Al-Anbya · Makki · ayah 97 of 112

Al-Anbya 21:97

وَٱقْتَرَبَ ٱلْوَعْدُ ٱلْحَقُّ فَإِذَا هِىَ شَـٰخِصَةٌ أَبْصَـٰرُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يَـٰوَيْلَنَا قَدْ كُنَّا فِى غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ هَـٰذَا بَلْ كُنَّا ظَـٰلِمِينَ

“And [when] the true promise [i.e., the resurrection] has approached; then suddenly the eyes of those who disbelieved will be staring [in horror, while they say], "O woe to us; we had been unmindful of this; rather, we were wrongdoers."”

Saheeh International

Essence

The true promise draws near, eyes freeze wide open, and the excuse 'we were heedless' collapses mid-sentence into 'no, we were wrongdoers'.

A reflection

The only promise without small print

The ayah calls the Day al-waʿd al-ḥaqq, the true promise. The commentators explain it as Allah's promise to raise His servants from their graves for reward and punishment. One adds simply: and it is, without doubt, true.

The two words carry pictures. The lexicons describe waʿd with images like green shoots after rain, promising a harvest: words that make the future felt now. Ḥaqq is what is really there and holds firm, the word that must come true. Put together, they describe a promise with nothing behind it but certainty.

Compare that with the promises human beings live by. Picture a man in his forties clearing out a cupboard who finds his old school-leavers' book. Thirty signatures, and nearly every one says 'friends forever'. He is still in touch with one. Nobody lied. People simply promise more than they can hold.

All of our promises are like that book, however sincere. Contracts have clauses. Guarantees have exclusions. Even our promises to ourselves are made by a self that may not be here tomorrow.

That is where the ego needs to hear this ayah. We build our lives on our own plans as if they were certain, and treat His promise as if it were vague and distant. The ayah reverses the weights. Our plans are the soft ground. His promise is the rock.

The Lord who makes this promise needs nothing from anyone to keep it. No investor, no favourable conditions, no change of heart. He says it will come, and it has already begun to draw near. The humble response is to stop treating our own word as solid and His as uncertain.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.