What does Quran 51:29 mean?

Quran 51:29 (Surah Adh-Dhaariyat, Ayah 29) translates to: "And his wife approached with a cry [of alarm] and struck her face and said, "[I am] a barren old woman!""

Which Surah and Juz is Quran 51:29 from?

This ayah is from Surah Adh-Dhaariyat (The Winnowing Winds), the 51th surah of the Quran. It appears in Juz 26.

Are there hadiths related to Quran 51:29?

Yes — there are 5 hadiths related to this ayah from Sunan Ibn Majah, Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunan Abu Dawud.

What tafsir is available for Quran 51:29?

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

What topics does Quran 51:29 relate to?

This ayah connects to these Quranic topics: Prophet Ibrahim, Fear and Anxiety, Divine Promise, Ethical Conduct, Tawhid.

Ayah 28

فَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةًۭ ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَا تَخَفْ...

51:29Adh-Dhaariyat

Ayah 30

قَالُوا۟ كَذَٰلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱ...

فَأَقْبَلَتِ ٱمْرَأَتُهُۥ فِى صَرَّةٍۢ فَصَكَّتْ وَجْهَهَا وَقَالَتْ عَجُوزٌ عَقِيمٌۭ

Fa aqbalatim ra-atuhoo fee sarratin fasakkat wajhahaa wa qaalat 'ajoozun 'aqeem

And his wife approached with a cry [of alarm] and struck her face and said, "[I am] a barren old woman!"

Themes in this ayah

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Lessons from past peoples87

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1 other theme with a weak connection

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Lessons from past peoples

51:29Ayah 160

20 ayahs in Adh-Dhaariyat are strongly about lessons from past peoples. This is one of them.

← Previous on Lessons from past peoples51:28And he felt from them apprehension. They said, "Fear not," and gave him good tidings of a learned boy.Next on Lessons from past peoples →51:33To send down upon them stones of clay,

Tafsir

Scholars offer complementary perspectives

View Full Tafsir: Al-Jalalayn on 51:29→

Then his wife Sarah came forward clamouring shouting fī sarratin is a circumstantial qualifier that is to say she came shouting and smote slapped her face and said ‘A barren old woman!’ who has never given birth to a child aged ninety-nine with Abraham being one hundred years old; or alternatively he was a hundred and twenty years old and she was ninety years old.

"I did not know until Zainab burst in on me without permission and she was angry. Then she said: 'O Messenger of Allah, is it enough for you that the young daughter of Abu Bakr waves her hands in front of you?' Then she turned to me, but I ignored her until the Prophet said: 'You should say something to defend yourself.' So I turned on her, (and replied to her) until I saw that her mouth had become dry, and she did not say anything back to me. And I saw the Prophet with his face shining." (Hasan).

Sahih al-Bukhari #1254Narrated Abu Burda bin Abi Musa:Sahih

Abu Musa got seriously ill, fainted and could not reply to his wife while he was lying with his head in her lap. When he came to his senses, he said, "I am innocent of those, of whom Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was innocent. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) is innocent of a woman who cries aloud (or slaps her face) who shaves her head and who tear off her clothes (on the falling of a calamity)

Sunan Abu Dawud #2211Narrated Tamimah al-Hujayni:Sahih

A man said to his wife: O my younger sister! The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: Is she your sister? He (the Prophet disliked it and prohibited saying so.

Sunan an-Nasa'i #1872It was narrated that Al-Qartha' said:Sahih

"When Abu Musa was close to death, his wife screamed and he said: 'Do you not know what the Messenger of Allah said?" She said: 'Yes, Then she fell silent and it was said to her after that: 'What did the Messenger of Allah say?' She said: 'The Messenger of Allah cursed the one who shaves his head, raises his voice in lamentation or rends his garment."

Sahih al-Bukhari #1247Narrated `Aisha:Sahih

(the wife of the Prophet) Once Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) passed by (the grave of) a Jewess whose relatives were weeping over her. He said, "They are weeping over her and she is being tortured in her grave."