ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْغَفُورُ
Allazee khalaqal mawta walhayaata liyabluwakum ayyukum ahsanu 'amalaa; wa huwal 'azeezul ghafoor
who created death and life to test you [people] and reveal which of you does best––He is the Mighty, the Forgiving;
the one who created death and life to test which of you is best in deed — and he is the Mighty, the Forgiving —
Death is named before life, an order the commentaries have taken in several directions: some as the state preceding a lifetime, others as the fact that gives the test its seriousness. The measure set is the best deed, a matter of quality where a count would have been easier to state. Might and forgiveness close the verse together, so whoever sets the test also pardons failure in it.