Tafsir of Saba' 34:49

"Say: The Truth has come..."

A living being either initiates an action or repeats it. If he perishes, he can neither initiate nor repeat. Thus, they made the saying "He neither initiates nor repeats" a metaphor for destruction. From this is the saying of Ubayd:

“Ubayd’s home is desolate, Today he neither initiates nor repeats.”

The meaning is: The Truth has come and falsehood has perished, similar to His saying: "The Truth has come and falsehood has vanished" (Al-Isra: 81).

It is narrated from Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) entered Makkah while there were three hundred and sixty idols around the Ka‘bah. He began striking them with a staff of nab‘a wood, saying: "The Truth has come and falsehood has vanished; indeed, falsehood is ever bound to vanish" (Al-Isra: 81). And: "The Truth has come, and falsehood neither initiates nor repeats."

The Truth: It is the Qur’an. It is also said: It is Islam. It is also said: It is the sword.

Falsehood: It is Iblis (may Allah curse him)—meaning he neither creates a creature nor restores it; the Creator and Resurrector is Allah Almighty.

Al-Hasan said: It [falsehood] neither initiates good for its people nor repeats it; meaning it does not benefit them in this world or the Hereafter.

Al-Zajjaj said: "What thing does Iblis initiate or repeat?"—treating it as an interrogative.

It is said to Satan: "Falsehood," because he is the master of falsehood, or because he is doomed to perish, just as he is called "Shaytan" (Satan) from the root shata (to perish).

"Say: If I stray, I stray only to my own loss; but if I am guided, it is by what my Lord reveals to me. Indeed, He is Hearing, Near."