Explanation of the author's statement: And the saying of Allah the Exalted: ((And they said, "There is nothing but our worldly life; we die and we live, and nothing destroys us except time"))

The Shaykh :"And the saying of Allah the Exalted

And they say, "There is not but our worldly life; we die and live, and nothing destroys us except time."

وقالوا ما هي إلا حياتنا الدنيا نموت ونحيا وما يهلكنا إلا الدهر

[Al-Jathiyah 45:24]

" Who said this? That is, the polytheists who agree with the materialists (Dahriyyah). And they say: The correct thing is to say "the Dahriyyah" for the Dahriyyah, even though it is an attribution to time (al-Dahr), but this is a case where the vowel changes upon attribution. They say that the Dahriyyah say, "What is it?" meaning, what is life and what is existence? It is only this, our worldly life. That means there is no Hereafter; there is no Hereafter, but only a worldly life. Is this description for one or for two? This is a description for two, meaning: some die and others live. This one dies and is buried, and this one is born and lives. They say that wombs give birth and the earth swallows, and there is nothing besides this.
Meaning, our destruction is not by the command of Allah Mighty and Majestic, nor by His divine decree and destiny. Nothing destroys us except time, meaning the years. The length of the years, either the length of the duration for those whose duration is long, or the diseases, worries, and sorrows for those whose duration is short. As for it being by the decree and destiny of Allah and written upon us, that is not the case. And there is no doubt that this is a lie, as will come if Allah wills.
And His saying: What is meant by "time" here? Time, duration, and years. Meaning, nothing destroys us except this. So Allah the Exalted said: Rather, knowledge and certainty are the opposite of it. As for their saying: , the tangible, observed, and visible knowledge is the opposite of it. And as for their saying: , the transmitted and rational knowledge indicates the falsity of their saying. Lower your voices. So His saying , we say: Rather, knowledge is the opposite of what they say. And they said two things: The first: "There is nothing but our worldly life." The second: "Nothing destroys us except time." As for the first, the transmitted and rational knowledge has refuted it. And as for the second, the transmitted and tangible, observed knowledge has refuted it. Did you understand? Good. For this reason, Allah Mighty and Majestic said: And this "ma" is a negator, and "min 'ilm" is a subject confirmed by "min." This is a negation confirmed by "min," so it is a text indicating generality. Meaning, they have no knowledge, neither little nor much. So what is their state with this saying? He says: Meaning: They are only supposing. So it is a supposition, and it is not a supposition based on reality in the actual world. Rather, it is a supposition based on what? On illusions and fantasies that have no reality. So "supposition" here means illusion, meaning it is not based on evidence that makes the thing supposed. Rather, it is mere illusion. So in this verse, there is evidence that "supposition" is used in the meaning of illusion, just as it is used in the meaning of knowledge and certainty. Or not? In the meaning of knowledge and certainty In the meaning of illusion here, so they have no proof at all, and there is nothing that necessitates that they reach the supposition of what they said. Rather, it is mere illusion and fantasies. We return now to what we said a little while ago, that the first saying or the first sentence they said: "There is nothing but our worldly life; we die and we live." We said: This is refuted by the transmitted and rational knowledge. The transmitted by what?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : The Book and the Sunnah. The Book and the Sunnah all indicate the establishment of the Hereafter and belief in the Last Day. And all the heavenly books affirm and confirm that Allah the Exalted will make for the servants another life besides this one. This is regarding the transmitted knowledge.
As for the rational knowledge, we say: If the creation were a world that lives, is commanded and forbidden, and is obligated to struggle (jihad) so that the word of Allah is the highest, and blood, wealth, women, and offspring are made lawful, and then the result is nothing, is this befitting the wisdom of Allah Mighty and Majestic? It is not befitting. It is not befitting wisdom that people are imposed with Islam and the call to it and fighting to exalt the word of Allah, with what is in it of making blood, wealth, women, and offspring lawful, and then we say: The result is that everyone becomes dust, and then there is no resurrection and no life. This is contrary to reason, and the wisdom of Allah Mighty and Majestic rejects this. And Allah has alluded to it in His saying: Who has obligated upon you the Qur'an and revealed it, and obligated upon you acting upon it and calling to it. It is necessary that He return you to a resurrection, to be recompensed for it, and every one to whom the call reached will be recompensed for it.
Good. The second, we said their second saying: "And nothing destroys us except time." This is refuted by the transmitted and the tangible. As for the transmitted, the verses are numerous that the giving of life and the causing of death are in the hand of whom? In the hand of Allah Mighty and Majestic. He is the One who gives life and causes death, and He is the One who decrees lifespans, and everything is with Him by measure. And He is the One who says: All of this from the transmitted reports indicates that time has no part in the matter.
As for the tangible, we observe those who die in their youth, in the prime of their youth and the strength of their bodies. They die, is that not so? And we observe those who remain for many years while still on the path of life. And this is Noah (peace be upon him), how long did he remain among his people? A thousand years except fifty years. Time did not destroy him. And we find children who die in the first month of their birth and the second month, and young men at the peak of their strength who die. Is it time that kills them, or not? It is not time. So these people lied in both sayings: in their saying "There is nothing but our worldly life; we die and we live," and in their saying "And nothing destroys us except time." So it becomes clear that there must be another life, and that the One who destroys and preserves is Allah Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, Allah Mighty and Majestic said: Meaning, they are only supposing.
So if you say: What is the connection of this verse to the chapter heading "Whoever curses time has harmed Allah"?
We said: The connection is that one of the possibilities in cursing time is to attribute events to it. And these people attributed events to time, saying: "And nothing destroys us except time." This is the point of connection between the verse and the chapter heading. Otherwise, the matter does not involve harm, but rather it involves disbelief and associating partners with Allah (shirk) on the part of these people who say "Nothing destroys us except time," and they have no knowledge of that. They are only supposing. We ask Allah for safety and well-being.
... befitting Him. What do we say? Returning to the harm of His cursing is like our harm, not because Allah says: Good, His saying, yes, good, let us take the hadith.