Text of verse 16:40
إِنَّمَا قَوْلُنَا لِشَىْءٍ إِذَآ أَرَدْنَٰهُ أَن نَّقُولَ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ ٤٠
Transliteration
innamā qawlunā lishayin idhā aradnāhu an naqūla lahu kun fayakūnu
Translation
Indeed, Our word to a thing when We intend it is but that We say to it, "Be," and it is.
Translation in another language
Choose a translation
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Rachid Maach Nabil Radwan (Noor International) Muhammad Hamidullah
Isa García Noor International (España) Noor International (Latinoamérica) Julio Cortés
Salomo Keyzer
Abubakar Mahmoud Gumi
محمد جوناگڑھی
Bubenheim & Elias
Ali Muhsin Al-Barwani
Hamza Roberto Piccardo
মুহিউদ্দীন খান
Rowwad Tercüme Merkezi Şaban Piriş Ali Özek ve arkadaşları Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır
Kementerian Agama RI
Mahmud Muhammad Abduh
حسین تاجی گلهداری
Abdullah Muhammad Basmeih
Sherif Ahmeti
Məmmədəliyev & Bünyadov
Besim Korkut
馬堅
Ivan Hrbek
Ahsen Böre
三田了一
최영길
Abdul Hameed & Parappoor
Abdulaziz Guroalim Saromantang
Einar Berg
Józef Bielawski
Samir El-Hayek
George Grigore
Эльмир Кулиев
Knut Bernström
ஜான் டிரஸ்ட்
Якуб ибн Нугман
สมาคมนักเรียนเก่าอาหรับ ประเทศไทย
Муҳаммад Содиқ Муҳаммад Юсуф
Verse 40 of Surah An-Nahl (16:40), a Meccan surah, is in juz 14, on page 271 of the mushaf. Read it in Arabic with its transliteration, translations and tafsir, and listen to it recited by 73 reciters.
Tafsir of verse 40
Al-Mukhtasar
Indeed when I want to bring the dead to life and ressurect them then there will be nothing to prevent Me from doing so. When We will something to happen, all that We say is, ‘Be,’ and it definitely becomes.
Tafsir of the whole Surah An-Nahl
Other translations of verse 40
When We intend something, We only say to it, “Be!”, and it is.
Verily! Our Word unto a thing when We intend it, is only that We say unto it: "Be!" - and it is.14
Notes [14] (V.16:40) See the footnote of (V.51:30)
And Our word unto a thing, when We intend it, is only that We say unto it: Be! and it is.
For to anything which We have willed, We but say the word, "Be", and it is.
Our word for a thing when We intend it, is only that We say to it, Be, and it is.
Surely Our only Saying to a thing when We have willed it, is that We say to it, "Be!" so it is.
Verse 40 word by word
إِنَّمَا
innamā Only
قَوْلُنَا
qawlunā Our Word ق و ل
لِشَىْءٍ
lishayin to a thing ش ي أ
إِذَآ
idhā when
أَرَدْنَٰهُ
aradnāhu We intend it ر و د
أَن
an (is) that
نَّقُولَ
naqūla We say ق و ل
لَهُۥ
lahu to it
كُن
kun Be ك و ن
فَيَكُونُ
fayakūnu and it is ك و ن
Hadiths that cite this verse
Authentic
Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih al-Bukhari 7459
لاَ يَزَالُ مِنْ أُمَّتِي قَوْمٌ ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى النَّاسِ، حَتَّى يَأْتِيَهُمْ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ "
Narrated by Al-Mughīrah ibn Shu‘bah + 5 other versions
Authentic
Sahih al-Bukhari 7460
لاَ يَزَالُ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أُمَّةٌ قَائِمَةٌ بِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ، مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ مَنْ كَذَّبَهُمْ، وَلاَ مَنْ خَالَفَهُمْ، حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ وَهُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ "
Narrated by Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal + 1 other version
Authentic
Sahih al-Bukhari 7461
لَوْ سَأَلْتَنِي هَذِهِ الْقِطْعَةَ مَا أَعْطَيْتُكَهَا، وَلَنْ تَعْدُوَ أَمْرَ اللَّهِ فِيكَ، وَلَئِنْ أَدْبَرْتَ لَيَعْقِرَنَّكَ اللَّهُ "
Narrated by Ibn ‘Abbās + 2 other versions
Authentic
Muttafaq ‘alayh (Bukhari and Muslim) Sahih al-Bukhari 7462
وَهْوَ يَتَوَكَّأُ عَلَى عَسِيبٍ مَعَهُ، فَمَرَرْنَا عَلَى نَفَرٍ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ سَلُوهُ عَنِ الرُّوحِ. فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لاَ تَسْأَلُوهُ أَنْ يَجِيءَ فِيهِ بِشَىْءٍ تَكْرَهُونَهُ.…
Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd + 9 other versions
Verses related to verse 40
Cited by Ibn Kathir in his explanation of this verse
Al-Qamar 54:50
وَمَآ أَمْرُنَآ إِلَّا وَٰحِدَةٌ كَلَمْحٍۭ بِٱلْبَصَرِ
And Our command is but one, like a glance of the eye.
Luqman 31:28
مَّا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلَا بَعْثُكُمْ إِلَّا كَنَفْسٍ وَٰحِدَةٍ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَمِيعٌۢ بَصِيرٌ
Your creation and your resurrection will not be but as that of a single soul. Indeed, Allāh is Hearing and Seeing.
Al-Ma’idah 5:73
لَّقَدْ كَفَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ثَالِثُ ثَلَٰثَةٍ وَمَا مِنْ إِلَٰهٍ إِلَّآ إِلَٰهٌ وَٰحِدٌ وَإِن لَّمْ يَنتَهُوا۟ عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ لَيَمَسَّنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allāh is the third of three." And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment.
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Surah An-Nahl
سورة النحل
128 verses · Meccan