20:104

نَّحۡنُ أَعۡلَمُ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ إِذۡ يَقُولُ أَمۡثَلُهُمۡ طَرِيقَةً إِن لَّبِثۡتُمۡ إِلَّا يَوۡمٗا

Nahnu aAAlamu bima yaqooloona ith yaqoolu amthaluhum tareeqatan in labithtum illa yawman

We are most knowing of what they say when the best of them in manner will say, "You remained not but one day."

Word by word
  1. نَّحۡنُWe
  2. أَعۡلَمُknow best
  3. بِمَاwhat
  4. يَقُولُونَthey will say
  5. إِذۡwhen
  6. يَقُولُwill say
  7. أَمۡثَلُهُمۡ(the) best of them
  8. طَرِيقَةً(in) conduct
  9. إِنNot
  10. لَّبِثۡتُمۡyou remained
  11. إِلَّاexcept (for)
  12. يَوۡمٗاa day
Taha · 20:104Makkah

The wisest among them will say: only a single day.

The clearest mind sees it even shorter


Two estimates
ten daysmost of them
one daythe wisest of them
What wisdom sees
a long lifeyears and years
one daynights and days in one

Ibn Kathir explains the one with the best mind will say one day, because life's repeating nights, days and hours will feel like a single day. He cites another verse: you stayed but a little, if you had only known.

Ask your grandmother how fast her life went. She will say, "Like a blink." The wiser you get, the shorter life looks. So spend today like it matters, because it is a big piece of the whole.

Life is long, and today is just one of many.

The wisest see life as one day. Today is a big share of it.

Try this

Ask an elder today how fast life felt to them, and listen.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 20:102)

The Day when the Sur will be blown: that Day, We shall gather the criminals blue-eyed (102)They will speak in a very low voice to each other (saying): "You stayed not longer than ten. (103)We know very well what they will say, when the best among them in knowledge and wisdom will say: "You stayed no longer than a day! (104)

The Blowing of the Sur and the Day of Resurrection

It has been confirmed in a Hadith that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about the Sur and he replied,

قَرْنٌ يُنْفَخُ فِيهِ

(It is a horn that will be blown into.)

It has been related in a Hadith about the Sur, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that it is a huge horn that has a circumference as large as the heavens and the earth. The angel Israfil will blow into it. Another Hadith has been related which states that the Prophet ﷺ said,

كَيْفَ أَنْعَمُ وَصَاحِبُ الْقَرْنِ قَدِ الْتقَمَ الْقَرْنَ وَحَنَى جَبْهَتَهُ، وَانْتَظَرَ أَنْ يُؤْذَنَ لَهُ

(How can I be comfortable when the one with the horn is holding it in his lips and his forehead is leaning forward, waiting to be given permission (to blow it).) The people said, "O Messenger of Allah, what should we say?" He said,

قُولُوا: حَسْبُنَا اللهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ عَلَى اللهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا

(Say: Allah is sufficient for us and what a good protector He is. Upon Allah we place our trust.) Concerning His statement,

وَنَحْشُرُ الْمُجْرِمِينَ يَوْمَئِذٍ زُرْقًا

(And We shall gather the criminals blue-eyed.) It has been said that this means having blue eyes due to the severity of their horrifying situation.

يَتَخَافَتُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ

(They will speak in a very low voice to each other.) Ibn 'Abbas said, "This means whispering among themselves." This means that some of them will be saying to others,

إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا عَشْرًا

(You stayed not longer than ten.) meaning in the abode of the worldly life, you only tarried there for a little while. The time was equivalent to ten days or so. Allah, the Exalted, then says,

نَّحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ

(We know very well what they will say,) This means in their condition of conversing amongst themselves.

إِذْ يَقُولُ أَمْثَلُهُمْ طَرِيقَةً

(when the best among them in knowledge and wisdom will say;) the one with perfect intelligence amongst them,

إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا يَوْمًا

(You stayed no longer than a day!) This is because on the Day of Judgement they will sense the shortness of the worldly life within themselves. For the worldly life, with its repetitious time periods and successive nights, days and hours, is as if it is just one day. For this reason, on the Day of Resurrection the disbelievers will think the worldly life was very short. By this they mean to prevent the establishment of the evidence against them due to the shortness of time that they had. Allah says about this,

وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ يُقْسِمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ مَا لَبِثُوا غَيْرَ سَاعَةٍ

(And on the Day that the Hour will be established, the criminals will swear that they stayed not but an hour) until His statement,

وَلَٰكِنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

(but you knew not.")[30:55-56] Allah also says,

أَوَلَمْ نُعَمِّرْكُم مَّا يَتَذَكَّرُ فِيهِ مَن تَذَكَّرَ وَجَاءَكُمُ النَّذِيرُ

(Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition could receive it? And the warner came to you.)(35:37) Allah, the Exalted, also says,

قَالَ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ عَدَدَ سِنِينَ - قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ فَاسْأَلِ الْعَادِّينَ - قَالَ إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا ۖ لَّوْ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

((Allah will say): What number of years did you stay on earth? They will say: "We stayed a day or part of a day. Ask of those who keep account." He (Allah) will say: "You stayed not but a little, if you had only known!")(23:112-114)

This means that you only remained in it (the earth) a little while. If you only knew, you would have preferred the eternal life over the temporal life. Yet, you conducted yourselves in an evil manner. You gave the present, temporary life precedence over the eternal and everlasting life.