What does Quran 87:16 mean?

Quran 87:16 (Surah Al-A'laa, Ayah 16) translates to: "But you prefer the worldly life,"

Which Surah and Juz is Quran 87:16 from?

This ayah is from Surah Al-A'laa (The Most High), the 87th surah of the Quran. It appears in Juz 30.

Yes — there is 1 hadith related to this ayah from Sunan Abu Dawud.

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

This ayah connects to these Quranic topics: Worldly Life, Warning, Day of Judgment, Afterlife, Human Nature.

بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا

Bal tu'siroonal hayaatad dunyaa

But you prefer the worldly life,

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

7 other themes with weak connections

Labeled by AI and people · How this works

Worldly life & wealth

87:16Ayah 119

2 ayahs in Al-A'laa are strongly about worldly life and wealth. This is one of them.

Scholars offer complementary perspectives

Nay but you prefer or read yu’thirūna ‘they prefer’ the life of this world to the Hereafter

Loading related ayahs…