Surah Al-Waaqia 56:87 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection

تَرْجِعُونَهَآ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ

English: do you not restore his soul to him, if what you say is true?

Bengali: তবে তোমরা এই আত্মাকে ফিরাও না কেন, যদি তোমরা সত্যবাদী হও ?

Meaning & Reflection

'...return the soul, if you are truthful.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the devastating challenge that unmasks all human pretension to control — 'tarji'unaha in kuntum sadiqin': if you really run your own life and answer to no one, then at the deathbed of your loved one, *put the soul back*. And of course, no one can. Ask yourself: this is the moment that exposes every illusion of my self-sufficiency. For all my planning, wealth, medicine, and will, I cannot hold a single soul in its body one second past its time — not my own, not anyone's. The verse doesn't argue; it simply hands me the proof: I was never the master I imagined. Recognising, honestly, that I cannot even keep breath in a body I love — does that finally dissolve the pride of living as though I were in charge, and turn me toward the One who actually is?

Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.

Reflect with the Five Lenses

Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Al-Waaqia 56:87:

• Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
• Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
• Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
• Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
• General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?