Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:15

His saying, "Indeed, the Hour is coming," is an explanation for the necessity of worship and the establishment of prayer. That is, it is happening inevitably. He expressed this with "coming" (al-ityan) to confirm its occurrence by presenting it in the context of a factual matter directed toward the addressed.

"I almost conceal it" (akādu ukhfīhā): [It means] I am closer to concealing the Hour than to revealing it by saying, "It is coming." Were it not for the fact that informing [you] of it contains grace and the severing of excuses, I would not have done so. The summary is: I am on the verge of—meaning I am exaggerating in—concealing it, so I do not summarize it, just as I do not detail it. Proximity here is figurative, as Abu Hayyan has stipulated.

Alternatively, it is intended to mean concealing its specific time and not revealing it. This is the view of al-Akhfash, Ibn al-Anbari, and Abu Muslim. From the occurrence of kāda (to be on the verge of) meaning arāda (to intend/want), as Ibn Jinni said in al-Muhtasib regarding the verse: kādat wa-kudtu wa-tilka khayru irādah... (I almost did, and I was about to, and that is the best of intentions...).

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas and Ja'far al-Sadiq—may Allah be pleased with them—that the meaning is: "I almost conceal it from Myself." This is supported by the fact that it is written thus in the codex (Mushaf) of Ubayy. Ibn Khalawayh narrated it from them with the addition: "So how could I show it to you?" In some recitations, it appears with the addition: "So how could I show it to you?" And in the codex of Abdullah with the addition: "So how could any created being know it?"

This is understood according to the custom of the Arabs, for when one of them intends to exaggerate the concealment of something, he says: "I almost hid it from myself." An example of this is the saying: Days when Hind would keep me company, and I would tell her of news I almost hid even from myself.

Similar to this kind of exaggeration is the saying of the Prophet (ﷺ) in the Hadith of the seven whom [Allah] will shade under His shade: "...and a man who gave charity and concealed it until his left hand did not know what his right hand was spending." By treating this as a form of exaggeration, the objection that "concealing it from His own Self is impossible, therefore the entry of kāda upon it is inappropriate" is repelled. There is no need for the argument that "from Myself" means "from My own spontaneity and from My presence." The proof that this is omitted is its inclusion in the codices, and the fact that it is an external piece of evidence does not harm the case, for a piece of evidence does not require its presence within the utterance itself.

It was said: The evidence for it is that ukhfīhā (I conceal it) must have a related object—that is, the one from whom it is concealed—and it cannot be the creation, because Allah has concealed it from them, per His saying: "Indeed, Allah—with Him is the knowledge of the Hour." Thus, what was mentioned becomes necessary. The response to this is that the invalidity of estimating [the object as] "the creation" is denied, for it is permissible to intend the concealment of its details and specific timing. Furthermore, it is permissible that no object be estimated for it at all, and the meaning is: "I cause its concealment, and I do not say that it is coming."

Abu Ali said: The meaning is "I almost reveal it" by causing it to happen, on the condition that ukhfīhā is from the words of negation (salb), meaning "I remove its khifā' (covering)." Khifā' is, in its original sense, that which a waterskin or the like is wrapped in, such as a garment or similar. Among such usage is the saying of Imru' al-Qays: So if you bury the ailment, we shall not uncover it (lā nukhfīhi), and if you ignite war, we shall not sit back. This is supported by the recitation of Abu Darda, Ibn Jubayr, al-Hasan, Mujahid, and Humayd—and it is narrated from Ibn Kathir and Asim—as akhfīhā (with a fatha on the Hamza), for khafāhu meaning "to reveal it" is established, and nothing else, according to the famous linguistic view. Abu Ubaydah said—as recounted by Abu al-Khattab, one of the leaders of linguistics—that khafaytu and akhfaytu mean the same thing. The object of "concealment" (on the interpretation of the majority's recitation and "revealing") is not the same thing, so the two recitations do not conflict.

A group said: The predicate of kāda is omitted: "I am on the verge of bringing it," just as it was omitted in the saying of Sabi’ al-Burjami: I intended, but did not act, and I almost [did]...—meaning "and I almost did [it]." Then the sentence concludes, and he begins a new statement that He, the Exalted, conceals it. An-Nahhas chose this view.

Another group said: Akādu is superfluous and has no entry into the meaning. Rather, the intent is to inform that the Hour is coming and that Allah—the Exalted—conceals the time of its arrival. This meaning is narrated from Ibn Jubayr. They argued for the superfluity of kāda with the verse: "He almost does not see it," and the saying of Zayd al-Khayl: Swift to attack, his weapon ready; his opponent almost does not breathe. There is no proof in that, as is not hidden.

"[So that] every soul may be recompensed for that which it strives" (15): This is related to ātiyah (coming), as the author of al-Lawāmi' and others have said. What is between them is an interjection, not a description; otherwise, it would necessitate the operation of the described active participle, which is not permitted according to the Basrans. Alternatively, it is related to ukhfīhā (I conceal it), on the condition that the intent is "I reveal it," not "I cover it," for there is no basis for saying "I cover it for the sake of the recompense."

Some allowed this, arguing that the obscuring of its time is so that it is awaited hour by hour, causing one to be wary of sin and diligent in obedience. This was refuted as being manifest artifice, and it has no validity unless estimated as: "so that [the soul] may await the recompense" or "so that it may fear and dread." Mā is a masdariyyah (nominalizing) particle, meaning: "So that it may be recompensed for its striving and its work; if good, then good, and if evil, then evil." This generalization is the apparent meaning.

It was said: "So that it may be recompensed for its striving in attaining the matters that were commanded." Specifying this in the context of the purpose of its coming—despite the fact that it is for the recompense of every soul for whatever proceeded from it, whether it was striving for what was mentioned, or total dereliction of it, or striving for the opposite—is to signal that the primary intention of its coming is the rewarding of worship. As for punishment for abandoning it, that is among the consequences of the sinners' own choice. Also, because the commanded is in the strength of an obligation, and the Hour is in the intensity of its horror and dread such that they necessitate every soul to strive in complying with the command, and to exert effort in attaining the acts of obedience that save it, and to be wary of committing the sins that ruin it.

This is not hidden in what it contains. It was also said that mā is a relative pronoun (mawsūlah), meaning "for that which it strives in." In this, there is an omission of the pronoun linked by a preposition while its condition is missing. It was answered that it is permissible for the speaker not to require such a condition. It was also said: it is estimated as an accusative due to expansion.