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سُورَةُ النَّمۡلِ · 27:80
MeccanRevelation order ٤٨Juzʾ ٢٠Page ٣٨٤

إِنَّكَ لَا تُسْمِعُ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ وَلَا تُسْمِعُ ٱلصُّمَّ ٱلدُّعَآءَ إِذَا وَلَّوْا۟ مُدْبِرِينَ

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Saheeh International · EN

Indeed, you will not make the dead hear, nor will you make the deaf hear the call when they have turned their backs retreating.

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Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 80 of Sūrat An-Naml (The Ant), the 48th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 20. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
48 of 114
Surah
An-Naml (27)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

Surely thou wilt not make the dead to hear. In reality, life is three things, and any heart that is empty of these three things is in fact carrion and counted as dead: the life of fear along with knowledge, the life of hope along with knowledge, and the life of friendship along with knowledge. The life of fear keeps a man's skirt pure of defilement, his eyes awake, and his road straight. The life of hope keeps a man's steed quick, his traveling supplies complete, and the road near. The life of friendship makes a man's measure great, his secret core free, and his heart happy. Fear without knowledge is the fear of the Khawarij, hope without knowledge is the hope of the Murji'ah, and friendship without knowledge is the friendship of the libertines. Anyone who combines these three traits with knowledge will reach a pure life and be released from death. The Lord of the Worlds says, “We shall surely give him to live a goodly life [16:97]. I will make them live a pure life, disowned of self and free of the whole world.” Disown everything in the realm of being- be that Heart-taker's “companion of the cave.” The chevaliers are those to whom He gave access to face-to-face vision, and they made do with that. When the veil was lifted, they turned away from all creation. They took back the skirt of at- tachments from the hands of the creatures. Her love came to me before I knew love- it came across an empty heart and took possession.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Verily, this Qur'an narrates to the Children of Israel most of that in which they differ (76)And truly, it is a guide and a mercy for the believers (77)Verily, your Lord will decide between them by His judgement. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing (78)So, put your trust in Allah; surely, you are on manifest truth (79)Verily, you cannot make the dead to hear nor can you make the deaf to hear the call, when they flee, turning their backs (80)Nor can you lead the blind out of their error. You can only make to hear those who believe in Our Ayat, so they submit (became Muslims)(81) The Qur'an tells the Story of the Differences among the Children of Israel, and Allah judges between Them Allah tells us about His Book and the guidance, proof and criterion between right and wrong that it contains. He tells us about the Children of Israel, who were the bearers of the Tawrah and Injil. أَ…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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And now — what do you think?

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Provenance

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