Tafseer of Explained in detail · Fussilat · 41:47
To him [alone] is attributed knowledge of the Hour. And fruits emerge not from their coverings nor does a female conceive or give birth except with His knowledge. And the Day He will call to them, "Where are My 'partners'?" they will say, "We announce to You that there is [no longer] among us any witness [to that]."
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 explanation of the saying of the Exalted: TO HIM IS RETURNED THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOUR; AND NO FRUITS COME FORTH FROM THEIR SHEATHS, AND NO FEMALE CONCEIVES OR GIVES BIRTH WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE. AND ON THE DAY HE SHALL CALL OUT TO THEM: WHERE ARE MY PARTNERS? THEY WILL SAY: WE HAVE INFORMED YOU — THERE IS NONE AMONG US WHO BEARS WITNESS (47)
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: to Allah is returned, by those who seek it, the knowledge of the Hour, for none knows its arrival except He. ( AND NO FRUITS COME FORTH FROM THEIR SHEATHS ). He says: and no fruit of a tree comes forth from its sheaths in which it lay hidden, such that it emerges out of them and becomes visible. ( AND NO FEMALE CONCEIVES ). He says: and no female carries a pregnancy when she carries it, and she does not give birth to her child, without the knowledge of Allah; nothing of that remains hidden from Him.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning the meaning of His saying: ( AND NO FRUITS COME FORTH FROM THEIR SHEATHS ), 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, concerning His saying: ( FROM THEIR SHEATHS ), he said: when it sprouts.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: ( AND NO FRUITS COME FORTH FROM THEIR SHEATHS ), he said: from its spathe. And the "akmām" (sheaths) is the plural of "kumma", and that is every covering for water or anything else. And the Arabs call the husk of the date-spathe "kumm".
And the reciters differed concerning the reading of His saying: ( OF FRUITS ). The reciters of Medina read it as ( min thamarātin ), in the plural, and the reciters of Kūfa read "min thamaratin", in the form of the singular. With whichever of the two readings it is read, it is correct according to us, on account of the close kinship of their two meanings, alongside the well-establishedness of both of them in recitation.
And His saying: ( AND ON THE DAY HE SHALL CALL OUT TO THEM: WHERE ARE MY PARTNERS? ). The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and on the day Allah shall call out to those who in this world ascribed partners to Him — the idols and the statues: where are My partners, those whom you made partners in your worship of Me? ( THEY WILL SAY: WE HAVE INFORMED YOU ). He says: we have made You know ( THERE IS NONE AMONG US WHO BEARS WITNESS ). He says: these polytheists will on that day say to their Lord: there is none among us who bears witness that You have a partner.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying ( WE HAVE INFORMED YOU ), he says: we have made You know.
Muḥammad related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His saying: ( WE HAVE INFORMED YOU — THERE IS NONE AMONG US WHO BEARS WITNESS ), they said: we have obeyed You; there is none among us who bears witness that You have a partner.
