Surah Ash-Shura (42) — Ayah 17

(Ayah 17) ➊ If in {اَللّٰهُ الَّذِيْۤ اَنْزَلَ الْكِتٰبَ بِالْحَقِّ وَ الْمِيْزَانَ:’’ الْكِتٰبَ ‘‘ } the "alif lam" is for genus, then it refers to all divine books, and if it is for covenant, then it refers to this book, i.e., the Noble Qur’an. That is, do you even know about the Allah you are disputing about, who He is, and how can His attributes and commands be known? It is said that Allah is the One who has revealed this book, i.e., the Noble Qur’an, with truth; every statement in it is true, and falsehood cannot mix with it at all, as He said: «لَا يَاْتِيْهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْۢ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَ لَا مِنْ خَلْفِهٖ » [ حٰمٓ السجدۃ : ۴۲ ] "Falsehood cannot come to it from before it nor from behind it." And He is the One who sent down the balance, with which people can decide all their matters with justice. Most commentators have taken {’’ الْمِيْزَانَ ‘‘} to mean justice and fairness; some have taken it to mean the true religion, and some have taken it to mean the law of reward and punishment. Whichever meaning is taken, the point is the same, and by this balance is meant this very book, which consists of Allah’s religion and His Shari’ah, which is the balance for matters between Creator and creation, and mutual matters among creation, and for all disputes, which, like a scale, weighs every matter and decides whether it is right or wrong, true or false. Above it was said: « وَ اُمِرْتُ لِاَعْدِلَ بَيْنَكُمْ » [الشورٰی : ۱۵ ] (And I have been commanded to judge between you with justice), and in this verse it is stated that the balance has come in the form of this pure book, with which that justice will be established. This book, just as for other matters, is also the balance for previous books and their overseer, to determine which statements are from Allah and which have been mixed in, as He said: « وَ اَنْزَلْنَاۤ اِلَيْكَ الْكِتٰبَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْكِتٰبِ وَ مُهَيْمِنًا عَلَيْهِ » [ المائدۃ : ۴۸ ] "And We have sent down to you the Book in truth, confirming the Scripture that came before it and as a guardian over it."
➋ Here is a question that in the verse, between {’’ الْكِتٰبَ ‘‘} and {’’ الْمِيْزَانَ ‘‘} there is the conjunction "waaw" which is for distinction, which shows that the book and the balance are separate things. Now, if by balance is meant the book itself, then the distinction is lost; similarly, if by balance is meant justice and fairness, then there is no distinction between the book and the balance, because all of Allah’s books are pure justice and fairness. The answer is that when the same thing is mentioned with its different attributes, its conjunction can be with itself, because the difference of attributes is considered like the difference of entities. One example of this in the Noble Qur’an is: «سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الْاَعْلَى (1) الَّذِيْ خَلَقَ فَسَوّٰى (2) وَ الَّذِيْ قَدَّرَ فَهَدٰى (3) وَ الَّذِيْۤ اَخْرَجَ الْمَرْعٰى» [ الأعلٰی : ۱ تا ۴ ] In these verses, {’’ الَّذِيْ ‘‘} (that Being) is mentioned separately with conjunction, even though it is the same. The reason is that in each sentence it is mentioned with a different attribute. An example of this in Arabic speech is this verse:
{إِلَي الْمَلِكِ الْقَرْمِ وَابْنِ الْهُمَامِ ¤ وَ لَيْثِ الْكَتِيْبَةِ فِي الْمُزْدَحَمِ}
[ أضواء البیان ]
➌ {وَ مَا يُدْرِيْكَ لَعَلَّ السَّاعَةَ قَرِيْبٌ:} And what can make you know, perhaps the Hour is near, and the breath you are taking may be your last, so do not worry about when it is, rather worry about what preparation you have made for it. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man from among the Bedouins came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: [ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ! مَتَی السَّاعَةُ قَائِمَةٌ؟ قَالَ وَيْلَكَ وَمَا أَعْدَدْتَ لَهَا؟ قَالَ مَا أَعْدَدْتُ لَهَا إِلاَّ أَنِّيْ أُحِبُّ اللّٰهَ وَ رَسُوْلَهُ، قَالَ إِنَّكَ مَعَ مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ فَقُلْنَا وَ نَحْنُ كَذٰلِكَ ؟ قَالَ نَعَمْ، فَفَرِحْنَا يَوْمَئِذٍ فَرَحًا شَدِيْدًا، فَمَرَّ غُلاَمٌ لِلْمُغِيْرَةِ وَكَانَ مِنْ أَقْرَانِيْ فَقَالَ إِنْ أُخِّرَ هٰذَا فَلَنْ يُدْرِكَهُ الْهَرَمُ حَتّٰی تَقُوْمَ السَّاعَةُ ] [ بخاري، الأدب، باب ما جاء في قول الرجل ویلک : ۶۱۶۷ ] "O Messenger of Allah! When will the Hour be established?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Woe to you! What have you prepared for it?" He said: "I have not prepared anything for it except that I love Allah and His Messenger." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will certainly be with those whom you love." So we said: "And will it be the same for us?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes!" So we were very happy that day. A slave of Mughira passed by, who was my age, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If he lives long, the Hour will be established before he reaches extreme old age." The meaning is the Hour for the people present at that time. The noteworthy point in the hadith is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) considered every person’s death as his Hour, because with it his opportunity for action ends.
➍ Here is a famous question that {’’ السَّاعَةَ ‘‘} is feminine, its predicate {’’ قَرِيْبٌ ‘‘} is masculine, whereas both should be in agreement? For the answer, see the commentary of Surah Al-A’raf, verse (56): «اِنَّ رَحْمَتَ اللّٰهِ قَرِيْبٌ مِّنَ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ ».

17. 1 الْکِتَابَ refers to the category, meaning all the books that were revealed to the prophets, all of them were true and authentic, or specifically the Quran is meant and its authenticity is being clarified.

It is Allah who has sent down the Book and the Balance [26] with the truth. And what will make you know? Perhaps the Hour is near [27].

[26]
The Different Meanings of Allah Sending Down the Balance:

That is, Allah has not only sent down the truth, but also the standard by which the truth can be recognized, and this standard is the balance (mīzān). Allah has sent down the physical balance or scale in which material things are weighed, and also the intellectual balance, which is called sound intellect. Sound intellect can, at a mere glance, discern which side the truth is on and which side is falsehood, or how much of something is truth and how much is falsehood. In addition, there is also the moral balance, that is, the scale of justice and fairness. And the greatest balance is the Book and the Sunnah, which accurately settle the rights and duties of the Creator and the creation, in which everything is weighed precisely—neither less nor more.
[27] That is, weigh your deeds yourself in the scale of the Shariah and hold yourself accountable. Who knows, perhaps the Hour of Resurrection is near at hand. Then nothing will be possible. Therefore, hasten to perform good deeds.