Surah Al-An’am >> Currently viewing Surah Al-An’am Ayat 158 (6:158)

Surah Al-An’am Ayat 158 in Arabic Text

هَلۡ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن تَأۡتِيَهُمُ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ أَوۡ يَأۡتِيَ رَبُّكَ أَوۡ يَأۡتِيَ بَعۡضُ ءَايَٰتِ رَبِّكَۗ يَوۡمَ يَأۡتِي بَعۡضُ ءَايَٰتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنفَعُ نَفۡسًا إِيمَٰنُهَا لَمۡ تَكُنۡ ءَامَنَتۡ مِن قَبۡلُ أَوۡ كَسَبَتۡ فِيٓ إِيمَٰنِهَا خَيۡرٗاۗ قُلِ ٱنتَظِرُوٓاْ إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ
Hal yanzuroona illaaa an ta’tiyahumul malaaa’ikatu aw ya’tiya Rabbuka aw ya’tiya ba’du Aayaati Rabbik; yawma ya’tee ba’du Aayaati Rabbika laa yanfa’u nafsan eemaanuhaa lam takun aamanat min qablu aw kasabat feee eemaanihaa khairaa; qulin tazirooo innaa muntaziroon

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 158

Sahih International
Do they [then] wait for anything except that the angels should come to them or your Lord should come or that there come some of the signs of your Lord? The Day that some of the signs of your Lord will come no soul will benefit from its faith as long as it had not believed before or had earned through its faith some good. Say, “Wait. Indeed, we [also] are waiting.”

Yusuf Ali
Are they waiting to see if the angels come to them, or thy Lord (Himself), or certain of the signs of thy Lord! the day that certain of the signs of thy Lord do come, no good will it do to a soul to believe in them then if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its faith. Say: “Wait ye: we too are waiting.”

Abul Ala Maududi
What! Do they wait either for the angels to appear before them or for your Lord to come unto them or for some clear signs of your Lord to appear before them? When some clear signs of your Lord will appear, believing will be of no avail to anyone who did not believe before, or who earned no good deeds through his faith. Say: ‘Wait on; we too are waiting.’

Muhsin Khan
Do they then wait for anything other than that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some of the Signs of your Lord should come (i.e. portents of the Hour e.g., arising of the sun from the west)! The day that some of the Signs of your Lord do come, no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor earned good (by performing deeds of righteousness) through his Faith. Say: “Wait you! we (too) are waiting.”

Pickthall
Wait they, indeed, for nothing less than that the angels should come unto them, or thy Lord should come, or there should come one of the portents from thy Lord? In the day when one of the portents from thy Lord cometh, its belief availeth naught a soul which theretofore believed not, nor in its belief earned good (by works). Say: Wait ye! Lo! We (too) are waiting.

Dr. Ghali
Do they look for (nothing) except that the Angels should come up to them, or that your Lord should come up, or that some of the signs of your Lord should come up? On the Day some of the signs of your Lord come up, its belief will not profit a self that did not believe earlier or earned some charity, (i.e., benefits) in its belief. Say, “Wait! Surely we (too) are waiting.”

Abdel Haleem
Are they waiting for the very angels to come to them, or your Lord Himself, or maybe some of His signs? But on the Day some of your Lord’s signs come, no soul will profit from faith if it had none before, or has not already earned some good through its faith. Say, ‘Wait if you wish: we too are waiting.’

Muhammad Junagarhi
کیا یہ لوگ صرف اس امر کے منتظر ہیں کہ ان کے پاس فرشتے آئیں یا ان کے پاس آپ کا رب آئے یا آپ کے رب کی کوئی (بڑی) نشانی آئے؟ جس روز آپ کے رب کی کوئی بڑی نشانی آپہنچے گی، کسی ایسے شخص کا ایمان اس کے کام نہ آئے گا جو پہلے سے ایمان نہیں رکھتا۔ یا اس نے اپنے ایمان میں کوئی نیک عمل نہ کیا ہو۔ آپ فرما دیجئے کہ تم منتظر رہو، ہم بھی منتظر ہیں

Quran 6 Verse 158 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Al-An’am ayat 158, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(6:158) What! Do they wait either for the angels to appear before them or for your Lord to come unto them or for some clear signs of your Lord1[139] to appear before them? When some clear signs of your Lord will appear, believing will be of no avail to anyone who did not believe before, or who earned no good deeds through his faith.[140] Say: ‘Wait on; we too are waiting.’


139. That is, either tokens of the approach of the Day of Reckoning or God’s scourge or any other sign that will uncover the Truth, after which there will be no reason left for testing man.

140. Those tokens will be so clear that after their appearance it will neither avail the unbeliever to repent of his unbelief nor the disobedient to forsake his disobedience. For faith and obedience have meaning and value only as long as the Truth remains hidden, as long as the tenure of life granted to people does not seem to have approached its end and the world with all its vanities continues to delude man that, as there may neither be God nor After-life, one should eat, drink and enjoy oneself as best one can.

Ibn-Kathir

158. Do they then wait for anything other than that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some of the Signs of your Lord should come! The day that some of the signs of your Lord do come, no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before, nor earned good with his faith. Say: “Wait you! We (too) are waiting.”


The Disbelievers Await the Commencement of the Hereafter, or Some of its Portents

Allah sternly threatens the disbelievers, those who defy His Messengers, deny His Ayat and hinder from His path,

﴿هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَ أَن تَأْتِيهُمُ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِىَ رَبُّكَ﴾

(Do they then wait for anything other than that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord (Allah) should come…) on the Day of Resurrection,

﴿أَوْ يَأْتِىَ بَعْضُ ءَايَـتِ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِى بَعْضُ ءَايَـتِ رَبِّكَ لاَ يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا﴾

(or that some of the signs of your Lord should come! The day that some of the signs of your Lord do come no good will it do to a person to believe then.) Before the commencement of the Day of Resurrection, there will come signs and portents of the Last Hour that will be witnessed by the people living at that time. In a section explaining this Ayah, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

«لَا تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا فَإِذَا رَآهَا النَّاسُ آمَنَ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَذَلِكَ حِين»

(The Last Hour will not commence until the sun rises from the west. When the people witness that, they will all believe. This is when.

﴿لاَ يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ ءَامَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ﴾

(no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before.)) Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

«ثَلَاثٌ إِذَا خَرَجْنَ لَا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْل أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا، طُلُوعُ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا وَالدَّجَّالُ وَدَابَّةُ الْأَرْض»

(Three, if they appear, then a soul will not benefit from its faith, if it had not believed before or earned good in its faith: when the sun rises from the west, Ad-Dajjal and the Beast of the earth.) Ahmad also recorded this Hadith, and in his narration, the Prophet mentioned the Smoke. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Amr bin Jarir said, “Three Muslim men sat with Marwan in Al-Madinah and they heard him talking about the signs (of the Last Hour). He said that the first sign will be the appearance of Ad-Dajjal. So these men went to `Abdullah bin `Amr and told him what they heard from Marwan about the signs. Ibn `Amr said, Marwan said nothing. I remember that I heard the Messenger of Allah saying,

«إِنَّ أَوَّلَ الْآياتِ خُرُوجًا طُلُوعُ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا وَخُرُوجُ الدَّابَّةِ ضُحًى فَأَيَّتُهُمَا كَانَتْ قَبْلَ صَاحِبَتِهَا فَالْأُخْرَى عَلَى أَثَرِهَا»

(The first of the signs to appear are the sun rising from the west and the Beast that appears in the early morning. Whichever comes before the other, then the second sign will appear soon after it.”) Then `Abdullah said – and he used to read the Scriptures – “And I think the first of them is the sun rising from the west. That is because when it sets it comes under the Throne, prostrates and seeks permission to return. So it is permitted to return until Allah wants it to rise from the west. So it does as it normally would, it comes beneath the Throne, it prostrates and seeks permission to return. But it will get no response. Then it will seek permission to return ﴿again﴾, but it will get no response, until what Allah wills of the night to pass goes by, and it realizes that if it is permitted to return it would not ﴿be able to﴾ reach the east. It says; `My Lord! The east is so far, what good would I be to the people’ Until the horizons appear as a ﴿lightless﴾ ring, it seeks permission to return and is told; `Rise from your place,’ so it rises upon the people from where it set.” Then he recited,

﴿لاَ يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ ءَامَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ﴾

(no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before,) This was also recorded by Muslim in his Sahih, and Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah in their Sunans. Allah’s statement,

﴿لاَ يَنفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ ءَامَنَتْ مِن قَبْلُ﴾

(no good will it do to a person to believe then, if he believed not before,) means, when the disbeliever believes then, it will not be accepted from him. As for those who were believers before, if they earned righteous deeds, they will have earned a great deal of good. If they had not done good nor repented before then, it will not be accepted from them, according to the Hadiths that we mentioned. This is also the meaning of Allah’s statement,

﴿أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِى إِيمَـنِهَا خَيْرًا﴾

(…nor earned good through his faith. ) meaning, one’s good deeds will not be accepted from him unless he performed good deeds before. Allah said next,

﴿قُلِ انتَظِرُواْ إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ﴾

(Say: “Wait you! We (too) are waiting.”) This is a stern threat to the disbelievers and a sure promise for those who delay embracing the faith and repenting until a time when faith or repentance shall not avail. This will occur when the sun rises from the west because the Last Hour will then be imminent and its major signs will have begun to appear. Allah said in other Ayat,

﴿فَهَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ السَّاعَةَ أَن تَأْتِيَهُمْ بَغْتَةً فَقَدْ جَآءَ أَشْرَاطُهَا فَأَنَّى لَهُمْ إِذَا جَآءَتْهُمْ ذِكْرَاهُمْ ﴾

(Do they then await (anything) other than the Hour, that it should come upon them suddenly But some of its portents have already come; and when it is upon them, how can they benefit then by their reminder) ﴿47:18﴾, and,

﴿فَلَمَّا رَأَوْاْ بَأْسَنَا قَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ وَكَـفَرْنَا بِمَا كُنَّا بِهِ مُشْرِكِينَ فَلَمْ يَكُ يَنفَعُهُمْ إِيمَـنُهُمْ لَمَّا رَأَوْاْ بَأْسَنَا﴾

(So when they saw Our punishment, they said: “We believe in Allah alone and reject (all) that we used to associate with Him as partners.” Then their faith could not avail them when they saw Our punishment.) ﴿40:84-85﴾

Quick navigation links

Surah Al-An’am
1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 . 17 . 18 . 19 . 20 . 21 . 22 . 23 . 24 . 25 . 26 . 27 . 28 . 29 . 30 . 31 . 32 . 33 . 34 . 35 . 36 . 37 . 38 . 39 . 40 . 41 . 42 . 43 . 44 . 45 . 46 . 47 . 48 . 49 . 50 . 51 . 52 . 53 . 54 . 55 . 56 . 57 . 58 . 59 . 60 . 61 . 62 . 63 . 64 . 65 . 66 . 67 . 68 . 69 . 70 . 71 . 72 . 73 . 74 . 75 . 76 . 77 . 78 . 79 . 80 . 81 . 82 . 83 . 84 . 85 . 86 . 87 . 88 . 89 . 90 . 91 . 92 . 93 . 94 . 95 . 96 . 97 . 98 . 99 . 100 . 101 . 102 . 103 . 104 . 105 . 106 . 107 . 108 . 109 . 110 . 111 . 112 . 113 . 114 . 115 . 116 . 117 . 118 . 119 . 120 . 121 . 122 . 123 . 124 . 125 . 126 . 127 . 128 . 129 . 130 . 131 . 132 . 133 . 134 . 135 . 136 . 137 . 138 . 139 . 140 . 141 . 142 . 143 . 144 . 145 . 146 . 147 . 148 . 149 . 150 . 151 . 152 . 153 . 154 . 155 . 156 . 157 . 158 . 159 . 160 . 161 . 162 . 163 . 164 . 165

surah al-anam ayat 158
surah al-anam ayat 159
surah al-anam ayat 160
surah al-anam ayat 161
surah al-anam ayat 162

skip_previous play_arrow skip_next
0:00/0:00
volume_up