Surah Fussilat (41) — Ayah 47

(Ayah 47) ➊ {اِلَيْهِ يُرَدُّ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ:} In the context of the previous verse, the recompense for every good and bad deed is mentioned. We see that in this world, most people die without receiving recompense, so Allah Almighty has promised the Day of Resurrection. Its very name is "Yawm ad-Din" (the Day of Recompense), because if He does not recompense the good and the bad, that would be injustice, whereas He does not wrong His servants even by an atom's weight. Since the disbelievers could not deny the establishment of the Resurrection and Allah Almighty's complete power over it with any evidence, they adopted this method of denial that they would repeatedly ask, "When will the Resurrection be?" As if, if it did not occur immediately at their demand, they could say that if the Resurrection were to happen, it would have already come. In response to their question, Allah Almighty said that the knowledge of the Resurrection is returned to Him alone. That is, whether you ask a human, a jinn, or an angel—whoever you ask about the Resurrection, they will be unaware. They will refer you to someone else, but he too will be unaware. After asking everyone, all will refer back to the One who alone can tell, and that is only Allah Almighty; all others are unaware. See also Surah An-Nazi'at (42–44), Al-An'am (59), and Surah Al-A'raf (187). Jibril (peace be upon him) came in human form and asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), "When will the Resurrection be?" So he (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: [ مَا الْمَسْئُوْلُ عَنْهَا بِأَعْلَمَ مِنَ السَّائِلِ] [بخاري، الإیمان، باب سؤال جبریل النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم … : ۵۰ ] "The one being asked knows no more about it than the questioner." The meaning is that what you are so insistent about will not benefit you, because no one knows it except Allah Almighty, so you should be concerned about what will become of you on that day and what preparations you have made for it.

➋ { وَ مَا تَخْرُجُ مِنْ ثَمَرٰتٍ مِّنْ اَكْمَامِهَا: ’’أَكْمَامٌ‘‘ ’’كِمٌّ‘‘} (with kasrah on the letter kaf) is the plural of 'كِمٌّ'; it is the covering or veil in which the fruit is initially hidden. {’’ ثَمَرٰتٍ ‘‘} is a plural and indefinite noun, and with the addition of {’’ مِنْ ‘‘}, its generality is increased. Taking all these points into account, the translation is: "No kind of fruit comes out of its coverings." The meaning is that not only the knowledge of the Resurrection, but all matters of the unseen—knowledge of all of them is only with Allah Almighty. No prophet, saint, or angel can have knowledge of the unseen except to the extent that Allah Almighty has informed him. See also Surah Al-An'am (59) and Surah Al-A'raf (187).

➌ { وَ مَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ اُنْثٰى وَ لَا تَضَعُ اِلَّا بِعِلْمِهٖ:} See Surah Ar-Ra'd (8) and Surah Fatir (11). That is, besides the Resurrection, the knowledge of the time when any fruit comes out of its covering, or when any female becomes pregnant or gives birth, is also not known to anyone except Allah Almighty. So, have you ever denied the coming out of a fruit from its covering, or a female becoming pregnant or giving birth, or the occurrence of countless other things, just because you were not told their exact time? Then why do you deny the Resurrection only because you have not been told the time of its occurrence!?

➍ {وَ يَوْمَ يُنَادِيْهِمْ اَيْنَ شُرَكَآءِيْ: ’’ يَوْمَ ‘‘} It is in the accusative case because it is the object of an omitted verb because it is the object of {’’اُذْكُرْ‘‘}. While mentioning the Resurrection, it is said: Remember the day when Allah Almighty will call the polytheists and say, "Where are My partners?" {’’ شُرَكَآءِيْ ‘‘} (My partners) refers to those whom they had made up, otherwise, who can be a partner of Allah Almighty!? Allah Almighty's saying this to them is only to humiliate them, because He knows full well that there is no partner of His whom they could bring.

➎ { قَالُوْۤا اٰذَنّٰكَ مَا مِنَّا مِنْ شَهِيْدٍ:} That is, they will deny their polytheism and say, "We have clearly informed You that none of us bears witness that You have any partner," meaning, "We never committed shirk with You." (See Al-An'am: 22–24) The reality is that on the Day of Resurrection, sometimes they will deny their polytheism, sometimes they will involuntarily admit it, then deny it again. (See Al-Mu'min: 73, 74) Then, when testimonies are presented, they will have no choice but to admit.