34:30 Saba (Sheba)

{ قُلْ } لهم - مخبرا بوقت وقوعه الذي لا شك فيه -: { لَكُمْ مِيعَادُ يَوْمٍ لَا تَسْتَأْخِرُونَ عَنْهُ سَاعَةً وَلَا تَسْتَقْدِمُونَ } فاحذروا ذلك اليوم, وأعدوا له عدته.

قال تعالى: " قل لكم ميعاد يوم لا تستأخرون عنه ساعة ولا تستقدمون" أي لكم ميعاد مؤجل ممدود لا يزاد ولا ينقص فإذا جاء فلا يؤخر ساعة ولا يقدم كما قال تعالى: " إن أجل الله إذا جاء لا يؤخر" وقال عز وجل: "وما نؤخره إلا لأجل معدود يوم يأت لا تكلم نفس إلا بإذنه فمنهم شقي وسعيد ".

The Prophet was sent to all of Mankind Allah says to His servant and Messenger Muhammad ﷺ:

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـكَ إِلاَّ كَآفَّةً لِّلنَّاسِ بَشِيراً وَنَذِيراً

(And We have not sent you except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind,) i.e., to all of creation among those who are accountable for their deeds. This is like the Ayah:

قُلْ يَأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا

(Say: "O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah.") (7:158)

تَبَارَكَ الَّذِى نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَـلَمِينَ نَذِيراً

(Blessed be He Who sent down the Criterion to His servant that he may be a warner to the all creatures.) (25:1)

بَشِيراً وَنَذِيراً

a giver of glad tidings and a warner means, to bring the glad tidings of Paradise to those who obey you and to warn of the fire of Hell to those who disobey you. This is like the A0ya0t:

وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ

(and most of men know not.)

وَمَآ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ

(And most of mankind will not believe even if you desire it eagerly. ) (12:103)

وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

(And if you obey most of those on the earth, they will mislead you far away from Allah's path) (6:116). Muhammad bin Ka`b said concerning the Ayah:

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـكَ إِلاَّ كَآفَّةً لِّلنَّاسِ

(And We have not sent you except to all mankind) meaning, to all the people. Qatadah said concerning this Ayah, "Allah, may He be exalted, sent Muhammad ﷺ to both the Arabs and the non-Arabs, so the most honored of them with Allah is the one who is most obedient to Allah." In the Two Sahihs it was reported that Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«أُعْطِيتُ خَمْسًا لَمْ يُعْطَهُنَّ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ قَبْلِي: نُصِرْتُ بِالرُّعْبِ مَسِيرَةَ شَهْرٍ، وَجُعِلَتْ لِيَ الْأَرْضُ مَسْجِدًا وَطَهُورًا، فَأَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَدْرَكَتْهُ الصَّلَاةُ فَلْيُصَلِّ، وَأُحِلَّتْ لِيَ الْغَنَائِمُ وَلَمْ تَحِلَّ لِأَحَدٍ قَبْلِي، وَأُعْطِيتُ الشَّفَاعَةَ، وَكَانَ النَّبِيُّ يُبْعَثُ إِلَى قَوْمِهِ خَاصَّةً وَبُعِثْتُ إِلَى النَّاسِ عَامَّة»

(I have been given five things which were not given to any of the Prophets before me. I have been aided by fear (the distance of ) a month's journey. The entire earth has been made a Masjid and a means of purification for me, so that when the time for prayer comes, any man of my Ummah should pray. The spoils of war have been made permissible for me, whereas they were not permitted for any before me. I have been given the power of intercession; and the Prophets before me were sent to their own people, but I have been sent to all of mankind.)" It was also recorded in the Sahih that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«بُعِثْتُ إِلَى الْأَسْوَدِ وَالْأَحْمَر»

(I have been sent to the black and the red.) Mujahid said, "This means to the Jinn and to mankind." Others said that it meant the Arabs and the non-Arabs. Both meanings are correct.

How the Disbelievers asked about when the Resurrection wouldhappen, and the Response to Them Allah tells us how thedisbelievers believed it unlikely that the Hour would ever come to pass:

وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَى هَـذَا الْوَعْدُ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـدِقِينَ

(And they say: "When is this promise if you are truthful") This is like the Ayah:

يَسْتَعْجِلُ بِهَا الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهَا وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مُشْفِقُونَ مِنْهَا وَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهَا الْحَقُّ

(Those who believe not therein seek to hasten it, while those who believe are fearful of it, and know that it is the very truth...) (42:18) Then Allah says:

قُل لَّكُم مِّيعَادُ يَوْمٍ لاَّ تَسْتَـَخِرُونَ عَنْهُ سَاعَةً وَلاَ تَسْتَقْدِمُونَ

(Say: "The appointment to you is for a Day, which you cannot for an hour move back nor forward.") meaning, `you have an appointed time which is fixed and cannot be changed or altered. When it comes, you will not be able to put it back or bring it forward,' as Allah says:

إِنَّ أَجَلَ اللَّهِ إِذَا جَآءَ لاَ يُؤَخَّرُ

(Verily, the term of Allah when it comes, cannot be delayed) (71:4).

وَمَا نُؤَخِّرُهُ إِلاَّ لاًّجَلٍ مَّعْدُودٍ - يَوْمَ يَأْتِ لاَ تَكَلَّمُ نَفْسٌ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ فَمِنْهُمْ شَقِىٌّ وَسَعِيدٌ

(And We delay it only for a term (already) fixed. On the Day when it comes, no person shall speak except by His leave. Some among them will be wretched and (others) blessed.) (11:104-105).

Say ‘Yours is the tryst of a Day which you can neither defer nor advance by a single hour’ and this is the Day of Resurrection.

Commentary

That Allah is One and that His power is absolute was the subject in previous verses. In the present verse, it is being said that the Holy Prophet ﷺ “ was sent as the Messenger of Allah to all peoples of the world who are there now or will come in the future.

The word: كَافَّةً (Kaaffah) in: كَافَّةً لِلنَاس Kaaffatal-lin-naas: for all peoples) is used in the sense of making something universal and inclusive of all without the exclusion of anyone from it. The grammatical arrangement of the text required saying: لِلنَاس (lin-naasi kaaffatan: for the people as a whole) because the word: (kaaffah: all) is grammatically a hal (adverb) relatable to the word نَاس (naas: people). But, in order to put a clear accent on the universality of the mission of the Last Rasul of Allah, the word: كَافَّةً (Kaaffah: all) was set to come earlier.

The mission of a messenger or prophet assigned to all prophets sent before the Holy Prophet ﷺ was restricted to some particular people and particular geographical area. It is the peculiarity of the Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ ، that his prophetic mission is common and open to all peoples of the world. In fact, it is not simply for human beings, but is so for the Jinns as well. And then, it is not just for those who were present during his blessed time, but is universally applicable to all human generations to come right up to the last day of Qiyamah. And this very fact of the continuity and survival of his mission as prophet and messenger demands that he has to be the Last and Final of the prophets and that no prophet is to come after his appearance. The reason is that another prophet is sent when the law and teachings of the one before him are distorted or altered. Thus, a second prophet is sent to reform the people and reinstate them according to Allah's pleasure. As for the Shari’ ah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and that of His own Book, the Qur'an, right through the last day of Qiyamah, the responsibility of its protection has already been undertaken by Allah Ta’ ala Himself. Therefore, it will hold on and survive till Qiyamah in its original state and there would be no need for some other prophet to be sent.

According to a narration of Sayyidna Jabir ؓ appearing in the Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim and elsewhere, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said: 'I have been given five things that have not been given to anyone else before me: (1) That Allah Ta’ ala helped me by placing in my person such an awe as it is felt by the people from the distance of a month of travel. (2) That the whole earth has been declared to be a masjid and a purifier for me (in the religious codes of past prophets, their worship used to be performed only in particular places set up as houses of worship. Worship was not allowed outside their appointed prayer places, either in the open or inside homes. For the Muslim community, Allah Ta’ ala made the whole earth a masjid in the sense that Salah can be made everywhere - and in the absence of water not being available or its use being harmful, the dust of the earth was made tahur or purifier so that it could be used to make tayammum which becomes a valid alternate of wudu). (3) That property from the spoils has been made halal for me. Before me, it was not halal for any other community (among whom the rule was to assemble the war spoils collected from the disbelieving adversary and deposit it at an appointed place in the belief that some fire or lightening would descend from the heavens and burn it, and this act of burning would itself be the sign of the acceptance of their religious war. For the Muslim community, distributing the spoils in accordance with the rule enunciated by the Qur'an and spending it as needed was made permissible). (4) That I was given the station of the Great Intercession اِلشَّفَاعَت اَلکُبرَیٰ : ash-Shafa'ah al-Kubra) (that is, when no prophet would dare intercede on behalf of others on the fateful plains of the Resurrection [ al-hashr ], I shall, then, be given the opportunity to intercede). (5) That before me, every prophet was sent to his particular people - I have been sent as a prophet to all peoples of the world. (Ibn Kathir)