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yasʾaluka n-nāsu ʿani s-sāʿati qul ʾinnamā ʿilmuhā ʿinda llāhi wa-mā yudrīka laʿalla s-sāʿata takūnu qarīban
The people question you concerning the Hour. Say, ‘Its knowledge is only with Allah.’ What do you know, maybe the Hour is near.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-’Ahzab – Verse 63
63. “The people will ask you concerning the Hour (of Judgment). Say: ‘The knowledge of it is only with Allah; what shall make you know? Perhaps the Hour (of Judgment) is nigh’.”
The former verses were about the plots of the hypocrites and the vile men. This holy verse refers to one of their other destructive programs. Sometimes as mockery or with the purpose of creating doubt in the hearts of some simple minded people, they propounded this question that when would happen the Hereafter with those qualities that Muhammad (S) informed of? It says:
This is also probable that some of the believers, because of the sense of curiosity, or for receiving some more information, had asked such a question from the holy Prophet (S), but regarding to the verses which come after this verse, it is understood that the first commentary is closer to the meaning of the verse. The evidence for this statement is the verses in this field mentioned in Surah Ash-Shura which say:
“…and what shall make you that haply the hour be nigh?”
“Those who do not believe in it would hasten it on, and those who believe are in fear from it, and they know that it is the truth…” 3
Then, by the verse under discussion, the Qur’an answers them as follows:
Even the Divine messengers and the near-stationed angels are also unaware of it. Then, after it, the Qur’an adds:
Thus, we must be always ready to confront the Hereafter, and principally, the philosophy of its being hidden is in this that none sees his self in security and does not think of Hereafter as a distanced event and that he is far off from the Divine punishment.
Footnotes