The beauty of the truth is that it can never obscured, concealed or hidden no matter how much one tries to. The plain truth that Al Qur'an carries is from One True God, the Creator of the universe - therefore the word of God would always prevail despite people burning copies of Al Qur'an or try to misquote it through debates and lies on the social media.
When the Qur'an was revealed and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ approached the polytheists of Makkah, they simply mocked the idea of it being revealed by Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ. When the stubbornness of the polytheists reached a point of open rebuttal coupled with extreme hostility towards the prophet of Allah, the following verse was revealed (the closing verse 88 of Surah 38 Saad - The Letter Saad):
وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ نَبَأَهُ بَعْدَ حِينٍ
38:88 And you will surely know [the truth of] its information after a time."
This is a small verse, but with deep reflective Divine wisdom and caution for all those who deny what has been revealed and presented to them. Let us unpack this verse and see how it has impacted the mankind since its revelation and how the wisdom is being accepted and more and more non believers are entering the fold of Islam.
In its simple translation, what this meant is that those who will remain alive will see in a few years that what the Prophet (peace be on him) said will come to pass. As for those who die, no sooner than they enter the portal of death they too will realise that what the Prophet (peace be on him) had said was true.
Apparent (Ẓāhir) Meaning
This is a closing warning at the end of the surah Saad. It is being said that Al Qur’an has delivered its message. And those who deny it are told: “Soon—you will come to know the reality of what you’re rejecting.”
What does “after a time” mean? Scholars explain it can refer to: (1) A time in this life, (2) When truth becomes evident when consequences unfold, (3) At death when unseen reality becomes clear, and (4) On the Day of Judgment, when full truth is revealed. That it is a delayed but certain realization.
Scholarly Insight
- Ibn Kathir: This is a warning to disbelievers that what they deny now will become undeniable later
- Al-Tabari: “News” (naba’) refers to The truth of the Qur’an and The وعد (promise) of accountability. That is for many the truth will be revealed in this world - but those who leave this world clinging to their lies will be ultimately be held accountable and brought to harsh justice.
Deeper Meaning (Wisdom)
- Truth does not depend on acceptance People may deny, mock or ignore the truth - but the truth remains true regardless of what people say and will finally be unfolded and known.
- Time reveals reality Some truths are not time bound to be known and not immediately obvious. With deeper reflection in time the reality of truth starts to unfold.
- Delayed consequences Actions may seem without consequence initially, but the results are inevitable. No effort can hide the reality and it does surface sooner or later.
Similar Verses in the Qur’an
- Surah Al-An'am (6:67): “For every news is a reality, and you will come to know.”
- Surah Ibrahim (14:42): “Do not think Allah unaware of what the wrongdoers do…”
- Surah Az-Zumar (39:48): “The evil (of not accepting the truth) of what they earned will appear to them…”
This means that reality eventually becomes visible. May be not present generation, but future generations would one day find out that what was being labelled as lies was in fact The Truth and will start accepting it.
Relevance Today
This verse is very powerful in modern context:
- People dismiss truth easily Religion is mostly views as Optional or even Outdated. The verse thus reminds that Reality doesn’t change because of opinion and truth finally unfolds.
- Short-term thinking
- People view their life and Divine revelations for immediate results only as did the polytheists of Makkah. They even asked the prophet of Allah to ask his God to unleash His wrath on them - and when nothing happened, they mocked Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for just scaring them of the Divine wrath as there was nothing of its kind. They even disregarded the anecdotes contained in Al Qur'an and the wrath of Allah which befell on previous people of 'Ad, Thamud and many others.
- However, Al Qur'an through the verse quoted above tries to teach that consequences of some truths are based on Long-term accountability and if the Divine warnings are not heeded today, there will be no turning back when the scale of Divine justice will be put in place on the Day of Judgement.
- Moral consequences are delayed Denials, obscuring truth may work for now or sometime, but the system based on lies eventually collapse and truth is upheld in the end.
- Personal life reflection Denying truth is not only by the non believers, Hiding the truth and ignoring worship of Allah by many Muslims will also have its consequences, which may not be immediate. But these accumulate and will be presented in the charge sheet and held accountable for not realizing that they too will be put to justice like other deniers of truth.
Personal Lessons
- Don’t be deceived by delay Just because something hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean it won’t
- Stay grounded in truth Even if others reject it
- Think long-term Your actions have future impact
Final Reflection
This verse is like a quiet but powerful statement: “You may ignore the truth today—but one day, you won’t be able to.”
This verse serves as a stern warning that the defiance shown by the disbelievers towards the Quran, which they labeled as a lie or "nothing but old tales" (implied in the context of surrounding verses), will be proven wrong when they face the reality of the punishment and the truth of the afterlife.
If we now look around, we will notice that many non believers of Islam are getting to know the truth contained in Al Qur'an and understanding the message of Islam by entering the fold of Islam. We have shared many revert experiences (which can be read from our reference page: Embracing Islam: Revert Experiences) which speak loud and clear the acceptance of truth which validate the verse shared above that it is only time which will unfold the truth one day.
One of the eminent scholar Yusuf Ali explains this verse beutifully by noting: There may be many things which we in our "muddy vesture of decay" may not fully understand or take in. If we only follow the right Path, we shall arrive at the Goal in the Hereafter, and then everything will be dear to us.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may refer to more Selected Verses from Sürah 38 Ṣād - the letter ص already published. You may also refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
For verses on Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, other sources which have been explored and views of other scholars have been incorporated while explaining meaning of a verse. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references given above. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
0 comments:
Post a Comment