Al-Jinn · Makki · ayah 25 of 28

Al-Jinn 72:25

قُلْ إِنْ أَدْرِىٓ أَقَرِيبٌ مَّا تُوعَدُونَ أَمْ يَجْعَلُ لَهُۥ رَبِّىٓ أَمَدًا

“Say, "I do not know if what you are promised is near or if my Lord will grant for it a [long] period."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Asked for a date, the Prophet ﷺ said 'I do not know': the finishing post is set, and only his Lord knows where.

A reflection

Some things cannot be stalked

Adrī is a particular kind of knowing. Its root pictures a hunter creeping forward behind a camel, using it as a screen, until he can see the game. Dirāya is knowledge reached by skill and patient approach. You work it out.

So when the Prophet ﷺ says in adrī, 'I do not know', he is saying more than 'nobody told me'. He is saying this cannot be worked out. No skill, no study, no patient approach will bring the date of what is promised into view. It is not hidden behind a camel. It is with his Lord.

Notice the last name in the ayah: rabbī, my Lord. He does not say 'perhaps it is far'. He says 'or my Lord will set a term for it'. The date is not lost. It is held, by Someone who knows it exactly.

The ego dislikes this intensely. Our age runs on forecasts: markets, elections, weather, the next big thing. We feel that if we gather enough data, the future must eventually yield. Some even try to calculate the end of the world. This ayah is a gentle refusal. Some knowledge is not a frontier waiting for a better instrument. It belongs to its Owner.

Why would He keep it? Does He withhold knowledge to keep us dependent? One commentary answers that He left its time unexplained because of a benefit He saw in hiding it. Allah needs nothing from us (35:15), not even our anxiety. The hiding is for us. A date known for certain would make every day before it feel spare.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.