Tafseer of Sheba · Saba · 34:49
Say, "The truth has come, and falsehood can neither begin [anything] nor repeat [it]."
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.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: قُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَمَا يُبْدِئُ الْبَاطِلُ وَمَا يُعِيدُ (34:49) (Say: The truth has come, and falsehood brings nothing forth and causes nothing to return.)
قُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ (Say: The truth has come), He says: say to them, O Muḥammad: the Qurʾān and the revelation of Allah has come. وَمَا يُبْدِئُ الْبَاطِلُ (and falsehood brings nothing forth), He says: and falsehood does not bring any creation into being — and falsehood is, according to what the exegetes have stated: Iblīs. وَمَا يُعِيدُ (and causes nothing to return), He says: and he does not bring it back to life after its perishing.
And in accordance with what we have said about that, the exegetes spoke.
* The mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying إِنَّ رَبِّي يَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ (Verily, my Lord hurls the truth): that is, with the revelation, عَلامُ الْغُيُوبِ * قُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ (the Knower of the unseen. Say: The truth has come): that is, the Qurʾān. وَمَا يُبْدِئُ الْبَاطِلُ وَمَا يُعِيدُ (and falsehood brings nothing forth and causes nothing to return): and falsehood is Iblīs, that is: Iblīs creates no one and raises no one.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His saying قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلامُ الْغُيُوبِ (Say: Verily, my Lord hurls the truth, the Knower of the unseen), and he recited بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ ... (Nay, We hurl the truth against falsehood ...) up to His saying وَلَكُمُ الْوَيْلُ مِمَّا تَصِفُونَ (and woe to you for what you describe), he said: Allah causes falsehood to perish, and Allah establishes the truth with which He shatters falsehood; He shatters falsehood with the truth, so that falsehood perishes and the truth is made enduring. That is His saying قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّي يَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلامُ الْغُيُوبِ (Say: Verily, my Lord hurls the truth, the Knower of the unseen).
