Surah 41

Surah 41:23

"And that – the thought you thought about your Lord – has brought you to ruin. (Now) you are among the losers.’"
On the Day of Judgement, the Sinners' Limbs will testify against Them Verses 41:19-24
Show Full Scripture Context (41:19-24) — 6 Verses
Verse 19

وَيَوۡمَ يُحۡشَرُ أَعۡدَآءُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَى ٱلنَّارِ فَهُمۡ يُوزَعُونَ

On the Day when the enemies of God are gathered to the Fire, and they are arranged (in rows)

Verse 20

حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا مَا جَآءُوهَا شَهِدَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ سَمۡعُهُمۡ وَأَبۡصَٰرُهُمۡ وَجُلُودُهُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ

– until, when they have come to it, their hearing and their sight and their skins will bear witness against them about what they have done,

Verse 21

وَقَالُواْ لِجُلُودِهِمۡ لِمَ شَهِدتُّمۡ عَلَيۡنَاۖ قَالُوٓاْ أَنطَقَنَا ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَنطَقَ كُلَّ شَيۡءٖۚ وَهُوَ خَلَقَكُمۡ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٖ وَإِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُونَ

and they will say to their skins, ‘Why did you bear witness against us?’ They will say, ‘God, who gave speech to everything, has given us speech. He created you the first time, and to Him you are (now) returned.

Verse 22

وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَسۡتَتِرُونَ أَن يَشۡهَدَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ سَمۡعُكُمۡ وَلَآ أَبۡصَٰرُكُمۡ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمۡ وَلَٰكِن ظَنَنتُمۡ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَعۡلَمُ كَثِيرٗا مِّمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ

You did not protect yourselves against your hearing and your sight and your skins bearing witness against you. You thought that God would not know much of what you had done.

Verse 23

وَذَٰلِكُمۡ ظَنُّكُمُ ٱلَّذِي ظَنَنتُم بِرَبِّكُمۡ أَرۡدَىٰكُمۡ فَأَصۡبَحۡتُم مِّنَ ٱلۡخَٰسِرِينَ

And that – the thought you thought about your Lord – has brought you to ruin. (Now) you are among the losers.’

Verse 24

فَإِن يَصۡبِرُواْ فَٱلنَّارُ مَثۡوٗى لَّهُمۡۖ وَإِن يَسۡتَعۡتِبُواْ فَمَا هُم مِّنَ ٱلۡمُعۡتَبِينَ

If they persist, the Fire will be a dwelling place for them, and if they ask to make amends, they will not be among the ones allowed to make amends.

Quoted Scripture
"And (remember) the Day that the enemies of Allah will be gathered to the Fire, then they will be driven."

means, remind these idolaters of the Day when they will be gathered to the Fire and they will be driven, i.e., the keepers of Hell will gather the first of them with the last of them, as Allah says elsewhere:

Quoted Scripture
"[And We shall drive the criminals to Hell, in a thirsty state](quran/19/86)}."

{Till, when they reach it,} means, when they stand at its edge,

Quoted Scripture
"their hearing (ears) and their eyes and their skins will testify against them as to what they used to do."

means, all their deeds, earlier and later; not a single letter will be concealed.

Quoted Scripture
"And they will say to their skins, "Why do you testify against us?""

they will blame their limbs and their skins when they testify against them, at which point their limbs will answer:

Quoted Scripture
"They will say: "Allah has caused us to speak - as He causes all things to speak, and He created you the first time,"

means, and He cannot be opposed or resisted, and to Him you will return. Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bazzar narrated that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah laughed and smiled one day, and said:

«Will you not ask about why I laughed?» They said, "O Messenger of Allah, why did you laugh?" He said:

«I was amazed at how a servant will dispute with his Lord on the Day of Resurrection. He will say, "My Lord, did You not promise me that you would not treat me unjustly?" Allah will say, "Yes." The man will say, "I will not accept any witness against me except from myself." Allah will say, "Is it not sufficient that I and the angels, the noble scribes, are witnesses?" These words will be repeated several times, then a seal will be placed over his mouth and his organs (or limbs) will speak about what he used to do. Then he will say, "Away with you! It was only for your sake that I was arguing!"»

It was recorded by him and Ibn Abi Hatim. It was also recorded by Muslim and An-Nasa'i. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Burdah said that Abu Musa said, "The disbeliever or the hypocrite will be called to account and his Lord will show him his deeds, but he will deny them and say, 'O Lord, by Your glory, this angel has written about me something that I did not do.' The angel will say to him, "Did you not do such and such on such and such a day in such and such a place?' He will say, "No, by Your glory O Lord, I did not do it.' When he does that, a seal will be placed over his mouth." Al-Ash'ari, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I think that the first part of his body to speak will be his right thigh."

Allah's saying:

Quoted Scripture
"And you have not been hiding yourselves (in the world), lest your ears and your eyes and your skins should testify against you;"

means, their organs and skins will say to them, when they blame them for testifying against them, 'you did not hide from us what you used to do, on the contrary, you openly committed disbelief and sin, and you claimed that you did not care, because you did not believe that Allah knew about all your deeds.' Allah says:

Quoted Scripture
"but you thought that Allah knew not much of what you were doing. And that thought of yours which you thought about your Lord, has brought you to destruction;"

meaning, 'this evil thought, i.e., your belief that Allah did not know much of what you were doing, is what has caused you to be doomed and has made your losers before your Lord.'

Quoted Scripture
"and you have become of those utterly lost!"

means, 'in the place of Resurrection, you have lost your own selves and your families.'

Imam Ahmad recorded that 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I was hiding beneath the covering of the Ka'bah, and three men came along - a man from the Quraysh and two of his brothers-in-law from Thaqif, or a man from Thaqif and two of his brothers-in-law from the Quraysh. Their bellies were very fat, and did not have much understanding. They said some words I could not hear, then one of them said, 'Do you think that Allah can hear what we are saying now?'

Quoted Scripture
"[They will say: "Our Lord! Our wretchedness overcame us, and we were (an) erring people. Our Lord! Bring us out of this. If ever we return (to evil), then indeed we shall be wrongdoers." He will say: "Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me!"](quran/23/106-108)}."

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 8, Page 528-533)

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.