The Quran

187

Preface

يَسأَلونَكَ عَنِ السّاعَةِ أَيّانَ مُرساها ۖ قُل إِنَّما عِلمُها عِندَ رَبّي ۖ لا يُجَلّيها لِوَقتِها إِلّا هُوَ ۚ ثَقُلَت فِي السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ ۚ لا تَأتيكُم إِلّا بَغتَةً ۗ يَسأَلونَكَ كَأَنَّكَ حَفِيٌّ عَنها ۖ قُل إِنَّما عِلمُها عِندَ اللَّهِ وَلٰكِنَّ أَكثَرَ النّاسِ لا يَعلَمونَ

Yusuf Ali

They ask thee about the (final) Hour - when will be its appointed time? Say: “The knowledge thereof is with my Lord (alone): None but He can reveal as to when it will occur.¹ Heavy were its burden through the heavens and the earth. Only, all of a sudden will it come to you.” They ask thee as if thou Wert eager in search thereof:² Say: “The knowledge thereof is with God (alone), but most men know not.”

The fact of its coming is a certainty: the exact time appointed for it is not revealed by God. If it were it would be so momentous as to disturb our thoughts and life. It would be a heavy burden to us. Our duty is to be prepared for it at all times. It will come when we least expect it. In the present Gospels, Jesus says the same thing: he does not know the Hour, but it will come suddenly. “But of that day and that Hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” (Mark. 13:32-33), (Cf. 33:63).
Hafiyy is usually construed to mean: “eagerly or anxiously in search of: the preposition following here is 'an = concerning, about. Some commentators (including al Raghib al Asfahani) understand it in this passage to mean “wellacquainted.” In 19:47, with the preposition bi following it, it signifies “welldisposed to”, “favourable to, good to, kind to.”