“He will say, ‘How many years did you remain on earth?’ They will say, ‘We remained a day or part of a day; ask those who keep count.’ He will say, ‘You remained but a little, if only you had known. Did you then think that We had created you without purpose, and that you would not be returned to Us?’” (112–115)

“He will say, ‘How many years did you remain?’” Hamzah and al-Kisa’i recited it, “Say: How many years did you remain?” in the imperative. The meaning of the verse is: Say, O disbelievers. The address is phrased in the singular while what is intended is the group, since its meaning is understood. It is also possible that each one of them is addressed individually: Say, O disbeliever. Ibn Kathir recited, “Say: How long...?” in the imperative, but recited, “He will say,” in the declarative, since the second is the reply. The remaining reciters read “He will say” in both places; that is, Allah, exalted is He, will say to the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection: “How long did you remain?”

“On earth”—that is, in this world and in the graves—“for a number of years.” They will say, “We remained a day or part of a day.” They will have forgotten the duration of their stay in this world because of the enormity of the punishment they are facing. “So ask those who keep count”: namely, the angels who preserve and enumerate the deeds of the children of Adam against them.

“He will say, ‘You remained...’” That is, you remained in this world “but a little.” It is called little because, even if one’s stay in this world is long, it is little in comparison with the time he will remain in the Hereafter; for his stay in this world and in the grave is finite. “If only you had known”—that is, the extent of your stay in this world.

Allah, exalted is He, says: “Did you then think that We had created you without purpose?” That is, in play and in vain, not for a wise purpose. Grammatically, it is an accusative circumstantial qualifier: that is, as those who act in vain. It is also said that it means: for futility—that is, so that you might play and act frivolously, just as I created livestock, for which there is neither reward nor punishment. This is like His saying: “Does man think that he will be left neglected?” (al-Qiyamah 75:36). Rather, you were created for worship and for establishing the commands of Allah, exalted is He. “And that you would not be returned to Us”—that is, did you think that you would not be returned to Us in the Hereafter for recompense? Hamzah, al-Kisa’i, and Ya‘qub recited it, “and that you would not return to Us,” with the verb in the active voice.

Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Sam‘an informed us; Abu Ja‘far Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Rayani informed us; Humayd ibn Zanjawayh informed us; Bishr ibn Umar informed us; Abd Allah ibn Lahi‘ah informed us; Abd Allah ibn Hubayrah informed us from Hanash, that an afflicted man was brought past Ibn Mas‘ud, who performed ruqyah in his ears by reciting, “Did you then think that We had created you without purpose?” until he completed the surah, whereupon the man recovered. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “What did you recite as ruqyah in his ears?” He informed him, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, if a man possessing certainty were to recite it over a mountain, it would be moved.” (1)