Surah Ya-Sin 36:48
سُورَةُ يسٓ · Meccan · Verse 48 of 83
وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَٰذَا ٱلْوَعْدُ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ
Translation
And they say, ‘When will this promise be fulfilled, if what you say is true?’
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'And they say: When will this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful?' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note this is the recurring taunt of the deniers, treating the unknown timing of the reckoning as if it were proof against the reckoning. The demand for a date is a dodge disguised as a question. Ask yourself: I have my own version, 'if there were really consequences, wouldn't they have come by now?' I let the delay of an outcome quietly persuade me it will never arrive. But a promise is not disproven by being unscheduled. Where am I trading on 'not yet' as though it meant 'never', and relaxing into a deadline I cannot actually see?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Ya-Sin 36:48 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.