ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲ ﲳ ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ
Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient.
Tafsir
Verse range: 57:16
{ألم يأن} Derived from anā al-amr ya’nī, meaning when its ināh—that is, its time—has arrived. It is also recited as alam ya’in, from āna ya’īn, which carries the same meaning.
Context of Revelation: It is said that they were in a state of drought in Mecca, but when they migrated, they attained provision and prosperity, causing them to slacken in their previous state of devotion; thus, this verse was revealed.
Ibn Mas‘ūd said: "There were only four years between our acceptance of Islam and our being rebuked by this verse."
Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "Allah found the hearts of the believers to be slow [in softening], so He rebuked them thirteen years after the revelation of the Qur’an began."
Al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Allah, He found them slow, yet they were reading less of the Qur’an than you read. Look at how long you have been reading it, and look at the corruption that has appeared among you."
Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) had this verse recited in his presence while some people from Yamāma were with him. They wept intensely, and upon seeing them, he said: "We were like this, until the hearts hardened."
{ولا يكونوا} This is a conjunction linked to takhsha‘a (that their hearts should humble). It is also recited with a tā’ (i.e., wa-lā takūnū), indicating a shift in address. It may also be interpreted as a prohibition against them imitating the People of the Book in the hardening of their hearts after having been rebuked. This is because, for the Children of Israel, the Truth used to stand between them and their desires; when they heard the Torah and the Gospel, they would humble themselves before Allah and their hearts would soften. But when time grew long for them, harshness and hardness overcame them, and they differed and introduced what they introduced of distortion and other things.
{لذكر الله وما نزل من الحق} If you ask: "What is the meaning of 'the remembrance of Allah and what has been revealed of the Truth'?" I say: It is possible that both refer to the Qur’an, as it combines both: remembrance and admonition, and it is the Truth revealed from heaven. It is also possible that it refers to the humbling of their hearts when Allah is remembered and when the Qur’an is recited, similar to His saying: "The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them..." (Al-Anfāl: 2).
{الأمد} He intended by al-amad the term/appointed time, as in the saying: "When its term (amad) ends." It is also recited as al-amad (with a fatḥa), meaning the longest time.
{وكثير منهم فاسقون} Meaning: those who have departed from their religion and rejected what was in the two Books.
{اعلموا أن الله يحيي الأرض بعد موتها قد بينا لكم الآيات لعلكم تعقلون} "Know that Allah gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. We have made clear to you the signs; perhaps you will understand."
