قُل لَّا يَعْلَمُ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلْغَيْبَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ 65
Translations
Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allāh, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected."
Transliteration
Qul lā ya'lamu man fī as-samāwāti wa-al-ardi al-ghayba illā Allāh; wa-mā yash'urūn ayyān yub'athūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah establishes that knowledge of the unseen (al-ghayb) belongs exclusively to Allah alone, and no creature in the heavens or earth knows when the Hour of Resurrection will occur. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize that this verse refutes all claims to knowledge of the unseen, whether by false prophets, fortune-tellers, or those who speculate about the timing of the Day of Judgment. The ayah underscores human limitation and divine exclusivity in matters of ultimate reality.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah An-Naml, a Meccan chapter primarily concerned with refuting polytheism and affirming divine attributes. The broader context addresses the disbelievers' skepticism toward the Resurrection, and this verse responds to their questioning about the Day of Judgment by reminding them that such knowledge is divinely sealed.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The keys of the unseen are five, none knows them but Allah' (referencing Surah Luqman 31:34, which lists five types of hidden knowledge). Also, 'Whoever claims knowledge of the unseen has disbelieved in Allah' (Tafsir Al-Tabari). See Sahih Bukhari and related collections.
Themes
Key Lesson
Believers should recognize the limits of human knowledge and avoid arrogance in claiming to know what only Allah knows, particularly regarding the future and the unseen. This cultivates humility, trust in divine wisdom, and freedom from anxiety about unknowable matters, allowing us to focus on our present responsibilities rather than speculating about the unseen.
Related Ayahs
بَلِ ٱدَّٰرَكَ عِلْمُهُمْ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۚ بَلْ هُمْ فِى شَكٍّ مِّنْهَا ۖ بَلْ هُم مِّنْهَا عَمُونَ
Rather, their knowledge is arrested concerning the Hereafter. Rather, they are in doubt about it. Rather, they are, concerning it, blind.
أَمَّن يَهْدِيكُمْ فِى ظُلُمَـٰتِ ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَمَن يُرْسِلُ ٱلرِّيَـٰحَ بُشْرًۢا بَيْنَ يَدَىْ رَحْمَتِهِۦٓ ۗ أَءِلَـٰهٌ مَّعَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ تَعَـٰلَى ٱللَّهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
Is He [not best] who guides you through the darknesses of the land and sea and who sends the winds as good tidings before His mercy? Is there a deity with Allāh? High is Allāh above whatever they associate with Him.
أَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ أَنَّا جَعَلْنَا ٱلَّيْلَ لِيَسْكُنُوا۟ فِيهِ وَٱلنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Do they not see that We made the night that they may rest therein and the day giving sight? Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe.
إِنَّمَآ أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ رَبَّ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْبَلْدَةِ ٱلَّذِى حَرَّمَهَا وَلَهُۥ كُلُّ شَىْءٍ ۖ وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ
[Say, O Muḥammad], "I have only been commanded to worship the Lord of this city, who made it sacred and to whom [belongs] all things. And I am commanded to be of the Muslims [i.e., those who submit to Allāh].