فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهُ زُلْفَةً سِيٓـَٔتْ وُجُوهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَقِيلَ هَـٰذَا ٱلَّذِى كُنتُم بِهِۦ تَدَّعُونَ 27
Translations
But when they see it approaching, the faces of those who disbelieve will be distressed, and it will be said, "This is that for which you used to call."
Transliteration
Falamma ra'awhu zulfatan sī'at wujūhu alladhīna kafarū wa-qīla hādhā alladhī kuntum bihi taddaʿūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the Day of Judgment when the disbelievers will suddenly see the punishment approaching them, causing their faces to become distressed and darkened with fear and regret. The angels or the punishment itself will then address them, saying 'This is what you used to mock and deny'—a painful reminder of their arrogance and rejection of the truth in this world. Ibn Kathir explains that 'zulfatan' (drawing near/at close range) emphasizes the immediacy and inescapability of the divine punishment they can no longer deny.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Al-Mulk, revealed in Mecca during the early Islamic period. It contextualizes the broader Quranic theme of the certainty of the Day of Judgment and the consequences of disbelief. The surah opens with affirmation of Allah's absolute sovereignty and concludes with vivid descriptions of the fate of the disbelievers, establishing that divine justice is inevitable.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The Day of Judgment will not come until the sun rises from the West' (Sahih Bukhari 4636), emphasizing the certainty of the Last Day. Also relevant: 'How many signs in the heavens and on earth do they pass by? Yet they turn away from them' (Quran 12:105), reflecting the theme of heedlessness that precedes judgment.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a profound reminder that mockery of religious truth and arrogant rejection of divine guidance will inevitably lead to regret and anguish. For modern believers, it reinforces the importance of taking the message of Allah seriously in this life, for the reality of the Hereafter will become undeniably clear when it is too late to change one's deeds.
Related Ayahs
فَٱصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْعَزْمِ مِنَ ٱلرُّسُلِ وَلَا تَسْتَعْجِل لَّهُمْ ۚ كَأَنَّهُمْ يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ مَا يُوعَدُونَ لَمْ يَلْبَثُوٓا۟ إِلَّا سَاعَةً مِّن نَّهَارٍۭ ۚ بَلَـٰغٌ ۚ فَهَلْ يُهْلَكُ إِلَّا ٱلْقَوْمُ ٱلْفَـٰسِقُونَ
So be patient, [O Muḥammad], as were those of determination among the messengers and do not be impatient for them. It will be - on the Day they see that which they are promised - as though they had not remained [in the world] except an hour of a day. [This is] notification. And will [any] be destroyed except the defiantly disobedient people?
وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ مِن كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهِيدًا ثُمَّ لَا يُؤْذَنُ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ وَلَا هُمْ يُسْتَعْتَبُونَ
And [mention] the Day when We will resurrect from every nation a witness [i.e., their prophet]. Then it will not be permitted to the disbelievers [to apologize or make excuses], nor will they be asked to appease [Allāh].
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ ۖ لَا يَضُرُّكُم مَّن ضَلَّ إِذَا ٱهْتَدَيْتُمْ ۚ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
O you who have believed, upon you is [responsibility for] yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided. To Allāh is your return all together; then He will inform you of what you used to do.
وَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ
Nor will it be permitted for them to make an excuse.