إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ وَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَدَّمُوا۟ وَءَاثَٰرَهُمْ ۚ وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَٰهُ فِىٓ إِمَامٍۢ مُّبِينٍۢ
Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have put forth and what they left behind, and all things We have enumerated in a clear register.
Introduction
This is āyah 12 of Sūrat Yaseen (Ya Sin), the 41st sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 22. 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.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 41 of 114
- Surah
- Yaseen (36)
(Lo! We it is Who bring the dead to life. We record that which they send before them, and their footprints�) [36:12]. Abu Sa�id al-Khudri said: �The Banu Salamah were settled at one extremity of Medina and wanted to move closer to the mosque [of the Prophet]. This verse was then revealed (Lo! We it is Who bring the dead to life. We record that which they send before them, and their footprints�), and so the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to them: �Your footprints are recorded, why then do you want to move?� � The prophetic descendent Isma�il ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan Tabari informed us> his grandfather> �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Sharqi> �Abd al-Rahman ibn Bishr> �Abd al-Razzaq> al-Thawri> Sa�id ibn Turayf> Abu Nadrah> Abu Sa�id who said: �The Banu Salamah complained to the Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, about the remoteness of their homes from the mosque. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (We record that which they send before them�) upon which the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �Do not move from your homes. Your footprints are recorded for you in your favour� �.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- 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
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- 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.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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