An-Nazi'at · Makki · ayah 42 of 46

An-Nazi'at 79:42

يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلسَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَىٰهَا

“They ask you, [O Muḥammad], about the Hour: when is its arrival?[1848]”

Saheeh International

Essence

They ask when the Hour will drop anchor, as if knowing the date would help; the question that matters is whether we are ready.

A reflection

When will the ship come to rest?

A great ship has been visible on the horizon for days. At first it is a smudge, then a shape, then clearly a vessel making for the harbour. Everyone on the quay knows it is coming. Nobody knows exactly when it will drop anchor. When it finally does, the chain roars, the hull settles, and it will not move again.

The deniers' question uses exactly that word. Ayyāna mursāhā: when is its anchoring? The surah used the root r-s-w for the mountains a few ayat ago (79:32). It is standing fast, like a ship held by its anchor or resting on the seabed. That image is established in the lexicons.

One early grammarian asked the obvious question. Anchoring is for ships and mountains; how can the Hour be said to anchor? His answer: it is like a ship that was moving and then comes to rest. Its 'anchoring' is its becoming established, the way one says justice has 'stood' when it has appeared and taken hold. Another commentator adds a note on weight. The Arabs use irsāʾ only for heavy things, a ship's mooring, the mountains' fixing. The word itself hints at how heavy that Day will be.

So the question is not idle. The Hour is pictured as something vast already on its way, which will one day settle and never move again. The deniers asked 'when?' in mockery. But the image they used concedes that it is coming.

The surah that began with mountains being anchored ends by asking when the Hour will be. What holds the world steady now will be lifted; what is on its way will settle in its place.

On the quay, the wise do not argue about the minute of arrival. They get the ropes ready.

If the Hour is already on the horizon, what ropes do you need to make ready today?

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.