The Age of Maturity

“... until when he attains his maturity and reaches forty years ...” (46:15) 

Why does God specify the age forty in this verse? Why does the mention of the age forty immediately follows the mention of maturity? Are the two related? Is the age forty, the age that maturity is attained? I do not know the answer, and I will not claim that the tradition that I am about to post will answer these questions.  However, the tradition that I will mention in this post, could certainly shed light on this verse and provides a vivid clue for us.  

Is there anything special about the age forty? 

Before stating the tradition, I would like to invite you to read the following two articles.  The first article is approximately one year old, and the second article is less than two weeks old.  In other words, we cannot by any means consider the information in these articles as outdated.  In fact, the opposite is the case.  These articles are in line with the latest scientific findings with regard to the brain development. 

Here are the articles:

Brain Only Fully 'Matures' in Middle Age, Claims Neuroscientist 

& 

The Advantages of the Middle-Aged Brain

Read these two articles carefully. Then read the following Authentic tradition.  Then read these two articles again. After doing so, you may feel one step closer to understanding the significance of the age forty and its connection to maturity. I can only assume that in the near future as neuroscience advances further, our understanding of the link between age and brain development will become more accurate.

Arabic Text:

مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ عَنْ دَاوُدَ عَنْ سَيْفٍ عَنْ أَبِي بَصِيرٍ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَفِي فُسْحَةٍ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ مَا بَيْنَهُ وَ بَيْنَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً فَإِذَا بَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً أَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ إِلَى مَلَكَيْهِ قَدْ عَمَّرْتُ عَبْدِي هَذَا عُمُراً فَغَلِّظَا وَ شَدِّدَا وَ تَحَفَّظَا وَ اكْتُبَا عَلَيْهِ قَلِيلَ عَمَلِهِ وَ كَثِيرَهُ وَ صَغِيرَهُ وَ كَبِيرَهُ

Farsi Translation:

ابو بصير گويد: امام صادق عليه السّلام فرمود: همانا بنده در آزادى و گسترشى است از كار خود تا بچهل سالگى، و چون بچهل سالگى رسيد خداى عز و جل به دو فرشته‏اى كه بر او موكل هستند وحى كند من ببنده خود اين عمر را دادم، از اين پس بر او سخت گيريد و كاملا مراقبش باشيد و هر كار كم و زياد و خرد و كلانش را بنويسيد.

English Translation:

Muhammad bin Yahya has narrated from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Eissa from Ali bin Al-Hakam from Dawood from Sayf from Abi Basir who has said: Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) said:

The worshipper - to some extent - is free to do whatever he wants until he reaches the age of forty years old. Once he is forty years old, Allah the Almighty reveals to His angels that He allowed His worshipper to live for many years [forty years], So from now on you should write down [all of] his acts and works, perform that with much care and precision whether they [his works and acts] are few or much; small or great.

Source:

Al-Kafi, Volume 8, Page 108, Tradition #84