Tafseer of The letter Qaaf · Qaaf · 50:4
We know what the earth diminishes of them, and with Us is a retaining record.
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.
And His statement ( We already know what the earth takes away from them ) (50:4). The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: We already know what the earth consumes of their bodies after their death, and with Us is a book concerning what the earth consumes and decomposes of their bodies; and they have, in addition to Our knowledge thereof, a recorded book that preserves all of this. And Allah, the Exalted, has called it "preserving" (ḥafīẓ), because what is written in it does not fade, does not change, and is not replaced.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement ( We already know what the earth takes away from them ), he says: what the earth consumes of their flesh, their skins, their bones, and their hair.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement ( what the earth takes away from them ), he said: of their bones.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement ( We already know what the earth takes away from them ), he says: what the earth consumes of them.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda ( We already know what the earth takes away from them ), he said: he means death; he says: whoever of them dies — or he said: what the earth consumes of them when they die.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd informed us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying: Allah says ( We already know what the earth takes away from them ), he says: what the earth has consumed of them, and We know thereof, and they are with Me, with My knowledge concerning them, in a preserving book.
