Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilayhi Raji’un — “We belong to God” (Quran 2:156)

“Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un” is the transliteration of the words in verse 156 of Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow), the 2nd chapter of the Quran. Abdel Haleem renders them “We belong to God and to Him we shall return” — the phrase the verse describes believers saying when afflicted with a calamity. The verse sits in Juz 2 of the Medinan surah and is widely recited.

English translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur’an (Oxford University Press).

Context

Verse 156 sits in Surah Al-Baqarah's passage on patience under trial: verse 155 lists the tests — “fear and hunger, and loss of property, lives, and crops” — and gives good news to the steadfast; verse 156 describes what the steadfast say when afflicted; and verse 157 says “These will be given blessings and mercy from their Lord.” The verse falls in Juz 2 of the Quran's longest surah (286 verses).

Reference

Surah

2. Al-Baqarah

Ayah

156

Juz

Juz 2

Revelation

Medinan (Medina)

From the tafsir

“those who recite this statement to comfort themselves in the face of their loss, know that they belong to Allah and that He does what He wills with His servants. They also know that nothing and no deed, even if it was the weight of an atom, will be lost with Allah on the Day of Resurrection. These facts thus compel them to admit that they are Allah's servants and that their return will be to Him in the Hereafter.”

English tafsir abridged from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Hafiz Ibn Kathir), abridgement by Shaykh Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri (Darussalam), via Quran.com.

Read the full tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah

Read more

• The last two ayat of Surah Al-Baqarah (2:285–286)