وَلَتَعلَمُنَّ نَبَأَهُ بَعدَ حينٍ
And you will surely learn its tidings in due time.’
EXEGESIS
Nabaʿ (tiding) was discussed in the commentary on verse 67. It is here referring to the true significance of the punishment that the faithless have been warned with in the Quran.
EXPOSITION
The surah closes with an extremely powerful final declaration: And you will surely learn its tidings in due time. This harkens back to the mocking supplication of the faithless mentioned in verse 16, Our Lord! Hasten on for us our share before the Day of Reckoning. They are told not to hasten it, for in due time they will come to know its painful reality. The reply to their mockery was not given there, but rather postponed to the end of the surah. This is a beautiful congruence of text and subtext, as the punishment and the reply are both postponed.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some other meanings for you will surely learn its nabaʾ in due time have been suggested. Generally, the exegetes have said nabaʾ means the Quran. By this they mean ‘you will learn about the truth of its message in due time’. The due time here could mean:
- After death (from Ibn Abbas, Hasan al-Baṣrī, and others).
- The Day of Judgement (from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd). This is justified by the verse, For every prophecy (nabaʾ) there is a [preordained] setting, and soon you will know (6:67).
- After the Battle of Badr (from Suddī).
- After Islam has prevailed (from Kalbī).
Ṭabarī combines between all of these opinions, saying that some learned it sooner and others later.
[1] Tibyan, 8/585; Tabari, 23/121; Tabrisi, 8/759; Zamakhshari, 4/109; Qurtubi, 15/231; Alusi, 12/220.
[2] Tabari, 23/121. See also Mizan, 17/228.