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Meccan · Surah 40 of 114

Ghafir 40:57

The Forgiver · ayah 57 of 85

لَخَلْقُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

Lakhalqu assamawati wal-ardiakbaru min khalqi annasi walakinna aktharaannasi la yaAAlamoon

"The creation of the heavens and earth is greater than the creation of mankind, but most of the people do not know."

Saheeh International translation

Recitation by Mishary Alafasy
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Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

"The creation of the heavens and earth is greater by far than the creation of mankind, though most people do not know it."

Pickthall (classic)+

"Assuredly the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of mankind; but most of mankind know not."

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

"Assuredly the creation of the heavens and the earth is a greater (matter) than the creation of men: Yet most men understand not."

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

+

Life after Death

Allah tells us that He will bring back His creation on the Day of Resurrection. That is very easy for Him, because He created the heavens and the earth, and creating them is greater than creating mankind, the first time and when He creates them again. The One Who is able to do that is able to do anything that is less than that. As Allah says:

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ الَّذِى خَلَقَ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَلَمْ يَعْىَ بِخَلْقِهِنَّ بِقَادِرٍ عَلَى أَن يُحْىِ الْمَوْتَى بَلَى إِنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

(Do they not see that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and was not wearied by their creation, is able to give life to the dead Yes, He surely is able to do all things.) (46:33) And Allah says here:

لَخَلْقُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ أَكْـبَرُ مِنْ خَلْقِ النَّاسِ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْـثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ

(The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind; yet, most of mankind know not.) hence they do not think about or ponder this proof. Similarly, many of the Arabs recognized that Allah had created the heavens and the earth, but they denied and rejected the idea of the resurrection; they acknowledged something which was greater than that which they denied. Then Allah says:

وَمَا يَسْتَوِى الاٌّعْـمَى وَالْبَصِيرُ وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ وَلاَ الْمُسِىءُ قَلِيـلاً مَّا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ

(And not equal are the blind and those who see; nor are those who believe, and do righteous good deeds, and those who do evil. Little do you remember!) The blind man who cannot see anything is not the same as the sighted man who can see everything as far as his eyesight reaches -- there is a huge difference between them. By the same token, the righteous believers and the immoral disbelievers are not equal.

قَلِيـلاً مَّا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ

(Little do you remember!) means, most of the people remember little.

وَإِنَّ السَّاعَةَ لآتِيَةٌ

(Verily, the Hour (Day of Judgement) is surely coming,) means, it will indeed come to pass.

لاَّ رَيْبَ فِيهَا وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ

(there is no doubt about it, yet most men believe not.) means, they do not believe in it, and in fact they doubt its existence altogether.

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Tafsir Saʿdi

English translation, public domain

+
Всевышний сообщил о том, что подсознательно известно каждому человеку. Безусловно, создание небес и земли - более великое деяние, нежели сотворение людей. Как величественны и огромны небеса, и как мал и ничтожен по сравнению с ними человек! Если Аллах сумел создать великие небесные тела и не допустил при этом никакого упущения, то для Него не составит труда воскресить людей после смерти. Это является одним из логических доказательств истинности воскрешения. Если благоразумный человек прислушается к этому доказательству, то он непременно убедится в его неопровержимости и перестанет сомневаться в приближении Судного дня, о котором возвещали все Божьи посланники. Однако многие люди не хотят размышлять над этими простыми истинами, и поэтому Всевышний Аллах отметил, что большая часть людей не ведает об этом. Они не задумываются над пророческими проповедями и не обращают внимания на предостережения своего Господа.

Maʿārif al-Qur'ān

Mufti Shafi Usmani, English

+

In verse 56, it was said: إِن فِي صُدُورِ‌هِمْ إِلَّا كِبْرٌ‌ مَّا هُم بِبَالِغِيهِ (there is nothing in their hearts but pride of greatness that they are not [ able ] to reach). It means that people who quarrel in the matter of the verses of Allah without having any valid argument really look forward to rejecting this faith simply because their hearts are filled with pride and arrogance. They would like to stay ahead in the game and are so dim-witted that they have taken for granted that they have this position of strength as a result of their staunch adherence to their faith, and if they were to surrender this stance by becoming Muslims, they will be left without any power and territory of their own. The Qur'an said: مَّا هُم بِبَالِغِيهِ (they are not [ able ] to reach), that is, these people will never reach the goals of their assumed pride, greatness and state power without embracing Islam. However, had they embraced Islam, honor and greatness would have followed in their footsteps. (Qurtubi)

Tafsīr sourced from quran.com's open API. These are classical commentaries; for personal rulings consult a qualified scholar.

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