Transliteration:( Yas'alukan naasu 'anis Saa'ati qul innamaa 'ilmuhaa 'indal laah; wa maa yudreeka la'allas Saa'ata takoonu qareebaa )
"The people ask you concerning the Hour. Please declare: 'Its knowledge is with Allah alone, and what you comprehend about it'. Perhaps the Hour may be near [186]. (Kanzul Imaan Translation)"
This verse was revealed in response to questions from the polytheists and Jews, who were either mocking or trying to test the Prophet ﷺ.
The polytheists asked out of jest, while the Jews asked to trap the Prophet—seeking to know the exact day, date, and year of the Day of Judgement.
Their goal was to prove that if he answered, he must be false—since only Allah knows this. But if he refused to answer, they planned to question his status as a Prophet, saying: "What kind of Prophet has no knowledge about the Hour?"
They overlooked the fact that one of the signs of the Final Prophet is that he would not disclose knowledge of the soul, the exact date of the Hour, or the number of the People of the Cave—because these are matters kept hidden by Allah.
The verse reminds us that the Hour is very near, and the focus should be on preparation, not speculation.
Although the Prophet ﷺ was given knowledge of the signs of Qiyamah, he was instructed not to declare its exact timing. This aligns with Allah’s will to keep that knowledge exclusive.
Still, the Prophet ﷺ prophesied many signs of the Last Day and even gave specific information such as:
It would occur on a Friday
It would coincide with the Day of Ashurah
For further elaboration, scholars refer to texts like “Jaa-al-Haq”, which delve deeper into this subject. The key message is to ready oneself, as the Day may be closer than imagined.
63.People ask you concerning the Hour, say: “The knowledge of it is with Allah only. What do you know It may be that the Hour is near!” 64. Verily, Allah has cursed the disbelievers, and has prepared for them a flaming Fire. 65. Wherein they will abide forever, and they will find neither a a protector nor a helper. 66. On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say: “Oh, would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger.” 67. And they will say: “Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the way.” 68. “Our Lord! Give them double torment and curse them with a mighty curse!”
Here Allah tells His Messenger that he cannot know when the Hour will come, and if people ask him about that, He instructs him to refer the matter to Allah, may He be exalted, as Allah says in Surat Al-A`raf, even though that was revealed in Makkah and this Surah was revealed in Al-Madinah. Allah continues to tell him to refer this matter to the One Who knows about it, but He tells him that it is at hand, as He says:
(What do you know It may be that the Hour is near!) This is like the Ayat:
(The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder.) ﴿54:1﴾
(Draws near for mankind their reckoning, while they turn away in heedlessness.) ﴿21:1﴾
(The Event (the Hour) ordained by Allah will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it) ﴿16:1﴾.
Then Allah says:
(Verily, Allah has cursed the disbelievers,) means, He has distanced them from His mercy.
(and has prepared for them a flaming Fire (Hell).) means, in the Hereafter. e
(Wherein they will abide forever,) means, they will stay there forever and ever, never leaving or finding relief from it.
(and they will find neither a a protector nor a helper.) means, they will have no saviour to help them or rescue them from their predicament. Then Allah says:
(On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say: “Oh, would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger.”) means, they will be dragged into the Fire on their faces and their faces will be contorted in Hell, and in that state they will wish that they had been among those who had obeyed Allah and His Messenger in this world. Allah describes how they will be in the Hereafter:
(And the Day when the wrongdoer will bite at his hands, he will say: “Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger. Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so-and-so as an intimate friend! He indeed led me astray from the Reminder after it had come to me. And Shaytan is to man ever a deserter in the hour of need.”) (25:27-29)
(How much would those who disbelieved wish that they had been Muslims.) (15:2) And here too, Allah tells us that when they are in this state, they will wish that they had obeyed Allah and His Messenger in this world:
(And they will say: “Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the way.”) Tawus said: ” `Our chiefs’ means their nobles and `our great ones’ means their scholars.”
(Our Lord! Give them double torment) means, `for their disbelief and because they mislead us.’ Abu Al-Qasim At-Tabarani recorded from Abu Rafi` that among the names of those who fought with `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was Al-Hajjaj bin `Amr bin Ghaziyah, and he was the one who, when they met, said; “O people of the Ansar! Do you want to say when we meet our Lord:
(Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the way. Our Lord! Give them double torment and curse them with a mighty curse!)”
(33:63) People ask you concerning the Hour (of Resurrection).[116] Say: “Allah alone has knowledge of it. What do you know? Perhaps the Hour is nigh.”
116. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was generally asked this question by the disbelievers and the hypocrites. By this they did not mean to obtain any knowledge but they did so out of fun and jest. As a matter of fact, they did not believe in the coming of the Hereafter at all; they regarded its concept as an empty threat only. They did not ask about the time of its coming so that they could set their affairs right, but what they really meant was: “O Muhammad (peace be upon him), we have been doing everything to frustrate your mission, and you have not been able to do any harm to us so far; now let us know as to when will Resurrection take place when we will be taken to task by Allah.”
For a faster and smoother experience,
install our mobile app now.
Related Ayat(Verses)/Topics