Transliteration:( Hal yanzuroona illaa ta'weelah; yawma ya'tee ta'weeluhoo yaqoolul lazeena nasoohu min qablu qad jaaa'at Rusulu Rabbinaa bilhaqq; fahal lanaa min shufa'aaa'a fa yashfa'oo lanaaa aw nuraddu fana'mala ghairal lazee kunnaa na'mal; qad khasirooo anfusahum wa dalla 'anhum maa kaanoo yaftaroon )
"Are they waiting for anything except its interpretation? On the day when its interpretation will come, those who had forgotten it before will say, 'Certainly, the Messengers of our Lord came with the truth [124].' Will there be any intercessors for us to intercede for us? Or can we be sent back so that we may do deeds other than those we used to do? Indeed, they have put their souls at loss [125], and what they used to fabricate has gone away from them [126]."
(Kanzul Imaan Translation)
This teaches that true faith must be received through the Holy Prophet ﷺ, who is the final source of guidance. Anyone who rejects his message will not find faith through any other means, because no prophet will come after him. Thus, Prophethood is sealed with the arrival of our Beloved Prophet ﷺ.
Here, 'the day' refers to either the moment of death or more strongly, the Day of Qiyamah, when these deniers will finally see the truth. They will admit that the Messengers were truthful, but by then, it will be too late, and they will realize they have ruined their own souls.
Despite no prophets coming to Arabia after Hazrat Ismail (AS) except the Holy Prophet ﷺ, the plural form ("Messengers") is used—signifying that his arrival equates to all Prophets’ arrival. On Judgement Day, their false gods and made-up beliefs will completely vanish, offering no help or rescue.
When the disbelievers see that intercession is granted to believers—through Prophets, Saints, scholars, Ramadan, Ka'bah, etc.—they will express deep regret. This reveals:
Believers will receive intercession.
Disbelievers will be deprived of it.
Multiple intercessors will be present.
At the beginning of Qiyamah, all will be helpless, and only the Holy Prophet ﷺ will be granted intercession—rightfully called “Intercessor of Sinners.” The door of intercession will be opened by him, confirming no contradiction in this verse.
This statement calls for faith and righteous deeds, and to abstain from infidelity and sins. It shows that faith itself is an action of the heart, and wherever ‘action’ is mentioned alongside faith, it refers to physical deeds that support it.
The verse points to how disbelievers squandered their chance to believe and act righteously, and now face eternal regret. They realize too late what they have lost.
On that Day, their false gods will forsake them, whereas Allah’s beloved ones will never abandon the believers. If they did, there would be no difference between the truthful and the false—but this never happens. The friends of Allah remain loyal, while the falsehood crumbles away.
The tafsir of Surah Al-A’raf verse 53 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah A’raf ayat 52 which provides the complete commentary from verse 52 through 53.
(7:53) Are they waiting for the fulfilment of its warning?[38] On the Day that warning is fulfilled, those that have neglected it before will say: ‘The Messengers of Our Lord did indeed bring forth the truth. Are there any intercessors who will now plead on our behalf? Or, can we be restored to life that we might perform differently from that which we did? ‘[39] They surely ended in utter loss, and the lies they had fabricated failed them.
38. The position of the people in question is as follows. The difference between good and evil was first explained to them, and yet they turned a deaf ear to it. Then some people established a good example by following the right path notwithstanding the dominant trend towards error. The wholesome effect of righteous conduct became evident from the lives of such people, but it made no impression on the people concerned. Their persistence in error could only mean one thing: that they would only learn the lesson the hard way when they saw the painful effects of their error. Such people are like stupid patients who neither follow the directions of the physician, nor learn any lesson from their own observations of the many patients who have been cured of their diseases by following the directions of physicians. Thesc people will realize – if they realize at all – on their death-bed that their ways were foolish and fatal.
39. Such people will long to return to the world, pleading that they will believe in the truth which they had rejected since they have now witnessed it. They will also ensure that their attitude will be different from that which had been before. For a fuller discussion of this plea and the rejoinder to it see (Surah Al-Anam, ayat 27-28); (Surah Ibrahim, ayat 44-45); (Surah As-Sajdah, ayat 12-13); (Surah Al-Fatir, ayat 37); (Surah Az-Zumar, ayat 56-59); and (Surah Al-Mumin, ayat 11-12).
[377]- The fulfillment of what is promised in the Qur’ān.
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