Surah Ahzab ayat 63 Tafsir Quran 33:63

﴿يَسْأَلُكَ النَّاسُ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ ۖ قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِندَ اللَّهِ ۚ وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ السَّاعَةَ تَكُونُ قَرِيبًا﴾
[ الأحزاب: 63]

33:63 People ask you concerning the Hour. Say," Knowledge of it is only with Allah. And what may make you perceive? Perhaps the Hour is near."

People such as the people of Mecca question you concerning the Hour when will it be? Say ‘Knowledge thereof lies only with God — and what do you know what would provide you with knowledge thereof? In other words you do not know it perhaps the Hour is near’.

People call upon you O Muhammad for information relative to the point of time at which the predetermined Eventful Hour of Judgement takes place! Say to them: it is only Allah and Him alone Who knows when! You never know the Final Hour may well be quite soon

No One knows when the Day of Resurrection will come except Allah 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: وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ السَّاعَةَ تَكُونُ قَرِيباً ( What do you know It may be that the Hour is near! ) This is like the Ayat: اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ ( The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder. ) 54:1 اقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَـبُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ ( Draws near for mankind their reckoning, while they turn away in heedlessness. ) 21:1 أَتَى أَمْرُ اللَّهِ فَلاَ تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ( The Event (the Hour ) ordained by Allah will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it) 16:1. The Curse on the Disbelievers and its Eternity and their Regret Then Allah says: إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَعَنَ الْكَـفِرِينَ ( Verily, Allah has cursed the disbelievers, ) means, He has distanced them from His mercy. وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ سَعِيراً ( and has prepared for them a flaming Fire (Hell ).) means, in the Hereafter.
e خَـلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَداً ( Wherein they will abide forever, ) means, they will stay there forever and ever, never leaving or finding relief from it. لاَّ يَجِدُونَ وَلِيّاً وَلاَ نَصِيراً ( 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: يَوْمَ تُقَلَّبُ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِى النَّارِ يَقُولُونَ يلَيْتَنَآ أَطَعْنَا اللَّهَ وَأَطَعْنَا الرَّسُولاَ ( 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: وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّـلِمُ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يلَيْتَنِى اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلاً - يوَيْلَتَا لَيْتَنِى لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلاَناً خَلِيلاً لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِى عَنِ الذِّكْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَآءَنِى وَكَانَ الشَّيْطَـنُ لِلإِنْسَـنِ خَذُولاً ( 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 ) رُّبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوْ كَانُواْ مُسْلِمِينَ ( 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: وَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّآ أَطَعْنَا سَادَتَنَا وَكُبَرَآءَنَا فَأَضَلُّونَا السَّبِيلاْ ( 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." رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِهِمْ ضِعْفَيْنِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ ( 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: وَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّآ أَطَعْنَا سَادَتَنَا وَكُبَرَآءَنَا فَأَضَلُّونَا السَّبِيلاْ - رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِهِمْ ضِعْفَيْنِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ وَالْعَنْهُمْ لَعْناً كَبِيراً ( 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.'

People ask you concerning the Hour. Say," meaning

*116) The Holy Prophet 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 aII; 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, we have been doing everything to frustrate your mission, and you have not been able to do any harm to us so far; now Iet us know as to when will Resurrection take place when we will be taken to task by Allah. "
 

No One knows when the Day of Resurrection will come except Allah 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: وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ السَّاعَةَ تَكُونُ قَرِيباً ( What do you know It may be that the Hour is near! ) This is like the Ayat: اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ ( The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder. ) 54:1 اقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَـبُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ ( Draws near for mankind their reckoning, while they turn away in heedlessness. ) 21:1 أَتَى أَمْرُ اللَّهِ فَلاَ تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ ( The Event (the Hour ) ordained by Allah will come to pass, so seek not to hasten it) 16:1. The Curse on the Disbelievers and its Eternity and their Regret Then Allah says: إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَعَنَ الْكَـفِرِينَ ( Verily, Allah has cursed the disbelievers, ) means, He has distanced them from His mercy. وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ سَعِيراً ( and has prepared for them a flaming Fire (Hell ).) means, in the Hereafter.
e خَـلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَداً ( Wherein they will abide forever, ) means, they will stay there forever and ever, never leaving or finding relief from it. لاَّ يَجِدُونَ وَلِيّاً وَلاَ نَصِيراً ( 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: يَوْمَ تُقَلَّبُ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِى النَّارِ يَقُولُونَ يلَيْتَنَآ أَطَعْنَا اللَّهَ وَأَطَعْنَا الرَّسُولاَ ( 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: وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّـلِمُ عَلَى يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يلَيْتَنِى اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلاً - يوَيْلَتَا لَيْتَنِى لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلاَناً خَلِيلاً لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِى عَنِ الذِّكْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَآءَنِى وَكَانَ الشَّيْطَـنُ لِلإِنْسَـنِ خَذُولاً ( 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 ) رُّبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوْ كَانُواْ مُسْلِمِينَ ( 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: وَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّآ أَطَعْنَا سَادَتَنَا وَكُبَرَآءَنَا فَأَضَلُّونَا السَّبِيلاْ ( 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." رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِهِمْ ضِعْفَيْنِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ ( 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: وَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّآ أَطَعْنَا سَادَتَنَا وَكُبَرَآءَنَا فَأَضَلُّونَا السَّبِيلاْ - رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِهِمْ ضِعْفَيْنِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ وَالْعَنْهُمْ لَعْناً كَبِيراً ( 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! )"

( Men ) the people of Mecca ( ask you ) O Muhammad ( of the Hour ) about the coming of the Last Hour. ( Say ) O Muhammad: ( The knowledge of it ) the knowledge of its coming ( is with Allah only. What can convey (the knowledge ) unto thee? It may be that the Hour is nigh) very near.

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!"

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