Surah Ya-Sin 36:29
سُورَةُ يسٓ · Meccan · Verse 29 of 83
إِن كَانَتْ إِلَّا صَيْحَةًۭ وَٰحِدَةًۭ فَإِذَا هُمْ خَٰمِدُونَ
Translation
there was just one blast, and they fell down lifeless.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'It was not but one shout, and at once they were extinguished.' al-Biqa'i and Ibn Ashur note the word 'khamidun', extinguished, like embers of a fire gone cold and silent. All the arrogance, the threats, the tyranny, snuffed out in the space of a single sound. Ask yourself: I build my sense of security on the assumption of time, that whatever I'm postponing, whatever I'm relying on, will still be here tomorrow. This verse compresses an entire proud civilisation into one instant and one sound. If everything I'm counting on could go quiet that fast, am I living as though I have unlimited time, or as though each breath is on loan?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Biqa'i, Ibn Ashur, Ibn Kathir.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Ya-Sin 36:29 is discussed in 3 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Ya-Sin 36:29 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.