Surah Al-Mu'minun — Verse 113

Word Meanings:

• لَبِثْنَا (Labithnā): We stayed/remained.
• يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ (Yawman aw baʿḍa yawm): A day or part of a day.
• فَاسْأَلِ الْعَادِّينَ (Fasʾali al-ʿāddīn): Ask those who keep count (the reckoners/calculators of time).

Tafsir (Explanation):

In this verse, Allah tells us about the desperate reply of the disbelievers when they are questioned about how long they remained in their graves or in the interval before resurrection. Overwhelmed by the terror and severity of that moment, they lose all sense of time. They answer: "We stayed only a day or part of a day — ask those who keep count."

Their words reveal a profound psychological state: the horror of the Hereafter makes their worldly lifespan — however long it was — feel like the blink of an eye. They are so bewildered and terrified that they cannot even estimate the duration themselves, so they refer the question to the angels who precisely record the deeds and lifespans of all creation.

This verse carries a powerful lesson for us in this life. It reminds us that time in this world — no matter how long we live — is but a fleeting moment compared to the eternal realities of the Hereafter. The very people who once denied the resurrection and mocked the messengers will, on that Day, speak of their entire worldly existence as if it were less than a single day.

Dear reader, do not let the length of your days deceive you into complacency. Every hour, every minute, is a precious investment in your eternal future. The believer who lives with awareness of the Hereafter does not waste time in heedlessness, for they know that the shortest moment spent in obedience to Allah is worth more than a lifetime of distraction. And the one who sins, thinking they have plenty of time to repent, forgets that death may come at any moment — and then, like these people, they will wish they had taken their worldly days more seriously.

Let this verse awaken in your heart the urgency of today. Do not postpone your return to Allah, for tomorrow is not guaranteed. The wise person is the one who uses their fleeting days to build a lasting abode in Paradise — a place where time is measured not in days and nights, but in eternal bliss and the pleasure of the Most Merciful.