The Quran

Preface

وَقالَ الَّذينَ كَفَروا لا تَأتينَا السّاعَةُ ۖ قُل بَلىٰ وَرَبّي لَتَأتِيَنَّكُم عالِمِ الغَيبِ ۖ لا يَعزُبُ عَنهُ مِثقالُ ذَرَّةٍ فِي السَّماواتِ وَلا فِي الأَرضِ وَلا أَصغَرُ مِن ذٰلِكَ وَلا أَكبَرُ إِلّا في كِتابٍ مُبينٍ

Yusuf Ali

The Unbelievers say,¹ “Never to us will come the Hour”: Say, “Nay! but most surely, by my Lord,² it will come upon you;- by Him Who knows the unseen,- from Whom is not hidden the least little atom in the heavens or on earth: Nor is there anything less than that, or greater, but is in the Record Perspicuous:³

The last two verses prepared us to realise the positions of Unbelievers in God’s great Universe. They are the discord in the universal harmony of Prayer and Praise. Their existence is due to the grant of a limited free will, the Trust which the Unbelievers have betrayed (see 33:72 and notes). But they must and will be eliminated: see verse 5 below. For there is nothing more certain in the world, physical, moral and spiritual, than that every cause, great or small, must have its corresponding consequences.
The strongest emphasis and the most perfect assurance of certainty are indicated by reference to the authority of God Himself, the Ruler of the Day of Judgment
In the symbolical language of our own human experiences, a record is more enduring than memory: in fact (if properly preserved) it is perpetual. If, further, it is expressed in clear language, without any obscurity, it can always be read with perfect precision and without any doubt whatever. Apply these qualities, free from human defects, to God’s laws and decrees. They are unerring and enduring. Everything, great or small, will receive due recognition?a Reward for Good and Punishment for Evil (Cf. n. 3843).