Surah At-Tur (The Mount): Verse 45

This means: Since it has become clear that they will not return [to the truth], then leave them until they meet [their appointed time]. There are several issues concerning this verse:

The command فَذَرْهُمْ (So leave them) implies that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is no longer permitted to invite them to Islam. This seems contradictory, as the general call to Islam remains. There are several responses to this:

1. Abrogation (Naskh): Some argue that these verses, like others such as ${\text{فَأَعْرِضْ}} (So turn away) (An-Nisa: 63) and {\text{تَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ}} (Turn away from them) (As-Saffat: 78), are abrogated by the verse commanding fighting (Qital). This view is considered weak.
2. Threat/Warning: The command does not mean literal abandonment of Da'wah, but rather a threat. It is like a master telling someone who advises against punishing a guilty servant: "Leave him; he will soon face the consequences of his crime."
3. Targeting the Obstinate: The command targets those who show clear, persistent obstinacy, not the general populace. The Prophet (PBUH) was commanded to call all creation generally. It is possible that the address here is to those whose obstinacy has not yet become fully manifest. This is supported by the preceding verse: {\text{فَذَكِّرْ فَمَا أَنتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِكَاهِنٍ وَلَا مَجْنُونٍ}} (So remind, for by the grace of your Lord you are not a soothsayer or a madman) (At-Tur: 29). Here, those who remind are the compassionate ones who said: {\text{إِنَّا كُنَّا قَبْلُ فِي أَهْلِنَا مُشْفِقِينَ}} (Indeed, we were before among our people, feeling apprehensive) (At-Tur: 26). Conversely, those who are left alone are those who said: {\text{شَاعِرٌ نَّتَرَبَّصُ بِهِ رَيْبَ الْمَنُونِ}} (A poet, we await for him some misfortune/time) (At-Tur: 30), and others like them.

The particle حَتَّىٰ (until) here can have two main interpretations:

1. Ultimate Limit (Ghayah): Allah is saying: "Leave them until that Day, and do not speak to them. Then, on that Day, speak to them again, saying: 'Did I not tell you that the Hour is coming, that the Reckoning will occur, and the punishment will endure?'"
2. Purpose/Causality (Ta'lil): حَتَّىٰ is used in the sense of the particle لَام (li, for/so that), as in the saying: "Do not feed him until he dies" (meaning: so that he dies, implying the cessation of feeding upon death). The particle لَام of purpose carries the meaning of a limit, and thus the meaning of both limit and cause can be present. This is likely the meaning in {\text{وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ}} (And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty) (Al-Hijr: 99)—meaning, until certainty comes.

If someone asks: "Do not the believers also meet that Day?" The answer is that the context of {\text{يُصْعَقُونَ}} (they will be struck down/perish) refers to annihilation. The sincere admonisher (the believer) will not perish; he is excepted, as in {\text{فَصُعِقَ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا مَن شَاءَ اللَّهُ}} (And the Trumpet will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and all who are on earth will swoon away, except whom Allah wills) (Az-Zumar: 68).

We have previously explained that whoever acknowledges the truth and knows the Day of Reckoning is coming will be like one who knows thunder is rumbling and prepares to hear it. The heedless person, however, will be startled when the blast occurs. Thus, the threat of "meeting their Day" applies specifically to the Day characterized by this striking down/perishing.

This is analogous to the verse: {\text{لَوْلَا أَن تَدَارَكَهُ نِعْمَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ لَنُبِذَ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ}} (Had it not been that a grace from his Lord reached him, he would have been cast out onto the bare ground while he was blameworthy) (Al-Qalam: 49). The negated element is not the casting out onto the bare ground (which actually happened, as per {\text{فَنَبَذْنَاهُ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ}} [So We cast him out onto the bare ground while he was sick] (As-Saffat: 145)), but rather the casting out while being blameworthy. That specific condition was not met.

The particle حَتَّىٰ causes the following future verb to be either in the subjunctive mood (mansub) or the indicative mood (marfu').

The distinction is:

• If the future action is anticipated and not currently happening, the verb is in the subjunctive (mansub). Example: "I studied jurisprudence until my rank would be elevated" (حَتَّىٰ تَرْتَفِعَ دَرَجَتِي).
• If the future action is happening concurrently (present/immediate), the verb is in the indicative (marfu'). Example: "I repeat [this] until my strength fails, then I sleep" (حَتَّىٰ تَسْقُطَ قُوَّتِي ثُمَّ أَنَامُ).

The reason for the subjunctive mood is that حَتَّىٰ (like لَام of purpose) indicates the ultimate goal (Ghayah), and the goal is the limit of the action. Thus, {\text{حَتَّىٰ يُلَاقُوا}} is like {\text{لِيُلَاقُوا}} (so that they meet), both implying the hidden particle أَنْ (an).

If one asks why the reason for the subjunctive (anticipation) and indicative (concurrence) was not explicitly stated: When a future verb is anticipated, it is mentally focused upon and awaited. The verb is then expressed using the form that signifies its meaning (the subjunctive form). This is similar to how the mudaf (possessed noun) is grammatically governed by the mudaf ilayh (possessor) in meaning, even though it is only governed in sound.

This is supported by the fact that the subjunctive mood is established by particles like أَنْ, لَنْ, كَيْ, and إِذًا, all of which necessitate the future tense. Particles that restrict the verb to the present tense prevent the subjunctive mood (e.g., you cannot say إِنَّ فُلَانًا لَيَضْرِبُ).

If one asks why السين (Sīn) and سَوْفَ (Sawfa), which exclusively denote the future, do not cause the subjunctive mood (as seen in {\text{عَلِمَ أَن سَيَكُونُ مِنكُم مَّرْضَىٰ}}$ [He knew that there would be among you the sick] (Al-Muzzammil: 20)), the answer is: سَوْفَ and السين only establish the fact of the future, not a meaning within the future. أَنْ and لَنْ, however, mean that the action cannot occur except in the future.

Therefore, السين only confirms the future tense without establishing a specific meaning within that future. The anticipated event is the meaning within the future, not the future itself.

Example: When you say, "I worship Allah كَيْ (so that) He forgives me" (كَيْ يَغْفِرَ لِي), you establish a purpose (forgiveness) which is in the future. When you say, "I seek Your forgiveness, my Lord, سَوْفَ (soon) He will forgive me" (سَوْفَ يَغْفِرُ لِي), you establish the future timing of the forgiveness. There is a difference between stating that the purpose of the speech is to indicate the future, where the meaning itself exists in the future (requiring the subjunctive), and stating that the purpose is to indicate a specific meaning that occurs in the future (requiring the future tense marker).