Surah 41

Surah 41:47

"Knowledge of the Hour is reserved for Him. No fruit comes forth from its sheath, and no female conceives or delivers, except with His knowledge. On the Day when He will call to them, ‘Where are My associates?,’ they will say, ‘We proclaim to You: (there is) no witness among us.’"
Everyone will be requited according to His Deeds Verses 41:46-48
Show Full Scripture Context (41:46-48) — 3 Verses
Verse 46

مَّنۡ عَمِلَ صَٰلِحٗا فَلِنَفۡسِهِۦۖ وَمَنۡ أَسَآءَ فَعَلَيۡهَاۗ وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِظَلَّـٰمٖ لِّلۡعَبِيدِ

Whoever does righteousness, it is for himself, and whoever does evil, it is (likewise) against himself. Your Lord is not an evildoer to (His) servants.

Verse 47

۞إِلَيۡهِ يُرَدُّ عِلۡمُ ٱلسَّاعَةِۚ وَمَا تَخۡرُجُ مِن ثَمَرَٰتٖ مِّنۡ أَكۡمَامِهَا وَمَا تَحۡمِلُ مِنۡ أُنثَىٰ وَلَا تَضَعُ إِلَّا بِعِلۡمِهِۦۚ وَيَوۡمَ يُنَادِيهِمۡ أَيۡنَ شُرَكَآءِي قَالُوٓاْ ءَاذَنَّـٰكَ مَامِنَّا مِن شَهِيدٖ

Knowledge of the Hour is reserved for Him. No fruit comes forth from its sheath, and no female conceives or delivers, except with His knowledge. On the Day when He will call to them, ‘Where are My associates?,’ they will say, ‘We proclaim to You: (there is) no witness among us.’

Verse 48

وَضَلَّ عَنۡهُم مَّا كَانُواْ يَدۡعُونَ مِن قَبۡلُۖ وَظَنُّواْ مَا لَهُم مِّن مَّحِيصٖ

What they called on before will abandon them, and they will know (that there is) no place of escape for them.

Quoted Scripture
"Whosoever does righteous good deed, it is for himself;"

means, the benefit of which will come to him.

Quoted Scripture
"and whosoever does evil, it is against himself."

means, the consequences of that will come back on him.

Quoted Scripture
"And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) servants"

means, He only punishes people for their sins, and He does not punish anyone except after establishing proof against him and sending a Messenger to him.

Knowledge of the Hour is with Allah Alone

Then Allah says:

{To Him is referred the knowledge of the Hour.} meaning, no one knows about that apart from Him. Muhammad, the leader of mankind, said to Jibril, who is one of the leading angels, when he asked him about the Hour:

«The one who is asked about it does not know more than the one who is asking!» And Allah says:

Quoted Scripture
"[To your Lord belongs the term thereof.](quran/79/44)"

"[None can reveal its time but He](quran/7/187)}."

"No fruit comes out of its sheath, nor does a female conceive nor brings forth (young), except by His knowledge."

means, all of that is known to Him, and nothing is hidden from your Lord the weight of a speck of dust on the earth or in the heaven. Allah says:

Quoted Scripture
"[not a leaf falls, but He knows it](quran/6/59)}."

"[Allah knows what every female bears, and by how much the wombs fall short or exceed. Everything with Him is in (due) proportion](quran/13/8)}."

"[And no aged man is granted a length of life nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book. Surely, that is easy for Allah.](quran/35/11)"

"And on the Day when He will call unto them (saying): "Where are My (so-called) partners?""

means, on the Day of Resurrection, Allah will call out to the idolators before all of creation and say, "Where are My partners whom you worshipped besides Me?"

{They will say: "We inform You..."} means, "we tell You,'

{that none of us bears witness to it.} means, 'not one of us will bear witness today that You have any partner.'

Quoted Scripture
"And those whom they used to invoke before (in this world) shall disappear from them,"

means, they will go away, and will be of no benefit to them.

Quoted Scripture
"and they will perceive that they have no place of refuge"

means, they will have no way of escaping from the punishment of Allah. This is like the Ayah:

Quoted Scripture
"[And the criminals shall see the Fire and apprehend that they have to fall therein. And they will find no way of escape from there.](quran/18/53)"

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 8, Page 553-555)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.