Tafsir of Al-Jinn 72:25

Surah Al-Jinn (The Jinn): (Verse 25) Say, "I do not know..."

Tafsir:

Muqatil said: When they (the disbelievers) heard His saying: $\text{{Until, when they see what they are promised, they will know who is weaker in helpers and fewer in number}} (Al-Jinn: 24), An-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith said: When will this that we are threatened with occur? So Allah revealed: \text{{Say, "I do not know if what you are promised is near or if my Lord has set for it a distant term."}}

The meaning is that its occurrence is certain, but the time of its occurrence is unknown.

His saying, \text{{or if my Lord has set for it a distant term (amadan)}} means an end point and a far limit. This is like His saying: \text{{And I do not know if that which you are promised is near or far}} (Al-Anbiyā’: 109).

Objection: Did he not say, "I have been sent and the Hour are like these two (fingers)?" (A reference to the closeness of the Hour). So how does He say here that He does not know if it is near or far?

Answer: The intended meaning of the closeness (of the Hour) is that what remains of the world is less than what has passed. This degree of closeness is known. However, the meaning of knowing the imminent closeness versus the absence of that (specific knowledge) is not known.

Tafsir:

(He is) the Knower of the Unseen (Ghayb), meaning He knows what is hidden from creation. And He does not disclose His Unseen to anyone, meaning He does not reveal the specifics of the Unseen to anyone.

Except to whom He chooses of a messenger (Rasūl). For indeed, He sends before him and behind him observers (Raṣadan). This means that when Allah reveals something to a messenger, He places observers (angels) before him and behind him to guard the revelation, ensuring that no falsehood or error enters it, and that the messenger only conveys what he has been commanded to convey.