An-Naba · Makki · ayah 5 of 40

An-Naba 78:5

ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَيَعْلَمُونَ

“Then, no! They are going to know.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The warning comes again, heavier, and the same three words can mean ruin for the scoffer and good news for the one who believed.

A reflection

The same words, two outcomes

It is the last ball of a club cricket final on a Saturday evening. The bowler appeals. Every face in the ground turns to the umpire. He raises one finger. Half the ground groans and half of it roars. It is exactly the same gesture, and it is terrible news and wonderful news at once.

Why does the surah say 'No, they will know' twice? The sources give more than one answer. Several say the repetition is simply for weight, the way a serious warning is said again. But an early scholar offered a striking alternative, and he even recited the ayat to match it. The first 'they will know' is about the deniers: they will know the outcome of their denial. The second is about the believers: they will know the outcome of their belief. Another report records the same view in reverse order.

On this reading the pair of ayat is not a warning said twice. It is one sentence heard by two crowds. For the people who mocked, 'they will know' means the ground giving way. For the people who trusted the great news, often while being mocked for it, the same words are a promise. They too will know. They will see that the report they held on to was true, and that holding on was not foolish.

That changes how a believer can hear the whole passage. It is easy to read these short, sharp ayat as belonging to someone else, a thunder aimed at other people. On this view they are also a quiet vindication. Everyone who prayed when it seemed pointless will know. Everyone who kept faith with the news when their friends laughed will know.

Which crowd will I be standing in when the finger rises? The words will not change. Only the side of the ground I have chosen to stand on will decide how they sound. And that choice, for now, is still being made.

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.