فِيمَ أَنتَ مِن ذِكْرَىٰهَآ 43
Translations
In what [position] are you that you should mention it?
Transliteration
Fima anta min dhikrayha
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah questions the Prophet Muhammad's role regarding the knowledge of the Hour's exact timing, asking 'What are you [O Muhammad] of its remembrance?' or 'What knowledge do you have of it?' Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir explain this as Allah asserting that knowledge of when the Hour will occur is exclusively with Him, and the Prophet has no specific knowledge to impart about its precise timing. The ayah emphasizes human limitation and divine omniscience regarding the unseen.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah An-Nazi'at's discussion of the Day of Judgment and the Hour. The surah addresses those who question the reality of the afterlife and the resurrection. This specific ayah follows verses about the terror of the Day of Judgment, serving to clarify that while the reality of the Hour is certain, its exact timing remains a divine secret unknown even to the Prophet.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Five things are with Allah alone: the knowledge of the Hour, sending down of rain, knowing what is in the wombs, knowing what will be done tomorrow, and knowing where one will die.' (Sahih Bukhari 4695). This hadith directly complements the ayah's message about the exclusive divine knowledge of the Hour.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that uncertainty about the future, particularly the Last Hour, is intentional in our human condition—it should motivate us to live righteously without false security. We must trust in Allah's perfect knowledge while focusing on fulfilling our duties in the present moment rather than speculating about unknowable futures.
Related Ayahs
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يُجَـٰدِلُونَ فِىٓ ءَايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ سُلْطَـٰنٍ أَتَىٰهُمْ ۙ إِن فِى صُدُورِهِمْ إِلَّا كِبْرٌ مَّا هُم بِبَـٰلِغِيهِ ۚ فَٱسْتَعِذْ بِٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ
Indeed, those who dispute concerning the signs of Allāh without [any] evidence having come to them - there is not within their breasts except pride, [the extent of] which they cannot reach. So seek refuge in Allāh. Indeed, it is He who is the Hearing, the Seeing.
ٱقْرَأْ كِتَـٰبَكَ كَفَىٰ بِنَفْسِكَ ٱلْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًا
[It will be said], "Read your record. Sufficient is yourself against you this Day as accountant."
يَوْمَئِذٍ يُوَفِّيهِمُ ٱللَّهُ دِينَهُمُ ٱلْحَقَّ وَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْحَقُّ ٱلْمُبِينُ
That Day, Allāh will pay them in full their true [i.e., deserved] recompense, and they will know that it is Allāh who is the manifest Truth [i.e., perfect in justice].
قُلْ يَـٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لِمَ تَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ مَنْ ءَامَنَ تَبْغُونَهَا عِوَجًا وَأَنتُمْ شُهَدَآءُ ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ
Say, "O People of the Scripture, why do you avert from the way of Allāh those who believe, seeking to make it [seem] deviant, while you are witnesses [to the truth]? And Allāh is not unaware of what you do."