Surah 40

Surah 40:59

"Surely the Hour is coming indeed – (there is) no doubt about it – but most of the people do not believe."
Life after Death Verses 40:57-59
Show Full Scripture Context (40:57-59) — 3 Verses
Verse 57

لَخَلۡقُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ أَكۡبَرُ مِنۡ خَلۡقِ ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكۡثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ

Indeed the creation of the heavens and earth is greater than the creation of the people, but most of the people do not know (it).

Verse 58

وَمَا يَسۡتَوِي ٱلۡأَعۡمَىٰ وَٱلۡبَصِيرُ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَٰتِ وَلَا ٱلۡمُسِيٓءُۚ قَلِيلٗا مَّا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ

The blind and the sighted are not equal, nor are those who believe and do deeds of righteousness and the evildoer. Little do you take heed!

Verse 59

إِنَّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ لَأٓتِيَةٞ لَّا رَيۡبَ فِيهَا وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكۡثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ

Surely the Hour is coming indeed – (there is) no doubt about it – but most of the people do not believe.

Allah tells us that He will bring back His creation on the Day of Resurrection. That is very easy for Him, because He created the heavens and the earth, and creating them is greater than creating mankind, the first time and when He creates them again. The One Who is able to do that is able to do anything that is less than that. As Allah says:

Quoted Scripture
"[Do they not see that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and was not wearied by their creation, is able to give life to the dead? Yes, He surely is able to do all things.](quran/46/33)"

And Allah says here:

Quoted Scripture
"The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind; yet, most of mankind know not."

hence they do not think about or ponder this proof. Similarly, many of the Arabs recognized that Allah had created the heavens and the earth, but they denied and rejected the idea of the resurrection; they acknowledged something which was greater than that which they denied. Then Allah says:

Quoted Scripture
"And not equal are the blind and those who see; nor are those who believe, and do righteous good deeds, and those who do evil. Little do you remember!"

The blind man who cannot see anything is not the same as the sighted man who can see everything as far as his eyesight reaches - there is a huge difference between them. By the same token, the righteous believers and the immoral disbelievers are not equal.

{Little do you remember!} means, most of the people remember little.

Quoted Scripture
"Verily, the Hour is surely coming,"

means, it will indeed come to pass.

Quoted Scripture
"there is no doubt about it, yet most men believe not."

means, they do not believe in it, and in fact they doubt its existence altogether.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 8, Page 492-493)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.