Surah Qaf 50:3
سُورَةُ قٓ · Meccan · Verse 3 of 45
أَءِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًۭا ۖ ذَٰلِكَ رَجْعٌۢ بَعِيدٌۭ
Translation
To come back [to life] after we have died and become dust? That is too farfetched.’
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
Wording
This verse captures the disbelievers' astonished reaction to the idea of resurrection after death. It is their statement, not Allah's, and it conveys their utter disbelief in being brought back to life.
The Question of Impossibility
The verse begins with "أَءِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًۭا" (A-idhā mitnā wa kunnā turābā), which can be understood as, "What, when we have died and become dust... (are we to be returned)?" The interrogative "أَءِذَا" (A-idhā, "What, when...") is not a sincere question seeking information. Instead, as scholars like Ibn Ashur explain, it is used here to express extreme astonishment and to invalidate the very idea of resurrection. The disbelievers aim to make anyone listening also find the concept impossible, preventing them from believing. Their amazement centers on the *time* implied by "idhā" (when) – specifically, the state of having died and completely disintegrated into dust. For them, this physical obliteration is the ultimate end, making any return to life seem utterly inconceivable. The phrase implies a missing verb like "are we to return to life?" which they consider a given impossibility.
A Far-Fetched Return
Following their incredulous question, they declare, "ذَٰلِكَ رَجْعٌۢ بَعِيدٌۭ" (Dhālika rajʿun baʿīd), meaning "That is a return far-fetched." The word "ذلك" (dhālika, "that") points directly to the concept of returning to life after becoming dust. "رجع" (rajʿ) refers to this very return or resurrection. When they describe this return as "بعيد" (baʿīd, "far-fetched" or "distant"), they don't mean physically far away. Rather, as al-Zamakhshari and Ibn Ashur elaborate, it implies something remote from the mind's grasp, impossible according to their understanding of logic and experience. It is a dismissal, proclaiming that such an event is beyond the realm of possibility and reason. This specific wording reveals their complete denial and highlights their limited perception of divine power.
Sources: al-Zamakhshari (al-Kashshaf), al-Razi (Mafatih al-Ghayb), al-Jalalayn, Ibn Ashur (al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir), al-Jadwal fi I'rab al-Quran (Mahmud Safi)
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Qaf 50:3 is discussed in 5 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Qaf 50:3 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.