وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَـٰذَا ٱلْوَعْدُ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ 38
Translations
And they say, "When is this promise, if you should be truthful?"
Transliteration
Wa yaqūlūna matā hādhā al-wa'd in kuntum sādiqīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
The disbelievers mockingly challenge the Prophet and believers, demanding to know when the promised punishment or Day of Judgment will occur, implying skepticism about the truthfulness of the message. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir note this represents the arrogance and obstinacy of the Quraysh, who used such taunting questions to test the Prophet's conviction. The ayah illustrates how the disbelievers sought to discredit the message by questioning its fulfillment, a recurring pattern throughout Meccan surahs.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-Anbiya, which discusses various prophets and their messages. The broader surah addresses the mockery and rejection faced by prophets, and this specific ayah reflects the hostility the Meccan polytheists directed at Prophet Muhammad's warnings about the Day of Judgment and divine punishment.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Bukhari (3344) - The Prophet said: 'The Hour will come, and the Hour is more terrible and more bitter than the cutting of the sword.' This hadith reinforces the theme of the Day of Judgment mentioned in the ayah's context.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that mockery and doubt from opponents should not weaken conviction in divine truth; the certainty of Allah's promises stands regardless of human ridicule. It reminds us that demanding 'proof' of unseen matters reflects spiritual blindness rather than intellectual rigor, and faith requires accepting divine guidance based on reason and revelation, not merely sensory verification.
Related Ayahs
وَلَئِن مَّسَّتْهُمْ نَفْحَةٌ مِّنْ عَذَابِ رَبِّكَ لَيَقُولُنَّ يَـٰوَيْلَنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَـٰلِمِينَ
And if [as much as] a whiff of the punishment of your Lord should touch them, they would surely say, "O woe to us! Indeed, we have been wrongdoers."
قُلْ إِنَّمَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَىَّ أَنَّمَآ إِلَـٰهُكُمْ إِلَـٰهٌ وَٰحِدٌ ۖ فَهَلْ أَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ
Say, "It is only revealed to me that your god is but one God; so will you be Muslims [in submission to Him]?"
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّ فِى فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ
And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming.
إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ حَصَبُ جَهَنَّمَ أَنتُمْ لَهَا وَٰرِدُونَ
Indeed, you [disbelievers] and what you worship other than Allāh are the firewood of Hell. You will be coming to [enter] it.