ﲛ ﲜ ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ
And to Allah belongs the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth. And the command for the Hour is not but as a glance of the eye or even nearer. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.
Tafsir
Verse range: 16:77
It means that the knowledge of what is hidden from the servants within them is exclusive to Him, and its knowledge is concealed from them.
Alternatively, by "the Unseen of the heavens and the earth," He meant the Day of Resurrection, on the basis that its knowledge is hidden from the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, and none of them have been informed of it.
It means that it is [imminent] with Allah, even if it seems delayed. Just as you say regarding something you consider near: "It is like the glance of the eye, or it is nearer," when you wish to emphasize its proximity.
Similar to this is His saying: { And they urge you to hasten the punishment, but Allah will never fail in His promise. And indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of those which you count } (Al-Hajj: 47). That is, it is near to Him, while it is distant to you.
It is also said: The meaning is that the establishment of the Hour, the causing of the living to die, and the resurrection of the dead from the first and the last, will occur in the quickest and most immediate time.
He is capable of establishing the Hour and resurrecting the creation, for it is among the things that are within His power. Then, He indicated His power through what follows.
