Tafseer of The Believers · Al-Muminoon · 23:113
They will say, "We remained a day or part of a day; ask those who enumerate."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: فَاسْأَلِ الْعَادِّينَ (then ask those who count): he said: the angels.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — likewise.
Others said: they are the reckoners.
*Mention of who said this:*
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: فَاسْأَلِ الْعَادِّينَ (then ask those who count) — he said: ask the reckoners.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: فَاسْأَلِ الْعَادِّينَ — he said: ask the people of reckoning.
The most correct judgment on this matter is to say what Allah, exalted be His praise, has said: فَاسْأَلِ الْعَادِّينَ — and they are those who count up the number of months and years and the like. It is possible that they are the angels, and it is possible that they are the sons of Adam or others, and there is no proof from any side establishing the correctness of any of these — it is therefore not permissible to direct its meaning to some of those who count to the exclusion of others.
