Surah An-Nahl · Ayah 38·Makkī

38

لَا مَن بَلَىٰ عَلَيْهِ وَلَٰكِنَّ لَا ﴿٣٨﴾

Translation

Saheeh International

And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths [that] Allah will not resurrect one who dies. But yes - [it is] a true promise [binding] upon Him, but most of the people do not know.

Compare all 34 translations →

Tafsīr

No commentary indexed for this ayah yet.

Verse DNA · this āyah at a glance

Vocabulary and recitation are counted from the morphology and the Uthmani marks; commentary reports whether an authored tafsīr entry reaches this āyah. A structural read, not a judgement — a denser strip is not a weightier verse.

Vocabulary · 11 roots in 12 of 18 words

Recitation · 23 points across 8 rule families

  • Qalqalah2
  • Madd ṭabīʿī9
  • Lām shamsiyyah3
  • Iẓhār shafawī1
  • Idghām (with ghunnah)3
  • Ghunnah2
  • Heavy rāʾ1
  • Light Allāh2

Commentary

No tafsīr entry reaches this āyah yet — the interpretive layer covers a pilot, not the whole Book.

Shape

18 words · 72 letters · 2 proper nouns · āyah 38 of 128

once in the Qurʾān2–10×11–50×51–300×300+×

Similar verses by meaning

Ranked by semantic similarity over translation embeddings — a model’s proxy for meaning, not a claim about it, and not tafsīr. Verses may be kin in theme while differing entirely in wording.

  • Quran 30:6 · Ar-Roomvery close

    وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ لَا يُخْلِفُ ٱللَّهُ وَعْدَهُۥ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

    [It is] the promise of Allah. Allah does not fail in His promise, but most of the people do not know.

  • Quran 45:26 · Al-Jaathiyaclose

    قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يَجْمَعُكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

    Say, "Allah causes you to live, then causes you to die; then He will assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt, but most of the people do not know."

  • Quran 2:88 · Al-Baqaraclose

    وَقَالُوا۟ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌۢ بَل لَّعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَقَلِيلًا مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ

    And they said, "Our hearts are wrapped." But, [in fact], Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is it that they believe.

  • Quran 24:53 · An-Noorclose

    وَأَقْسَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَٰنِهِمْ لَئِنْ أَمَرْتَهُمْ لَيَخْرُجُنَّ قُل لَّا تُقْسِمُوا۟ طَاعَةٌ مَّعْرُوفَةٌ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

    And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths that if you ordered them, they would go forth [in Allah 's cause]. Say, "Do not swear. [Such] obedience is known. Indeed, Allah is…

  • Quran 84:21 · Al-Inshiqaaqclose

    وَإِذَا قُرِئَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ لَا يَسْجُدُونَ

    And when the Qur'an is recited to them, they do not prostrate [to Allah]?

  • Quran 74:56 · Al-Muddaththirclose

    وَمَا يَذْكُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ هُوَ أَهْلُ ٱلتَّقْوَىٰ وَأَهْلُ ٱلْمَغْفِرَةِ

    And they will not remember except that Allah wills. He is worthy of fear and adequate for [granting] forgiveness.

Verses built from the same roots

Ranked by shared vocabulary (idf-cosine over each verse’s root-set). Shared words are a fact about form — they do not by themselves mean two verses are about the same thing.

  • Al-An'aam 6:1094 shared roots

    وَأَقْسَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَٰنِهِمْ لَئِن جَآءَتْهُمْ ءَايَةٌ لَّيُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهَا قُلْ إِنَّمَا ٱلْـَٔايَٰتُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّهَآ إِذَا جَآءَتْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

    ق-س-مج-ه-دي-م-نأ-ل-ه

  • An-Noor 24:534 shared roots

    وَأَقْسَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَٰنِهِمْ لَئِنْ أَمَرْتَهُمْ لَيَخْرُجُنَّ قُل لَّا تُقْسِمُوا۟ طَاعَةٌ مَّعْرُوفَةٌ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

    ق-س-مج-ه-دي-م-نأ-ل-ه

  • Al-Maaida 5:534 shared roots

    وَيَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَهَٰٓؤُلَآءِ ٱلَّذِينَ أَقْسَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَٰنِهِمْ إِنَّهُمْ لَمَعَكُمْ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَٰلُهُمْ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ خَٰسِرِينَ

    ق-س-مج-ه-دي-م-نأ-ل-ه

  • Yunus 10:555 shared roots

    أَلَآ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ أَلَآ إِنَّ وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

    و-ع-دك-ث-رح-ق-قع-ل-مأ-ل-ه

  • Ar-Room 30:65 shared roots

    وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ لَا يُخْلِفُ ٱللَّهُ وَعْدَهُۥ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

    و-ع-دك-ث-رأ-ن-سع-ل-مأ-ل-ه

  • Faatir 35:424 shared roots

    وَأَقْسَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَٰنِهِمْ لَئِن جَآءَهُمْ نَذِيرٌ لَّيَكُونُنَّ أَهْدَىٰ مِنْ إِحْدَى ٱلْأُمَمِ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ نَذِيرٌ مَّا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّا نُفُورًا

    ق-س-مج-ه-دي-م-نأ-ل-ه

Questions

Which verses are similar to Quran 16:38?

Verses close in meaning to Quran 16:38 include Quran 30:6 (Surah Ar-Room), Quran 45:26 (Surah Al-Jaathiya), Quran 2:88 (Surah Al-Baqara), and Quran 24:53 (Surah An-Noor). For example, 30:6 reads: “[It is] the promise of Allah. Allah does not fail in His promise, but most of the people do not know.” These are ranked by comparing translations of every verse in the Qurʾān, so they are a measure of similar wording and theme — not a tafsīr ruling.

What does Quran 16:38 say?

In Saheeh International, Quran 16:38 (Surah An-Nahl, The Bee) reads: “And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths [that] Allah will not resurrect one who dies. But yes - [it is] a true promise [binding] upon Him, but most of the people do not know.”

Which surah is verse 16:38 in?

Quran 16:38 is āyah 38 of Surah An-Nahl (The Bee), chapter 16 of the Qurʾān — a Meccan (Makkī) surah of 128 verses.

In how many languages can I read Quran 16:38?

Tartīl presents Quran 16:38 in the original Arabic alongside 34 translations, with audio recitation.