—and peace be upon him—that: “Whoever’s last words in this world are la ilaha illa Allah (there is no deity but Allah) will enter Paradise.”

Accordingly, the older a person grows the more he should engage in righteous deeds. The same applies to those in their youth, for a person never knows when death will overtake him: he may die young, or his death may be postponed. Still, there is no doubt that someone advanced in years is nearer to death than a youth, having already completed the greater part of his lifespan.

The author then cites the Almighty’s words: “Did We not grant you a lifespan long enough for anyone who would take heed to take heed, and the warner came to you?” Here, the word mā is an indefinite relative pronoun, meaning: “Did We not give you a lifetime during which anyone who wished to take heed could do so, and the warner came to you?” The commentators disagreed over the length of that lifetime: some said sixty years, others eighteen, others forty, and others simply the attainment of puberty. The verse is general: they were allowed to live an age in which they had every opportunity to take admonition, and that varies from person to person. One may take heed well before eighteen; another may not until later, depending on the warnings and signs that reach him and on whether his environment is righteous or otherwise.

In short, they will be reproached: “Did We not grant you a lifespan long enough for anyone who would take heed to take heed?” This shows that the longer a person lives, the more he is expected to remember and reflect.

As for His saying, “and the warner came to you,” the sound interpretation is that the warner