Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

so I am asking again please answer it:

"what is that 70,000(seventy thousand) thing in Qur'an, is 70,000 means infinite in arabic or Qur'an is silent on this issue. also what is the arabic word used for 70,000"

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Answer:

What is seventy thousand ‘thing’ in quran

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Respected brother, although the numbers seventy and thousand are stated in separate and distinct contexts in the Quran, to the best of our knowledge, there is absolutely no such term or number as ‘seventy-thousand’ in the whole of the Glorious Quran!

As in any language, depending on the context it is used, a number stated could mean an exact count of the number, or it could mean an ‘infinity’. For example if one says that such and such a thing costs 1,000.00 dollars, then that is the exact amount of money that product costs…..but if one were to say ‘If you were to call me a thousand times, I would not come to see you’ it would not mean that if one were to call me 1001 times, I would go meet them, but because of the context in which the number is used in the sentence, it would mean an infinity.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verse 155:

155 And Musa chose seventy of his people for Our place of meeting: when they were seized with violent quaking he prayed: "O my Lord! If it had been Thy will Thou couldst have destroyed long before, both them and me: wouldst Thou destroy us for the deeds of the foolish one among us? This is no more than Thy trial: by it Thou causes whom Thou Will to stray and Thou leades whom Thou Wills into the Right Path. Thou art our Protector: so forgive us and give us Thy Mercy; for Thou art the best of those who forgive.”

In the above quoted verse of Surah Aaraaf, Hadrat Musa (a.s.) took exactly seventy of his companions….

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 80:

80 Whether thou (O Prophet (saws)) ask for their forgiveness or not (their sin of hypocrisy is unforgivable): if thou ask seventy times for their forgiveness Allah will not forgive them: because they have rejected Allah and His Messenger; and Allah guides not those who are perversely rebellious.

But in this verses quoted from Surah Taubah, the number seventy because of the context in which it is used clearly signifies an infinite number…..it is not as if the Messenger of Allah (saws) were to ask the forgiveness of the sins of the hypocrites seventy-one times, Allah Subhanah would forgive them their sins! The sin of hypocrisy is such an abomination in the Sight of Allah Subhanah, that even if the Prophet (saws) were to ask forgiveness for the sin of the hypocrites till eternity, Allah Subhanah would not forgive them their crimes against Allah and His Messenger (saws)!

Your Question: …also what is the arabic word used for 70,000"

The Arabic term used for the number 70,000 is ‘Sabaeen Alf’.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan