Surah 42

Surah 42:17

"(It is) God who has sent down the Book with the truth, and (also) the scale. What will make you know? Perhaps the Hour is near."
A Warning to Those Who dispute concerning Matters of Religion Verses 42:16-18
Show Full Scripture Context (42:16-18) — 3 Verses
Verse 16

وَٱلَّذِينَ يُحَآجُّونَ فِي ٱللَّهِ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا ٱسۡتُجِيبَ لَهُۥ حُجَّتُهُمۡ دَاحِضَةٌ عِندَ رَبِّهِمۡ وَعَلَيۡهِمۡ غَضَبٞ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٞ شَدِيدٌ

Those who (still) argue about God, after whatever response has been made to Him – their argument is refuted in the sight of their Lord. Anger (will fall) on them, and for them (there will be) a harsh punishment.

Verse 17

ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَنزَلَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَٱلۡمِيزَانَۗ وَمَا يُدۡرِيكَ لَعَلَّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ قَرِيبٞ

(It is) God who has sent down the Book with the truth, and (also) the scale. What will make you know? Perhaps the Hour is near.

Verse 18

يَسۡتَعۡجِلُ بِهَا ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِهَاۖ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مُشۡفِقُونَ مِنۡهَا وَيَعۡلَمُونَ أَنَّهَا ٱلۡحَقُّۗ أَلَآ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُمَارُونَ فِي ٱلسَّاعَةِ لَفِي ضَلَٰلِۭ بَعِيدٍ

Those who do not believe in it seek to hurry it, but those who believe in it are apprehensive about it, and know that it is the truth. Is it not a fact that those who are in doubt about the Hour are far astray?

Here Allah warns those who try to hinder those who believe in Allah, from following His path.

Quoted Scripture
"And those who dispute concerning Allah, after it has been accepted,"

means, those who dispute with the believers who have responded to Allah and His Messenger, and try to stop them from following the path of guidance.

{of no use is their dispute before their Lord} means, it is futile before Allah.

{and on them is wrath,} means, from Him.

{and for them will be a severe torment.} means, on the Day of Resurrection. Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and Mujahid said, "They disputed with the believers after they responded to Allah and His Messenger, and tried to prevent them from following the path of guidance, hoping that they would return to Jahiliyyah." Qatadah said, "These were the Jews and Christians who said to them, 'Our religion is better than your religion, our Prophet came before your Prophet, and we are better than you and closer to Allah than you.'" This was nothing but lies.

Then Allah says:

{It is Allah Who has sent down the Book in truth,} referring to all the Books which were revealed from Him to His Prophets.

{and the Balance.} means, justice and fairness. This was the view of Mujahid and Qatadah. This is like the Ayat:

Quoted Scripture
"[Indeed We have sent Our Messengers with clear proofs, and revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance that mankind may keep up justice](quran/57/25)}."

"[And the heaven He has raised high, and He has set up the Balance. In order that you may not transgress (due) balance. And observe the weight with equity and do not make the balance deficient.](quran/55/7-9)"

"And what can make you know that perhaps the Hour is close at hand?"

This is encouragement (to strive) for its sake, a terrifying warning, and advice to think little of this world.

Quoted Scripture
"Those who believe not therein seek to hasten it,"

means, they say, "when will this promise be fulfilled, if you are telling the truth?" But they say this by way of disbelief and stubbornness, thinking that it is unlikely to happen.

{while those who believe are fearful of it} means, they are afraid of it happening.

{and know that it is the very truth.} means, that it will undoubtedly come to pass, so they prepare themselves for it and strive for its sake. It was reported through various chains of narration, a number reaching the level of being Mutawatir, in Sahih and Hasan narrations, in the Books of Sunan and Musnad.

According to some versions, a man addressed the Messenger of Allah in a loud voice, when he was on one of his journeys, calling out to him, "O Muhammad!" The Messenger of Allah replied in a similar manner, "Here I am!" The man said, "When will the Hour come?" The Messenger of Allah said,

«Woe to you! It will most certainly come. What have you done to prepare for it?»

He said, "Love for Allah and His Messenger." He said:

«You will be with those whom you love.» According to another Hadith:

«A man will be with those whom he loves.»

This is Mutawatir beyond a doubt. The point is that he did not answer his question about when the Hour would happen, but he commanded him to prepare for it.

Quoted Scripture
"Verily, those who dispute concerning the Hour"

means, who dispute whether it will happen and think it is unlikely ever to come,

{are certainly in error far away.} means, they are clearly ignorant, because the One Who created the heavens and the earth is even more able to give life to the dead, as Allah says:

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 8, Page 577-579)

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.