Surah An-Nahl 16:1

Which was revealed in Makkah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Warning about the approach of the Hour

Allah is informing about the approach of the Hour in the past tense in Arabic in order to confirm that it will undoubtedly come to pass. This is like the following Ayat, in which the verbs appear in the past tense in Arabic:

اقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَـبُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ

(Mankind's reckoning has drawn near them, while they turn away in heedlessness.)21:1

اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ

(The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft.) 54:1

فَلاَ تَسْتَعْجِلُوهُ

(so do not seek to hasten it.) means, what was far is now near, so do not try to rush it. As Allah said,

وَيَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ وَلَوْلاَ أَجَلٌ مُّسَمًّى لَّجَآءَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلَيَأْتِيَنَّهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ - يَسْتَعْجِلُونَكَ بِالْعَذَابِ وَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ لَمُحِيطَةٌ بِالْكَـفِرِينَ

(And they ask you to hasten the torment (for them), and had it not been for a term appointed, the torment would certainly have come to them. And surely, it will come upon them suddenly while they are unaware! They ask you to hasten on the torment. And verily! Hell, of a surety, will encompass the disbelievers) (29:53-54). Ibn Abi Hatim reported from `Uqbah bin `Amir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«تَطْلُعُ عَلَيْكُمْ عِنْدَ السَّاعَةِ سَحَابَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ مِثْلَ التُّرْسِ، فَمَا تَزَالُ تَرْتَفِعُ فِي السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ يُنَادِي مُنَادٍ فِيهَا: يَا أَيُّهَاالنَّاسُ فَيُقْبِلُ النَّاسُ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ: هَلْ سَمِعْتُمْ، فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ: نَعَمْ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَشُكُّ، ثُمَّ يُنَادِي الثَّانِيَةَ: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فَيَقُولُ النَّاسُ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ: هَلْ سَمِعْتُمْ، فَيَقُولُونَ: نَعَمْ، ثُمَّ يُنَادِي الثَّالِثَةَ: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَتَى أَمْرُ اللهِ فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُوه»

(When the Hour approaches, a black cloud resembling a shield will emerge upon from the west. It will continue rising in the sky, then a voice will call out, `O mankind!' The people will say to one another, `Did you hear that' Some will say, `yes', but others will doubt it. Then a second call will come, `O mankind!' The people will say to one another, `Did you hear that' And they will say, `Yes.' Then a third call will come, `O mankind!' The Event ordained by Allah has indeed come, so do not seek to hasten it.') The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«فَوَ الَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، إِنَّ الرَّجُلَيْنِ لَيَنْشُرَانِ الثَّوبَ فَمَا يَطْوِيَانِهِ أَبَدًا، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَمُدَّنَّ حَوْضَهُ فَمَا يَسْقِي فِيهِ شَيْئًا أَبَدًا، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَحْلُبُ نَاقَتَهُ فَمَا يَشْرِبُهُ أَبَدًا قَالَ وَيَشْتَغِلُ النَّاس»

(By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, two men will spread out a cloth, but will never refold it; a man will prepare his trough, but will never water his animals from it; and a man will milk his camel, but will never drink the milk." Then he said, "The people will be distracted.") Then Allah tells us that He is free from their allegations of partners to their worship of idols, and making equals for Him. Glorified and exalted be He far above that. These are the people who deny the Hour, so He says:

سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

(Glorified and Exalted be He above all that they associate as partners with Him. )

Allah menegaskan bahwa ketetapan Allah pasti datang. Maksud ketetapan Allah dalam ayat ini ialah hari kiamat yang telah diancamkan kepada kaum musyrik dan orang-orang kafir. Mereka secara berolok-olok meminta kepada Nabi agar azab hari kiamat itu segera didatangkan. Itulah sebabnya, maka Allah memerintahkan kepada Nabi Muhammad untuk mengatakan bahwa azab Allah yang akan dijatuhkan kepada mereka pasti terjadi. Allah swt melarang mereka agar tidak meminta azab itu disegerakan datangnya, karena azab hari kiamat itu akan datang pada waktu yang telah ditentukan dan diputuskan-Nya.

Dalam ayat ini, Allah swt memberitakan datangnya hari kiamat dengan menggunakan kata kerja bentuk lampau (fi'il madhi) padahal azab itu belum terjadi. Hal ini memberikan pengertian bahwa azab itu betul-betul akan terjadi. Ayat ini mengandung ancaman bagi orang-orang kafir dan sekaligus mengandung pemberitahuan kepada mereka bahwa azab yang akan ditimpakan kepada mereka dan kehancuran mereka telah dekat dan pasti datang.

Allah swt menyatakan bahwa Dia Mahasuci dari apa yang mereka persekutukan. Dia tidak memerlukan sekutu dan pembantu untuk menjatuh-kan azab kepada mereka. Bantahan ini sebagai jawaban terhadap pernyataan mereka bahwa mereka akan meminta bantuan (syafa'at) kepada patung-patung yang mereka sembah.