesson

Allah tells us that He is controlling the affairs of His servants. He is the One Who created them out of nothing, then He will cause them to die. But there are some of them that He allows to grow old, which is a physical weakness, as Allah says:

اللَّهُ الَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن ضَعْفٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِن بَعْدِ ضَعْفٍ قُوَّةٍ

(Allah is He Who created you in (a state of) weakness, then gave you strength after weakness, then after strength gave (you) weakness) (30:54)

لِكَىْ لاَ يَعْلَمَ بَعْدَ عِلْمٍ شَيْئًا

(so that they know nothing after having known.) meaning, after he knew things, he will reach a stage where he knows nothing because of weakness of mind due to old age and senility. Thus Al-Bukhari, when commenting on this Ayah, reported a narration from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray:

«أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْبُخْلِ وَالْكَسَلِ وَالْهَرَمِ، وَأَرْذَلِ الْعُمُرِ وَعَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ، وَفِتْنَةِ الدَّجَّالِ وَفِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَات»

(I seek refuge with You from miserliness, laziness, old age, senility, the punishment of the grave, the Fitnah of the Dajjal and the trials of life and death.) Zuhayr bin Abi Sulma said, in his famous Mu`allaqah: "I became exhausted from the responsibilities of life. Whoever lives for eighty years, no wonder he is tired. I saw death hitting people like a crazed camel, and whoever it hit dies, but whoever is not hit lives until he grows old."

Read the full Surah An-Nahl