Ash-Shura: ( 17 ) Allah Who revealed...

"Allah is the One Who revealed the Book"—referring to the genus of the Book, the known Book, or all the Books—"with the truth"—meaning, accompanied by the truth, far removed from falsehood in its rulings and reports, or accompanied by what is true and necessary regarding beliefs and ordinances—"and the balance"—that is, justice, as stated by Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, and others; or the Law (Shari'ah) by which rights are weighed and people are equalized. On both interpretations, there is a metaphor involved, and attributing the act of "sending down" (inzal) to it is figurative because it is a characteristic of physical bodies, whereas what is truly sent down is the message conveyed. Some have interpreted this as the "command," meaning He sent down the command for the balance; this is critiqued by the fact that it also requires interpretation. It may be said that attributing "sending down"—and likewise "descending"—to the command is very common, so it has become akin to the literal. It is permissible to use "sending down" figuratively, and the same may be said regarding "sent down the Book."

According to Mujahid, the "balance" is the well-known tool; on this view, its "sending down" is literal. It is also permissible that it refers to the command to use it. The former is considered more likely, based on what al-Zamakhshari narrated in Surat al-Hadid: that it was sent down to Noah and he was commanded to weigh with it. That the intended meaning is the "balance of deeds" is far-fetched here.

"And what makes you know"—that is, what thing makes you aware—"perhaps the Hour"—meaning the arrival of the Hour of which the Truth-speaking Book has informed; the discourse implies a genitive addition. His saying, the Exalted: "is near"—is in reality the predicate for it, because the omitted word, given the context, is like the explicitly stated one, and this is one view regarding why it is in the masculine form. It is also suggested that it is by interpreting "the Hour" as "the Resurrection," or that "near" (qareeb) is of the category of "ta'mur" (often) or "la'ban" (play), meaning "possessing nearness," in addition to other viewpoints previously mentioned regarding His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near."

In any case, the meaning is that the Hour is on the verge of arriving; so follow the Book, persist in justice, and act according to the Law before you are surprised by the Day in which deeds will be weighed and their recompense fully paid.