Some critics have pointed to what they perceive as numerical discrepancies in the Qur’an concerning the length of a day in the sight of Allah. They reference:
- Surah Al-Hajj (22:47): “And they urge you to hasten the punishment. But Allah will never fail in His promise. And indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of those you count.”
- Surah As-Sajda (32:5): “He arranges [each] matter from the heaven to the earth; then it will ascend to Him in a Day, the extent of which is a thousand years of those you count.”
- Surah Al-Ma’arij (70:4): “The angels and the Spirit will ascend to Him during a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years.”
At first glance, these verses might seem contradictory. However, a deeper examination reveals a harmonious understanding.
Translation: His saying, the Exalted: “And indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of what you count” (al-Hajj: 47)
This noble verse shows that the length of a day with Allah is a thousand years.
And similarly, His saying: “He arranges the affair from the heaven to the earth; then it will ascend to Him in a day whose measure is a thousand years of what you count” (as-Sajda: 5).
However, another verse came that indicates something different. It is His saying in Surah al-Maʿarij: “The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day whose measure is fifty thousand years” (al-Maʿarij: 4).
You should first know that Abu ʿUbaydah reported from Ismail ibn Ibrahim from Ayyub from Ibn Abi Mulaykah that he was present when both Ibn ʿAbbas and Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib were asked about these verses, and they did not know what to say about them. They said: “I do not know.”
Reconciling These Verses Can Be Done In Two Ways:
The first is what Ibn Abi Hatim narrated through Samak, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbas: that the day of a thousand years in Surah al-Hajj refers to one of the six days in which Allah created the heavens and the earth. The day of a thousand years in Surah as-Sajda refers to the time it takes for a matter to travel and ascend to Him, the Exalted. And the day of fifty thousand years is the Day of Resurrection.
The second view is that all of them refer to the Day of Resurrection, but the difference lies in the state of the believer and the disbeliever.
This second interpretation is supported by His saying: “That Day will be a difficult Day—not easy for the disbelievers” (al-Muddaththir: 9–10).
Both of these views were mentioned by the author of al-Itqan (Suyuti). And knowledge rests with Allah, the Exalted.
Daf Ayhaam al-Idtiraab an Aayaat al-Kitaab by Muhammad As Shinqeeti Pg 222-223
Imam At Tabari Presents Two Main Interpretations About The Meaning Of The Verse “A Day Whose Measure Is Fifty Thousand Years” (Al-Maʿarij: 4):
1. First view (from Mujahid and others):
The fifty thousand years refer to the time it takes the angels and Jibril to ascend from the lowest part of the universe (below the seventh earth) to the highest (above the seven heavens). This distance is what takes fifty thousand years for others, not necessarily for the angels themselves.
2. Second view (from ʿIkrimah, Qatadah, Ibn ʿAbbas, al-Dahhak, Ibn Zayd and others):
The verse refers to the Day of Judgement, whose length will feel like fifty thousand years for the disbelievers. Some reports specifically say that for the believers, this will feel very light, even lighter than a single obligatory prayer in this world (based on a hadith reported by Saʿid via Abu al-Haytham).
Translation: And His saying: “The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – Allah, Most High, says: The angels and the Spirit, and the Spirit is Jibril, peace be upon him, ascend to Him – meaning to Allah, Glorious and Majestic – and the pronoun “to Him” refers back to Allah. “In a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – He says: the measure of their ascent on that day for other than them among creation is fifty thousand years.
That is because they ascend from the farthest extent of His command, from beneath the lowest earth, to the farthest extent of His command, above the seven heavens.
And the people of interpretation have said similar to what we said.
Those who said that: Mujahid said: “In a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – he said: From the farthest extent of His command beneath the lowest of the earths to the farthest extent of His command above the heavens – its measure is fifty thousand years.
And the Day whose measure is a thousand years refers to the descent of the command from the heavens to the earth, and from the earth to the heavens in one day – so its measure is a thousand years – because the distance between the heaven and the earth is the travel of five hundred years.
Others said: Rather, the meaning is that the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day during which He completes the judgement between His creation. The measure of that day, in which the judgement is completed, is fifty thousand years.
Those who said that: ʿIkrimah said: “In a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – he said: In one day, during which judgement is completed – the measure of that day is like fifty thousand years.
ʿIkrimah said: “In a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – he said: It is the Day of Judgement.
Qatadah said: “The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – he said: That is the Day of Judgement.
Maʿmar said: It also reached me from ʿIkrimah that he said about His saying: “the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – he said: No one knows how much has passed or how much remains of it except Allah.
Ibn ʿAbbas said regarding His saying: “The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – he said: That is the Day of Judgement, which Allah has made for the disbelievers as if it is fifty thousand years.
I was informed by al-Husayn, he said: I heard Abu Muʿadh say: ʿUbayd narrated to us, he said: I heard al-Dahhak say regarding His saying: “in a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – he said: It means the Day of Judgement.
Yunus narrated to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said regarding His saying: “in a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – he said: This is the Day of Judgement.
Yunus narrated to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: ʿAmr ibn al-Harith informed me that Dirraj narrated to him, from Abu al-Haytham, from Saʿid – that he said to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him: “In a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years” – how long is that! So the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “By the One in whose hand is my being, it will be lightened for the believer until it is lighter for him than the prescribed prayer he used to pray in the world.”
And it has been reported from Ibn ʿAbbas something different than what we narrated from him above, and that is:
Ibn Abi Mulaykah said that a man asked Ibn ʿAbbas about a Day the measure of which is a thousand years, so he said: What about the Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years? He said: I only asked you so that you would inform me. He said: They are two days that Allah has mentioned in the Qur’an. Allah knows best about them. He disliked speaking about the Book of Allah without knowledge.
Ibn Abi Mulaykah said: A man asked Ibn ʿAbbas about a Day the measure of which is a thousand years, so Ibn ʿAbbas doubted him, and it was said to him about that, and he said: What about the Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years? So the man said: I only asked you to tell me. Ibn ʿAbbas said: They are two days that Allah, Glorious and Exalted, mentioned – Allah knows best about them – and I dislike saying something about the Book of Allah without knowledge.
And the majority of the reciters from the cities recited: “taʿruju al-mala’ikatu wa al-ruhu” (with the feminine verb taʿruju). Except for al-Kisa’i, who recited it as “yaʿruju” (with the masculine verb), based on a report he narrated from Ibn Masʿud, that he read it like that.
Tafsir At Tabari (23/251-254)
