An-Nahl: (70) "And Allah created you, then..."

When He, Glorified be He, mentioned the wondrous states of what was mentioned—water, vegetation, livestock, and bees—He pointed to some of the wondrous states of humans from the beginning of their lives until their end, and their developments in between, saying, Exalted is He in His speech: "And Allah created you, then He takes your souls," according to what is necessitated by His Will, which is based on perfect wisdom regarding varying lifespans. The evidence for the intent of this is His saying, Exalted is He: "And of you is he who is returned to the most decrepit age." Thus, it has been said: It is a revolving cycle of what is decreed; meaning, among you are those whose death is hastened, and among you are others [who live longer].

"The most decrepit age" (ardhal al-'umur) is its lowest and most insignificant stage. It is the time of senility when strengths diminish, senses deteriorate, and the person's state becomes like his state during childhood in terms of the weakness of intellect and power. Hence, the "return" (radd) is conceptualized. This is like His saying, Exalted is He: "And he whom We grant long life, We reverse in creation." There is a metaphor here. Ibn Jarir narrated from Ali, may Allah honor his countenance, that "the most decrepit age" is seventy-five years. Qatada said it is ninety, and another said ninety-five. A group chose to define it as previously mentioned, for it varies according to different temperaments. Many a long-lived person has not had his strengths diminished, and many a person with diminished strengths has not lived long. Perhaps the restriction to a specific age is based on what is most common among those who stipulated it.

The address is to those who existed at the time of the revelation; thus, the use of the past and future tenses within it is apparent. Even if it is general, the past is in relation to the time of their existence, and the future is in relation to creation. By both interpretations, it is apparent that "he who is returned to the most decrepit age" encompasses the believer absolutely and the disbeliever. It has been said: It is specific to the disbeliever, and the Muslim is not returned to the most decrepit age due to His saying, Exalted is He: "Then We returned him to the lowest of the low, except those who believe and do righteous deeds." Ibn al-Mundhir and others narrated from Ikrimah that he said: Whoever recites the Quran will not be returned to the most decrepit age. Observation contradicts both claims, for how many Muslims who recite the Quran have we seen returned to that state? Using the verse to argue against this is subject to scrutiny. Among the supplications of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as narrated by al-Bukhari and Ibn Marduyah from Anas, was: "I seek refuge in You from cowardice, laziness, the most decrepit age, the punishment of the grave, the trial of the Antichrist, and the trial of life and death."

"So that he does not know, after knowledge, anything." The lam (in li-kay) is for consequence and outcome, and it is originally for causation. Kay is a particle that turns the verb into an infinitive source, and the verb is in the accusative case because of it; the resulting clause is in the genitive case governed by the lam. The prepositional phrase relates to "returned." Al-Hufi claimed that the lam is the lam of kay that entered onto kay for emphasis, but there is nothing to that. Knowledge here means awareness, and the statement is a metonymy for extreme forgetfulness; meaning, he becomes one who forgets, such that if he acquires knowledge of something, he does not pause before forgetting it, and the knowledge slips from him instantly. He might say to you: "Who is this?" and you say: "So-and-so," and he does not wait a moment before asking you about him again. It has also been said: The meaning is "so that he does not know an increase in knowledge beyond his [previous] knowledge." Another view is: "so that he does not comprehend anything after his first comprehension," where "knowledge" means "intellect," not in its true sense as in the preceding clause. This implies his stagnation and his inability to acquire additional knowledge. The relied-upon interpretation is the first. The accusative case of "anything" (shay’an) is due to it being an infinitive or an object. Some allowed for tanazu' (competing governance) between "he knows" and "knowledge," with the object of "knowledge" being elided; thus, the intent is generalization—meaning he does not know anything at all after having known many things.

"Indeed, Allah is Knowing" of everything, including the aspect of wisdom in creation, taking the soul, and returning one to the most decrepit age. "And [He is] Capable" of everything, including that which He, Glorified be He, wills of that. It has been said: He is Knowing of the measures of your lifespans, Capable of everything—He causes the energetic youth to die and leaves the decaying senile one. In this is an alert that the variation in lifespans is only by the decree of a Capable, Wise [God] who arranged the structures and balanced the temperaments according to a known measure; had that been the requirement of natural dispositions, it would not have reached this extent. It is also said: Since He, Exalted is He, mentioned what occurs during senility of weakness in power and capability, and the absence of knowledge, He mentioned that He, Glorified be He, is continuous in perfect knowledge and perfect power; they do not change with the passing of time as human knowledge and power change. The nominal sentence denotes this continuity, and Qadir (Capable) is in the form of fa'il (intensive adjective). The attribute of "Knowing" was mentioned first because the absence of knowledge is more prominent among the addressees, even though the attachment of the attribute of knowledge to a thing is prior to the attachment of the attribute of power to it. You are not unaware of which of the three is more preferable, so reflect.