وَيَقولونَ مَتىٰ هٰذَا الوَعدُ إِن كُنتُم صادِقينَ
And they say: ‘When will this promise be fulfilled, should you be truthful?’
EXEGESIS
Waʿd (promise) when accompanied by waʿīd, is used for good promise as the latter is used for threat and menacing promise; however, it can indicate both good promise and threat when it is used alone.
EXPOSITION
After the discussion on the signs and the proof of the oneness of God in the previous verses, the discussion now turns to an account of the events of the Day of Judgement, opening the discussion with a question from the deniers. This question was repeatedly put to the Prophet by the disbelievers. The Quran mentions six different instances of this question each time giving a different answer to it (10:48-49, 21:38-39, 27:71-72, 34:29-30, 67:25-26).
In fact, this was not a genuine question but rather a derision of the idea of resurrection; however, each time they were given a decisive answer from different angles. Here, following the weak pretext they made for not helping the poor, they seek to deride the idea of life after death.
Basically, the faithless raised two objections regarding the idea of resurrection. The first objection was regarding the power of God in reviving the dead. This objection has been powerfully and convincingly answered in 46:33: Do they not see that Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and [who] was not exhausted by their creation, is able to revive the dead? Yes, indeed He has power over all things.
The second objection was about the time of its occurrence, as in this verse. The fact is that this was an irrelevant question, rather a denial, but the Quran respectfully gave different answers to it. We, as individuals, are very short-lived in the universe, and the matter of resurrection and destruction of the world is exponentially beyond the scale of our lifetime. Another point about the resurrection is that it only happens once. And for things which happen only once, there is no evidence from the past. The faithless themselves knew that there was no answer to this question, which the Quran repeatedly reiterates. They question you concerning the hour, when will it set in? Say: ‘Its knowledge is only with my Lord: none except Him shall manifest it at its time. It will weigh heavy on the heavens and the earth. It will not overtake you but suddenly.’ They ask you as if you were in the know of it. Say: ‘Its knowledge is only with Allah, but most people do not know’ (7:187).
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Imam al-Sajjād (a) said: ‘I am astonished by the proud arrogant, who was a sperm yesterday and will be a decayed corpse tomorrow! And the wonder of all the wonders is for someone who doubted in God while he sees the creation! Also, the wonder of all the wonders is for the one who denied death while he sees someone dying every day and night! And the wonder of all the wonders is for someone who denies the next life [hereafter] while he sees the first one [this world]! And the wonder of all the wonders is for someone who prospers the ephemeral abode and neglects the eternal abode.’
[1] Mizan, 17/98.
[2] Bihar, 7/42.