وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا يَوْمُ ٱلْفَصْلِ 14
Translations
And what can make you know what is the Day of Judgement?
Transliteration
Wa mā adrāka mā yawmu al-faṣl
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah introduces the concept of Yawm al-Faṣl (the Day of Judgment/Separation), emphasizing that human understanding cannot fully comprehend the magnitude and reality of that Day. The rhetorical question 'What will make you know what the Day of Judgment is?' conveys the incomprehensibility of that Day's events and severity, as classical scholars like Al-Qurtubi note that this phrasing appears multiple times in Surah Al-Mursalat to stress the Day's overwhelming nature. Ibn Kathir emphasizes that only Allah truly knows the full reality of that Day, while humans can only understand it partially through revelation.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within the Meccan context of Surah Al-Mursalat, which focuses on the inevitability of the Day of Judgment and warns the disbelievers. The surah's recurring phrase 'Waylun yawma'idhin lil-mukadhdhbīn' (Woe that Day to the deniers) frames this ayah as part of a comprehensive warning about the Last Day. The theme reflects the Meccan period's emphasis on eschatology to motivate belief and righteousness.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The Day of Judgment will not be established until... the sun has risen from the west,' indicating the extraordinary and inconceivable nature of events on that Day (Sahih Bukhari 3209). Additionally, the Prophet described the length of that Day as fifty thousand years, emphasizing its incomprehensibility to human minds (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3245).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that the Day of Judgment transcends human comprehension and imagination, calling us to humble submission before Allah's infinite knowledge and power. The rhetorical question should inspire deep reflection on our deeds and sincere repentance, recognizing that we cannot fully grasp what awaits us in the Afterlife.
Related Ayahs
وَتَسِيرُ ٱلْجِبَالُ سَيْرًا
And the mountains will pass on, departing -
يَقُولُ يَـٰلَيْتَنِى قَدَّمْتُ لِحَيَاتِى
He will say, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life."
وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَـٰذَا ٱلْوَعْدُ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ
And they say, "When is [the fulfillment of] this promise, if you should be truthful?"
وَنُفِخَ فِى ٱلصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّا مَن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۖ ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِيهِ أُخْرَىٰ فَإِذَا هُمْ قِيَامٌ يَنظُرُونَ
And the Horn will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall dead except whom Allāh wills. Then it will be blown again, and at once they will be standing, looking on.