عَمَّ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ 1
Translations
About what are they asking one another?
Transliteration
Amma yatasaa'alun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This opening ayah begins Surah An-Naba with a rhetorical question: 'About what are they asking one another?' The scholars, including Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, explain that this refers to the Quraysh's disputes and questions regarding the Day of Judgment and the Resurrection, which the Prophet (peace be upon him) had been preaching to them. The surah then proceeds to provide detailed answers about the signs of the Hour and the certainty of the afterlife.
Revelation Context
This surah was revealed in Mecca during the period when the Prophet was emphasizing belief in the Day of Judgment to the pagan Quraysh, who mocked and questioned this concept. The surah addresses their doubts and confusion about the resurrection and divine justice, serving as a response to their skepticism and contentious debates about these matters.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The Hour will not be established until...people engage in disputes about the unseen matters.' (Thematic connection - related to general hadith traditions about people's questioning of the Hereafter). Also relevant: 'The best of you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it' (Sahih Bukhari) - as understanding this surah requires reflection on its answers.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that curiosity and questioning about matters of faith should lead us to seek knowledge from divine revelation rather than engage in fruitless disputation. It reminds us that the most important question we should be preoccupied with is preparing for the inevitable meeting with our Lord and the reality of the Hereafter.
Related Ayahs
وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ نَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوٓا۟ أَيْنَ شُرَكَآؤُكُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كُنتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ
And [mention, O Muḥammad], the Day We will gather them all together; then We will say to those who associated others with Allāh, "Where are your 'partners' that you used to claim [with Him]?"
أَلَآ إِنَّهُمْ فِى مِرْيَةٍ مِّن لِّقَآءِ رَبِّهِمْ ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ مُّحِيطٌۢ
Unquestionably, they are in doubt about the meeting with their Lord. Unquestionably He is, of all things, encompassing.
يَوْمَ يَغْشَىٰهُمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ مِن فَوْقِهِمْ وَمِن تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِهِمْ وَيَقُولُ ذُوقُوا۟ مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
On the Day the punishment will cover them from above them and from below their feet and it is said, "Taste [the result of] what you used to do."
نَحْنُ جَعَلْنَـٰهَا تَذْكِرَةً وَمَتَـٰعًا لِّلْمُقْوِينَ
We have made it a reminder and provision for the travelers,