ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ ﳀ ﳁ ﳂ ﳃ ﳄ ﳅ ﳆ ﳇ ﳈ ﳉ
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.
Tafsir
Verse range: 2:186
"For indeed, I am near."
This is a metaphor for His state regarding the ease with which He answers those who call upon Him, and the speed with which He fulfills the needs of those who ask Him. It is likened to the state of someone whose position is near, such that when he is called, his response is swift. Similar to this is His saying: "And We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein" (Qaf: 16), and the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "He is between you and the necks of your mounts."
It is narrated that a Bedouin said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): "Is our Lord near, so that we may converse with Him in secret, or is He far, so that we may call out to Him?" Consequently, this verse was revealed.
"So let them respond to Me"
Meaning: When I call them to faith and obedience, just as I answer them when they call upon Me for their needs.
(Note: The words "yurshidūn" and "yarshudūn" were recited with both the fathah and the kasrah on the letter shin.)
"It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations]. They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them. Allah knew that you used to deceive yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and forgave you. So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the night. And do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the mosques. These are the limits [set by] Allah, so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His verses to the people that they may become righteous."
