Surah Saba (34) — Ayah 3

(Ayah 3) ➊ { وَ قَالَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا لَا تَاْتِيْنَا السَّاعَةُ :} After mentioning that Allah Almighty has bestowed countless blessings upon His servants, it is stated that praise and gratitude belong to Him not only in this world but also in the Hereafter. It is then mentioned that the disbelievers, instead of praising their Creator and Master, do not even accept being resurrected and presented before Him, and they say that the Hour will not come upon them.

➋ { قُلْ بَلٰى وَ رَبِّيْ لَتَاْتِيَنَّكُمْ:} Swearing an oath is meant to emphasize the importance and certainty of the matter being sworn upon. Furthermore, any statement made with intensity is refuted with equal or even greater intensity. The disbelievers would deny the Hour by swearing oaths, as Allah has mentioned: « وَ اَقْسَمُوْا بِاللّٰهِ جَهْدَ اَيْمَانِهِمْ لَا يَبْعَثُ اللّٰهُ مَنْ يَّمُوْتُ » [ النحل : ۳۸ ] "And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths that Allah will not resurrect the one who dies." They would also mock the Hour and demand that it be brought quickly, so Allah Almighty commanded His Prophet (peace be upon him) to swear by his Lord and inform them that it will surely come upon them. Hafiz Ibn Kathir said that this verse is one of three verses in which Allah Almighty commanded His Messenger (peace be upon him) to swear by his Lord and inform them that the Hour will surely be established. One of them is the verse in Surah Yunus: « وَ يَسْتَنْۢبِـُٔوْنَكَ اَحَقٌّ هُوَ قُلْ اِيْ وَ رَبِّيْۤ اِنَّهٗ لَحَقٌّ وَ مَاۤ اَنْتُمْ بِمُعْجِزِيْنَ » [ یونس : ۵۳ ] "And they ask you, 'Is it true?' Say, 'Yes, by my Lord! Indeed, it is surely true, and you cannot escape it.'" The second is this verse, and the third is in Surah Taghabun: « زَعَمَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْۤا اَنْ لَّنْ يُّبْعَثُوْا قُلْ بَلٰى وَ رَبِّيْ لَتُبْعَثُنَّ » [ التغابن : ۷ ] "Those who disbelieved claimed that they will never be resurrected. Say, 'Yes, by my Lord! You will surely be resurrected.'"

➌ {عٰلِمِ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْزُبُ عَنْهُ…: ’’ عٰلِمِ الْغَيْبِ ‘‘ ’’ رَبِّيْ ‘‘} is an attribute. {’’عَزَبَ يَعْزُبُ‘‘} (n, ḍ) means to be absent, to be hidden. In {’’ وَ لَاۤ اَصْغَرُ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ وَ لَاۤ اَكْبَرُ …‘‘}, {’’ اَصْغَرُ ‘‘} and {’’ اَكْبَرُ ‘‘} are in the nominative case because they are the subject. {’’ اِلَّا ‘‘} is an exception particle and {’’ فِيْ كِتٰبٍ مُّبِيْنٍ ‘‘} is the predicate. {’’ كِتٰبٍ مُّبِيْنٍ ‘‘} refers to the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz). Calling the book "clear" means that, unlike other books where one has to search for written matters, this is a book that clarifies everything by itself.

➍ The greatest argument of the deniers of the Hour was—and still is—that when we die and become dust, and our particles are scattered far and wide, how will we be resurrected? Allah Almighty said: Tell them, "By my Lord, who knows the unseen!" Nothing, not even a particle, is hidden from Him—neither is there anything smaller nor greater, except that it is in His knowledge and recorded in the Preserved Tablet. The meaning is that wherever the particles of the dead may be, He is fully aware of them and is capable of gathering, reassembling, and resurrecting them. See Surah Qaf (3, 4) and Qiyamah (3, 4).

➎ {’’ ذَرَّةٍ ‘‘} refers to the smallest particle of dust that appears sparkling in the light. In Allah Almighty's statement, "that every smaller thing is also in the clear Book," is the reality that was proven by experiment hundreds of years after the revelation of these verses: that the atom is also divisible, and there are many things even smaller than it.

➏ { وَ لَاۤ اَكْبَرُ :} Here is a question: After saying that "things smaller than a particle are also in the clear Book," what is the need to say that "things greater than it are also in the clear Book"? The answer is that this is necessary so that no one assumes that the knowledge of only minute things is preserved in the Preserved Tablet.

3. 1 An oath is also taken, and the verb form is also emphatic, and in addition to that, there is the particle of emphasis "lam". So why would the Day of Judgment not come? It will most certainly and definitely come.

3. 2 That is, when not a single particle of the heavens and the earth is hidden or concealed from Him, then why would it be impossible for Him to gather your scattered parts, which have mixed with the dust, and bring you back to life again?

3. 3 That is, it is present and recorded in the Preserved Tablet (لوح محفوظ).

The disbelievers say, "The Hour will not come upon us." Say, "Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come upon you! By the Lord who knows the unseen [5]. Not even the weight of a particle in the heavens or the earth is hidden from Him, nor anything smaller or greater, but it is recorded in a clear Book [6]."

[5] When there is no apparent evidence for a claim, or the addressee denies accepting it, then the claim is affirmed by swearing an oath by Allah. Here, the one swearing the oath is the person whom the disbelievers of Makkah considered truthful and trustworthy. Firstly, they should have believed in this matter or claim because he is truthful and trustworthy. Secondly, he is affirming his claim by swearing an oath by Allah. And incidentally, the result of this is that knowledge of the Hour can only be with the One who is Knower of the unseen, and that is only Allah, the Exalted.
[6] That is, Allah is not only aware of every small and large, hidden and manifest thing in the universe, but every small or large event or incident that is to occur in the universe is already written with Him. So when such a Being is informing about the occurrence of the Hour, then what doubt or uncertainty can there be in it?