Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ

Meccan. Its verses are one hundred and twelve.

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

"The reckoning for mankind has drawn near, while they are in heedlessness, turning away."

The Exegesis:

• "The reckoning for mankind has drawn near": The time for their reckoning has approached, and everything that is approaching is near. It is said that the "reckoning" here refers to the Day of Resurrection.
• "While they are in heedlessness": They are in a state of deep negligence regarding the preparation for it.
• "Turning away": They are turning away from the admonitions and the signs that would awaken them from their heedlessness.

Regarding the lam (in li-n-nās): It must either be connected to the verb iqtaraba (drew near), or serve as an emphasis for the attribution of the "account" to them. It is like saying: "The departure of the tribe has drawn near" (azafa li-l-ḥayyi raḥīluhum). The original structure is: "The tribe’s departure has drawn near" (azafa raḥīlu l-ḥayyi), then "The departure has drawn near for the tribe" (azafa li-l-ḥayyi r-raḥīlu), then "Their departure has drawn near for the tribe" (azafa li-l-ḥayyi raḥīluhum).

Sibawayh cites similar examples in the "Chapter on what is repeated for emphasis," such as: "Zayd is eager for you, for you" (ʿalayka Zaydun ḥarīṣun ʿalayka), and "Zayd desires you, in you" (fīka Zaydun rāghibun fīka). From this also comes the expression: "May you have no father" (lā abā laka), as the lam emphasizes the meaning of the attribution. This second interpretation is more obscure than the first.

The meaning: The intent is the approach of the Hour. When the Hour draws near, everything within it—the account, the reward, the punishment, and so on—also draws near. Similar to this is: "And the true promise has drawn near" (Al-Anbiya: 97).

If you ask: How is it described as "near" when more than five hundred years have passed since this statement? I say: It is near in the sight of Allah. The evidence is His saying: "And they urge you to hasten the punishment... and indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of those which you count" (Al-Hajj: 47). Furthermore, everything that is to come is "near," even if the time of its arrival and anticipation is long; only that which has already occurred and passed is "far." Additionally, what remains of this world is shorter and less than what has already passed, as evidenced by the sending of the Seal of the Prophets, whose mission was promised for the end of time. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "I have been sent at the breath of the Hour." In the sermon of one of the predecessors: "The world has turned its back, and nothing remains of it except the dregs, like the dregs of a vessel." When the remainder of something—even if it is large in itself—is small in relation to the majority of it, it is fitting to describe it as little and short-lived.

Regarding "the people" (an-nās): Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The intent is the polytheists. This is an instance of using a generic noun to refer to a specific group due to the existing evidence, which is the description of the polytheists that follows.

Their state: He describes them as being in a state of heedlessness combined with turning away. This means they are oblivious to their account, distracted, not reflecting on their end, and not realizing the final outcome of their affairs—even though their intellects dictate that there must be a recompense for the doer of good and the doer of evil. When they are warned and awakened from the slumber of heedlessness, and when they are made to realize this through the verses and warnings recited to them, they turn away, block their ears, and flee.

"No new reminder comes to them from their Lord except that they listen to it while they play, their hearts distracted. And those who do wrong conceal their private conversation: 'Is this anything but a human being like you? Will you then approach magic while you see?'"