Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:112-116

Al-Mu'minun (The Believers): Verses 112–116

Verse 112:

{قال كم لبثتم . . . . .} (He said: How long did you remain...)

Issue 1: Regarding the word {قال} (He said):

• The Kufan recension uses {قال} (He said, past tense). This pronoun refers to God, or the angel commanded to question them.
• The recensions of the Hijaz, Basra, and Sham use {قل} (Say, command form). This pronoun refers to the angel or one of the chiefs of the inhabitants of Hell.

Issue 2: The purpose of this question is reproach and admonishment. The disbelievers used to deny any existence after death, believing that annihilation was permanent after passing away. When they find themselves in Hell, realizing their eternal stay, the question {كم لبثتم فى الارض} (How long did you remain on earth?) is posed to show them that what they considered long (their worldly life) is insignificant compared to what they denied (the Hereafter). This realization brings them intense regret over their previous worldly beliefs, as they now know the opposite is true. The goal is not the answer itself, but the admonishment derived from it.

• Objection: How can their answer, {لبثنا يوما أو بعض يوم} (We remained a day or part of a day), be valid if the inhabitants of Hell do not lie?
• Answer: Perhaps they forgot due to the intensity of the horrors they are experiencing. They admit this forgetfulness when they say, {فاسأل العادين} (Then ask those who keep count). Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with him) said that the torment between the two trumpet blasts made them forget. Alternatively, their statement {لبثنا يوما أو بعض يوم} is meant to minimize and belittle their stay in the world compared to the agonizing punishment they now face. (And God knows best.)

Issue 3: There is disagreement regarding which period of remaining the question refers to:

1. Some say: It refers to their life in the world. The implication is that they were given respite to gain knowledge and perform deeds. Their answer—that their stay was brief—is based on God informing them that the world is fleeting enjoyment, while the Hereafter is the permanent abode. This view is supported by the fact that they claimed no life existed besides the worldly one. When God resurrected them in Hell and punished them, the question served as a rebuke, as it is closer to admonishment.
2. Others say: It refers to their stay in the state of death (i.e., in the graves). They support this with two arguments:
   • The phrase {فى الارض} (on the earth) implies being in the grave, whereas a living person is typically described as being on the earth. (This is weak, as seen in the verse: {ولا تفسدوا فى الارض} [Al-A'raf: 56]).
   • The verse: {ويوم تقوم الساعة يقسم المجرمون ما لبثوا غير ساعة} (And on the Day the Hour is established, the criminals will swear they had remained [on earth] not but an hour) (Ar-Rum: 55). God then clarifies that they lied, and informs about the believers' statement: {لقد لبثتم فى كتاب الله إلى يوم البعث} (Indeed, you remained within the decree of Allah until the Day of Resurrection) (Ar-Rum: 56).

Issue 4: Those who deny the punishment of the grave use this verse as evidence. They argue that {كم لبثتم فى الارض} encompasses both their time alive on the surface and their time dead within the earth. If they were being punished in the grave, they would know their duration on earth was long, and thus would not say, {لبثنا يوما أو بعض يوم}.

• The Response (Twofold):
  1. The answer must correspond to the question. They were asked about a period of remaining after which there is no life except in the Hereafter, which only occurs after the punishment of the grave.
  2. It is possible they were asked about the duration of the period in which they were gathered together (i.e., the period of accountability), excluding the prior deaths of some among them. Thus, their answer, {لبثنا يوما أو بعض يوم}, is correct according to their own perception.

Regarding the phrase {فاسأل العادين} (Then ask those who keep count), there are several interpretations:

1. It refers to the recording angels who counted deeds, lifetimes, and the timing of deaths (who preceded whom and who lagged behind). This aligns with Ikrimah's view: "Ask those who calculate."
2. Ask the angels who count the days and hours of the world.
3. It means: Ask those who know the number, for we have forgotten it.
4. It is recited with abbreviation (العادين), meaning the dark ones (the disbelievers), who would say what we said.
5. It is recited as العاديين (the ancient ones/long-livers), who would perceive their lives as short, so how much shorter must it seem to those who lived less time?

Regarding the phrase {لبثتم إلا قليلا} (you remained but a little): This means they said, {لبثنا يوما أو بعض يوم} with the intention that their stay in the world was brief. It is as if they were told: "You spoke truly that you remained in it but a little, but that little has passed and gone." Thus, the purpose of the question is to define the shortness of worldly days in contrast to the days of the Hereafter.

As for {لو أنكم كنتم تعلمون} (If only you knew): This clarifies that the stay was short if they had known about the Resurrection and Gathering. Since they denied it, they considered it long.

Then the Almighty follows this with what is even more severe in terms of reproach: {أفحسبتم أنما خلقناكم عبثا وأنكم إلينا لا ترجعون} (Did you then think that We created you in vain and that to Us you would not be returned?)

Issue 1 (Regarding {عبثا}): The author of Al-Kashshaf suggests {عبثا} (in vain) is either an adverbial accusative (حال), meaning "acting playfully," like {لاعبين} (playing), or a direct object (مفعول به), meaning "We did not create you for play/frivolity."

Issue 2: After explaining the attributes of the Resurrection, God concludes the discussion by establishing the proof for its occurrence: If there were no Resurrection, the obedient would not be distinguished from the disobedient, nor the truthful from the heretic. In that case, the creation of this universe would indeed be futile.

The return to God means returning to the One who has no sovereign or judge besides Him; it does not mean a return from one location to another, as that is impossible for God.

God then purifies Himself from futility by saying: {فتعالى الله الملك الحق} (So exalted is God, the True King).

• Al-Malik (The King): The Owner of things whose dominion never perishes or fades.
• Al-Haqq (The True): He alone deserves kingship because everything originates from Him and returns to Him; He is the established reality whose dominion does not cease.
• This also proves that there is no god but Him, and everything else is destined for annihilation; that which perishes cannot be a god.

Then He states that He is {رب العرش الكريم} (Lord of the Noble Throne).

• Abu Muslim said the Throne here refers to the heavens and everything within them, including the Throne upon which angels circle. It could also mean the Great Dominion.
• The majority hold that it refers to the actual Throne. It is described as Karim (Noble) because mercy, goodness, and blessing descend from it, and due to its relation to the Most Noble of the Noble. It is similar to saying "a noble house" if its inhabitants are noble. The word {الكريم} is also read in the nominative case, similar to {ذو العرش المجيد} (Possessor of the Glorious Throne).

Verse 117:

{ومن يدع مع الله إلها ءاخر لا برهان له به فإنما حسابه عند ربه إنه لا يفلح الكافرون} (And whoever invokes with God another deity—for which he has no proof—then his reckoning is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.)

Verse 118:

{وقل رب اغفر وارحم وأنت خير الراحمين} (And say, "My Lord, forgive and have mercy, and You are the best of those who show mercy.")