Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:185
Do they not look into the realm of the heavens and the earth and everything that Allah has created and [think] that perhaps their appointed time has come near? So in what statement hereafter will they believe?
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 His word: أَوَلَمْ يَنْظُرُوا فِي مَلَكُوتِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ وَأَنْ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدِ اقْتَرَبَ أَجَلُهُمْ فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ (185) ("Have they then not looked into the dominion of the heavens and the earth and into all that Allah has created, and into the fact that their term may perhaps already have drawn near? In what report after this will they then yet believe?" (185))
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Have these who give the lie to the signs of Allah then not looked into the sovereignty of Allah and His power in the heavens and on the earth, and into all that He, exalted be His praise, has created therein of any matter, so that they might reflect upon that and take a lesson from it and realize that this belongs to One who has no equal and no peer, and that it is the act of One to whom alone worship and the pure religion are due? So that they might then believe in Him, hold His messenger to be truthful, turn toward obedience to Him, reject the associates and the idols, and be on their guard that their terms may perhaps already have drawn near, so that they might not perish in their unbelief and fall into the punishment of Allah and His painful retribution.
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And His word (In what report after this will they then yet believe?) means: in what intimidation, warning, and deterrence — after the warning and deterrence of Muḥammad, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, which he brought to them from Allah in the signs of His Book — will they then yet believe, if they do not believe in this Book which Muḥammad, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, brought to them from Allah, the Exalted?
