Surah 73

Surah 73:17

"If you disbelieve, how will you guard (yourselves) against a Day which will turn the children grey,"
Your Messenger is like the Messenger to Fir'awn, and You know what happened to Fir'awn Verses 73:10-18
Show Full Scripture Context (73:10-18) — 9 Verses
Verse 10

وَٱصۡبِرۡ عَلَىٰ مَا يَقُولُونَ وَٱهۡجُرۡهُمۡ هَجۡرٗا جَمِيلٗا

and be patient with what they say, and forsake them gracefully.

Verse 11

وَذَرۡنِي وَٱلۡمُكَذِّبِينَ أُوْلِي ٱلنَّعۡمَةِ وَمَهِّلۡهُمۡ قَلِيلًا

Leave Me (to deal with) the ones who call (it) a lie – (those) possessors of prosperity – and let them be for a little (while).

Verse 12

إِنَّ لَدَيۡنَآ أَنكَالٗا وَجَحِيمٗا

Surely We have chains and a Furnace,

Verse 13

وَطَعَامٗا ذَا غُصَّةٖ وَعَذَابًا أَلِيمٗا

and food that chokes, and a painful punishment,

Verse 14

يَوۡمَ تَرۡجُفُ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ وَٱلۡجِبَالُ وَكَانَتِ ٱلۡجِبَالُ كَثِيبٗا مَّهِيلًا

on the Day when the earth and the mountains will quake, and the mountains will become a heap of shifting sand.

Verse 15

إِنَّآ أَرۡسَلۡنَآ إِلَيۡكُمۡ رَسُولٗا شَٰهِدًا عَلَيۡكُمۡ كَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَآ إِلَىٰ فِرۡعَوۡنَ رَسُولٗا

Surely We have sent to you a messenger as a witness over you, as We sent to Pharaoh a messenger.

Verse 16

فَعَصَىٰ فِرۡعَوۡنُ ٱلرَّسُولَ فَأَخَذۡنَٰهُ أَخۡذٗا وَبِيلٗا

But Pharaoh disobeyed the messenger, and We seized him harshly.

Verse 17

فَكَيۡفَ تَتَّقُونَ إِن كَفَرۡتُمۡ يَوۡمٗا يَجۡعَلُ ٱلۡوِلۡدَٰنَ شِيبًا

If you disbelieve, how will you guard (yourselves) against a Day which will turn the children grey,

Verse 18

ٱلسَّمَآءُ مُنفَطِرُۢ بِهِۦۚ كَانَ وَعۡدُهُۥ مَفۡعُولًا

on which the sky will be split open and His promise comes to pass?

And Jahim This is a blazing fire. (And a food that chokes,) Ibn 'Abbas said, "This means it will get stuck in the throat and it will not enter or come out." (and a painful torment. On the Day when the earth and the mountains will (Tarjuf) shake,) meaning, they will quake. (And the mountains will be a heap of sand poured out.) meaning, they will become like hills of sand after they had been firm rocks. Then they will be utterly destroyed and nothing will remain of them. This will occur until the entire earth becomes a flat land and no curvature will be seen in it. Thus, there will be no valleys and no hills. This means that no part of it will be low or elevated.

Your Messenger is like the Messenger to Fir'awn, and You know what happened to Fir'awn

Then addresses the disbelievers of the Quraysh, and along with them the rest of mankind, (Verily, We have sent to you a Messenger to be a witness over you,) meaning, witnessing your deeds. (as We did send a Messenger to Fir'awn. But Fir'awn disobeyed the Messenger; so We seized him with a severe punishment.) (severe punishment) Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, As-Suddi, and Ath-Thawri said that this means severe. This means, "you should beware of denying this Messenger, lest you be afflicted by that which befell Fir'awn. Allah seized him with the seizing of One Mighty and Powerful.' This is as Allah says, (So Allah seized him with punishment for his last and first transgression,) (79:25) Therefore, you will be even more deserving of destruction and ruin if you deny your Messenger, because your Messenger is more noble and a greater than Prophet Musa, the son of 'Imran.' This has been reported from Ibn 'Abbas and Mujahid.

The Threat of the Day of Judgement

Allah says, (Then how can you protect yourselves from the punishment, if you disbelieved, on a Day that will make the children gray-headed?) Ibn Jarir quoted in the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud: "How can you, O people, fear a Day that makes the children grey-headed, if you disbelieve in Allah and do not testify to Him?" So the first interpretation would mean, 'how can you attain safety for yourselves from the Day of this great horror if you disbelieve?' It could imply the meaning, 'how can you all attain piety if you disbelieve in the Day of Judgement and reject it.' Both of these meanings are good. However, the first interpretation is closer to the truth. And Allah knows best. The meaning of Allah's statement, (On a Day that will make the children gray-headed?) is that this will happen due to the severity of its horrors, its earthquakes and its disturbing confusion. This is when Allah will say to Adam, "Send a group to the Fire." Adam will say, "How many?" Allah will then reply, "From every thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine to the Fire, and one to Paradise." Then Allah says, (Whereon the heaven will be cleft asunder?) Al-Hasan and Qatadah both said, "This means, because of it (the Day of Judgement), due to its severity and its horror." Then Allah says, (His promise is certainly to be accomplished.) meaning, the promise of this Day will be fulfilled. This means it will occur and there is no way around it, and it will come to pass and there is no avoiding it.

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.