What does Quran 23:114 mean?

Quran 23:114 (Surah Al-Muminoon, Ayah 114) translates to: "He will say, "You stayed not but a little - if only you had known."

Which Surah and Juz is Quran 23:114 from?

This ayah is from Surah Al-Muminoon (The Believers), the 23th surah of the Quran. It appears in Juz 18.

Are there hadiths related to Quran 23:114?

Yes — there are 5 hadiths related to this ayah from Sahih al-Bukhari, Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah.

What tafsir is available for Quran 23:114?

Commentary on this ayah is available from Ibn Kathir, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Abbas, Al-Jalalayn — classical scholars of Quranic exegesis.

Ayah 113

قَالُوا۟ لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍۢ فَس...

23:114Al-Muminoon

Q: What topics does Quran 23:114 relate to?

This ayah connects to these Quranic topics: Day of Judgment, Accountability, Worship of Allah Alone, Worldly Life, Guidance.

Ayah 115

أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَٰكُمْ عَبَثًۭا وَأ...

قَٰلَ إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا ۖ لَّوْ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

Qaala il labistum illaa qaleelal law annakum kuntum ta'lamoon

He will say, "You stayed not but a little - if only you had known.

Themes in this ayah

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Worldly life & wealth85 Day of Judgment69 Knowledge & reflection57

Scores run 0–100: how strongly this ayah speaks to a theme. 70+ is central, 50+ is clear, under 50 is weak.

9 other themes with weak connections

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23:114Ayah 1118

5 ayahs in Al-Muminoon are strongly about worldly life and wealth. This is one of them.

← Previous on Worldly life & wealth23:113They will say, "We remained a day or part of a day; ask those who enumerate."

Tafsir

Scholars offer complementary perspectives

View Full Tafsir: Al-Jalalayn on 23:114→

He exalted will say to them also by the tongue of Keeper of Hell a variant reading for qāla ‘He will say’ has qul ‘say’ ‘You tarried but a little if only you knew the length of time you tarried you would have realised that it is trivial relative to how long you will tarry in the Fire.

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "If you knew that which I know you would laugh little and weep much."

Sahih al-Bukhari #6247Narrated Anas:Sahih

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If you knew that which I know, you would laugh little and weep much."

Jami` at-Tirmidhi #2382Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said:Sahih

"If you knew what I know, then you would laugh little and you would cry much."

Sunan Ibn Majah #3929It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:Sahih

“If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much.”

Sahih al-Bukhari #6395Narrated Abu Huraira:Sahih

Abu-l-Qasim (the Prophet) said, "By Him in Whose Hand Muhammad's soul is, if you know that which I know, you would weep much and laugh little."