Rather, to Allah belongs the hereafter and the first (life).
فَلِلَّهِ الْآخِرَةُ وَالْأُولَىٰ “Rather, to Allah belongs the hereafter and the first (life)”.
This Aayah means: “Allah alone owns the final end and the ultimate beginning”.
The first (life) — belongs to Allah
The hereafter — belongs to Allah
Connection to the preceding statement
Preceding ayah phrase أَمْ لِلْإِنسَانِ مَا تَمَنَّىٰ
“Or is it that the human being will have whatever he wishes?”
The explanation highlights how people become absorbed in the immediate present—wishes, desires, and self‑delusions tied to “right now.” They neither look back to the very beginning nor look forward to the hereafter, proceeding through life as if with amnesia about where they came from and without sanity about where they are going.
- Consumed by the here and now, they ignore both origin and destination.
- Without knowing where one came from and where one is headed, one is lost and without purpose.
- This ayah reminds: however much actions are dictated by wishes and whims, the return to the Creator is inevitable.
Inevitable return to the Creator
Reminder يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ
O human being, you are heading (with all your toils and actions) to your Rabb and you will meet him (Al‑Inshiqaq: 6).
Mindset on wishes in this life and the next
In this life Not all wishes are granted here
- Knowing that Allah owns the hereafter helps the believer in respect to not getting his wishes in this life.
- There are things that we wish for in this life but we can’t have them.
- The purpose of this life is not to fulfil all of one’s desires and wishes.
In the hereafter Where wishes are truly met
- For the one who bases his life on the knowledge that Allah owns the beginning and the end, the hereafter is where wishes are all met.
- This is the جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَىٰ (Jannat ul‑Ma’waa) — “Garden of (ultimate) refuge” mentioned in Aayah 15 of this Surah.
- The only garden where a person will actually have refuge from the deprivation of his wishes is with Allah.
A map for purpose
Align the present with the reality that both the first life and the hereafter belong to Allah.
Origin
Remember where you came from — the beginning belongs to Allah.
Journey
Do not be dictated by fleeting wishes and whims tied only to the now.
Destination
You are inevitably returning to your Creator; live with that meeting in view.
فَلِلَّهِ الْآخِرَةُ وَالْأُولَىٰ is a reminder of ultimate ownership: the final end and the ultimate beginning are Allah’s. Purpose emerges when the present is steered by that truth.