Tafseer of Luqman · Luqman · 31:34
Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الأَرْحَامِ وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ (34) (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour; He sends down the rain and He knows what is in the wombs. And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in which land it will die. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware) (31:34).
He, exalted is His mention, says: Yā ayyuhā al-nāsu ittaqū rabbakum wa-akhshaw yawman lā yajzī wālidun ʿan waladihi wa-lā mawlūdun huwa jāzin ʿan wālidihi shayʾan (O mankind, fear your Lord and beware of a Day on which no father can avail anything for his child, nor a child avail anything for his father) — that [Day] which is coming to you; the knowledge of the time when it will come to you lies with your Lord, none knows when it will come to you; it will only come to you suddenly. So fear Him, lest it overtake you unawares while you are still in your error and have not turned back from it, so that you fall, from the punishment of Allah and His requital, into that which you cannot withstand.
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, began the announcement concerning His knowledge of the coming of the Hour. What is meant is: that which I have mentioned, on account of the indication which the text gives as to what is intended by it. So He said: (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour) in which the Resurrection takes place — none knows that except Him. (And He sends down the rain) from the sky — none other than Him is able to do that. (And He knows what is in the wombs), the wombs of the women. (And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow), He says: no living soul knows what it will do tomorrow. (And no soul knows in which land it will die), He says: no living soul knows in which land its death will be. (Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware), He says: indeed, the One who knows all this is Allah, and none other than Him; indeed, He has knowledge of all things, nothing remains hidden from Him, He is well-acquainted with what is, and with what has been.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning the explanation of this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour), he said: a man came — Abū Jaʿfar [al-Ṭabarī] said: I think he said, "I" — to the Prophet ﷺ and said: indeed, my wife is pregnant, so tell me what she will bear? And our land is a barren and unfruitful place, so tell me when the rain will fall? And I know when I was born, so tell me when I will die? Then Allah revealed: (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour and He sends down the rain) to the end of the sūra. He said: and Mujāhid used to say: these are the keys of the unseen of which Allah has spoken: wa-ʿindahu mafātiḥu al-ghaybi lā yaʿlamuhā illā huwa (and with Him are the keys of the unseen, none knows them except Him).
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour), the verse — these are matters of the unseen which Allah has reserved for Himself, and of which He has informed neither any nearest angel nor any sent prophet. (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour), so that none of mankind knows when the Hour will come, in which year, or in which month, or by night, or by day. (And He sends down the rain), so that none knows when the rain will fall, by night or by day. (And He knows what is in the wombs), so that none knows what is in the wombs, whether it is male or female, red or black, or what it is. (And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow), good or evil; and you do not know, O son of Adam, when you will die? Perhaps you will be tomorrow the dead one, perhaps you will be tomorrow the stricken one? (And no soul knows in which land it will die), none of mankind knows where its resting place in the earth is, in the sea or on the land, in the plain or in the mountains — exalted and blessed is He.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: ʿĀʾisha said: whoever says that anyone knows the unseen except Allah has lied and has invented the greatest lie against Allah. Allah has said: lā yaʿlamu man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-arḍi al-ghayba illā Allāh (none in the heavens and on the earth knows the unseen except Allah).
Yaʿqūb related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Yūnus ibn ʿUbayd, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, that a man said: O Messenger of Allah, is there any knowledge that has not been given to you? He said: "Much knowledge has been given to me, and good knowledge" — or as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said it. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this verse: (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour and He sends down the rain) to (Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware) — none knows them except Allah, blessed and exalted is He.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The keys of the unseen are five", and then he recited these verses: (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour) to the end of it.
ʿAlī ibn Sahl related to me, saying: Muʾammal related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dīnār, that he heard Ibn ʿUmar say: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The keys of the unseen are five, none knows them except Allah: (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour and He sends down the rain and He knows what is in the wombs)", the verse. Then he said: "None knows what is in the day of tomorrow except Allah, and none knows when the rain will fall except Allah, and none knows when the Hour will come except Allah, and none knows what is in the wombs except Allah, and no soul knows in which land it will die."
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Dīnār, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, he said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The keys of the unseen are five, none knows them except Allah: Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour and He sends down the rain and He knows what is in the wombs and no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow and no soul knows in which land it will die. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware."
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of Misʿar, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salama, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, he said: everything has been given to your Prophet ﷺ, except the knowledge of the unseen, the five: (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour and He sends down the rain and He knows what is in the wombs and no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow and no soul knows in which land it will die).
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, she said: whoever tells you that he knows what is in the day of tomorrow has lied, and then she recited: (And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow).
He said: Jarīr and Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Khabbāb, on the authority of Abū Zurʿa, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, he said: "Five [matters] none knows except Allah: (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour and He sends down the rain ...) the verse."
Abū Shuraḥbīl related to me, saying: Abū al-Yamān related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salama, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, he said: everything has already been given to your Prophet, except the five keys of the unseen. Then he recited this verse: (Indeed, with Allah lies the knowledge of the Hour) to the end of it.
It is said: (bi-ayyi arḍin tamūtu — in which land it will die), and in it there is yet another linguistic form: (bi-ayyati arḍin). Whoever says (bi-ayyi arḍin) is satisfied with the feminine gender of the word "arḍ" (land/earth), so that a separate feminine ending need not be made manifest in (ayy); and whoever says (bi-ayyati arḍin) makes (ayy) feminine and says: in (ayy) one may be satisfied with that to which it is annexed, so that the feminine form is obligatory — as in someone's saying: "I passed by a woman" (marartu bi-imraʾatin), to which it is said to him: "bi-ayyatin?" (by which?); and "I passed by a man" (marartu bi-rajulin), to which it is said to him: "bi-ayyin?" (by which?). And one says: "ayyu imraʾatin jāʾatka wa-jāʾaka" (which woman came to you), and "ayyatu imraʾatin jāʾatki" (which woman came to you).
End of the tafsīr of Sūrat Luqmān.
