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سُورَةُ الدُّخَانِ · 44:37
MeccanRevelation order ٦٤Juzʾ ٢٥Page ٤٩٧

أَهُمْ خَيْرٌ أَمْ قَوْمُ تُبَّعٍۢ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ أَهْلَكْنَٰهُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ مُجْرِمِينَ

٣٧
Saheeh International · EN

Are they better or the people of Tubba' and those before them? We destroyed them, [for] indeed, they were criminals.

IntroductionRevelationTafsirTransmissionDebate
Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 37 of Sūrat Ad-Dukhaan (The Smoke), the 64th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 25. 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
64 of 114
Surah
Ad-Dukhaan (44)

No specific occasion of revelation (Asbāb al-Nuzūl) is recorded for this āyah in al-Wāḥidī's collection. Many verses were revealed without a single triggering event.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Verily, these people are saying (34)"There is nothing but our first death, and we shall not be resurrected. (35)"Then bring back our forefathers, if you speak the truth! (36)Are they better or the people of Tubba' and those before them We destroyed them because they were indeed criminals (37) Refutation of Those Who deny the Resurrection Here Allah denounces the idolators for their denial of the Resurrection and their belief that there is nothing after this life and no life or resurrection after death, which they based on the fact that their forefathers had died and had not returned. They said, If the resurrection is true, فَأْتُوا بِآبَائِنَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (Then bring back our forefathers, if you speak the truth!) This is false evidence and a specious argument, for the resurrection will happen on the Day of Judgement, not in this world; it will happen when this world has…
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.

The wall

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.

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Provenance

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