What does Quran 56:47 mean?

Quran 56:47 (Surah Al-Waaqia, Ayah 47) translates to: "And they used to say, "When we die and become dust and bones, are we indeed to be resurrected?"

Which Surah and Juz is Quran 56:47 from?

This ayah is from Surah Al-Waaqia (The Inevitable), the 56th surah of the Quran. It appears in Juz 27.

Are there hadiths related to Quran 56:47?

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

What tafsir is available for Quran 56:47?

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

What topics does Quran 56:47 relate to?

This ayah connects to these Quranic topics: Resurrection, Day of Judgment, Afterlife, Life After Death, Human Mortality.

Ayah 46

وَكَانُوا۟ يُصِرُّونَ عَلَى ٱلْحِنثِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ...

56:47Al-Waaqia

Ayah 48

أَوَءَابَآؤُنَا ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ...

وَكَانُوا۟ يَقُولُونَ أَئِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًۭا وَعِظَٰمًا أَءِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ

Wa kaanoo yaqooloona a'izaa mitnaa wa kunnaa turaabanw wa izaaman'ainnaa lamab'oosoon

And they used to say, "When we die and become dust and bones, are we indeed to be resurrected?

Themes in this ayah

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Day of Judgment85

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

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Day of Judgment

56:47Ayah 196

4 ayahs in Al-Waaqia are strongly about the Day of Judgment. This is one of them.

← Previous on Day of Judgment56:4When the earth is shaken with convulsion Next on Day of Judgment →56:50Are to be gathered together for the appointment of a known Day."

Tafsir

Scholars offer diverse perspectives

View Full Tafsir: Al-Jalalayn on 56:47→

And they used to say ‘What! When we are dead and have become dust and bones shall we indeed be resurrected? in both instances a-idhā and a-innā the two hamzas may be read either by pronouncing them fully or by not pronouncing the second and in either case inserting an intervening alif.

There is a bone in the human being which the earth would never consume and it is from this that new bodies would be reconstituted (on the Day of Resurrection). They said: Allah's Messenger, which bone is that? Thereupon he said: It is the spinal bone.

Sahih al-Bukhari #3333Narrated Rabi` bin Hirash:Sahih

`Uqba said to Hudhaifa, "Won't you narrate to us what you heard from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ?" Hudhaifa said, "I heard him saying, 'Death approached a man and when he had no hope of surviving, he said to his family, 'When I die, gather for me much wood and build a fire (to burn me),. When the fire has eaten my flesh and reached my bones, take the bones and grind them and scatter the resulting powder in the sea on a hot (or windy) day.' (That was done.) But Allah collected his particles and asked (him), 'Why did you do so?' He replied, 'For fear of You.' So Allah forgave him." Narrated `Abdu Malik: As above, saying, "On a windy day."

Sunan Ibn Majah #1350It was narrated from ‘Aishah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:Hasan

“Breaking the bones of the deceased is like breaking his bones when he is alive.”

Sahih Muslim #2112It is narrated on the authority of Ibn Abu Laila that while Qais b. Sa'd and Sahl b. Hunaif were both in Qadislyya a bier passed by them and they both stood up. They were told that it was the bier of one of the people of the land (non-Muslim). They said that a bier passed before the Prophet (ﷺ) and he stood up. He was told that he (the dead man) was a Jew. Upon this he remarked:Sahih

Was he not a human being or did he not have a soul? And in the hadith narrated by 'Amr b. Murra with the same chain of transmitters, (the words) are:" There passed a bier before us."

Sunan Ibn Majah #1351It was narrated from Umm Salamah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

“Breaking the bones of the deceased is, in sin, like breaking his bones when he is alive.”