وَ الَّذِیْنَ But those who كَذَّبُوْا denied بِاٰیٰتِنَا Our Signs سَنَسْتَدْرِجُهُمْ We will gradually lead them مِّنْ from حَیْثُ where لَا not یَعْلَمُوْنَۚۖ they know وَ اُمْلِیْ And I will give respite لَهُمْ ۫ؕ to them اِنَّ Indeed كَیْدِیْ My plan مَتِیْنٌ (is) firm اَوَ لَمْ Do not یَتَفَكَّرُوْا ٚ they reflect مَا Not بِصَاحِبِهِمْ in their companion مِّنْ [of] جِنَّةٍ ؕ (is) any madness اِنْ Not هُوَ he اِلَّا (is) but نَذِیْرٌ a warner مُّبِیْنٌ clear اَوَ لَمْ Do not یَنْظُرُوْا they look فِیْ in مَلَكُوْتِ (the) dominion السَّمٰوٰتِ (of) the heavens وَ الْاَرْضِ and the earth وَ مَا and what خَلَقَ has (been) created اللّٰهُ (by) Allah مِنْ of شَیْءٍ ۙ (every)thing وَّ اَنْ and that عَسٰۤی perhaps اَنْ [that] یَّكُوْنَ has قَدِ verily اقْتَرَبَ come near اَجَلُهُمْ ۚ their term فَبِاَیِّ So in what حَدِیْثٍۭ statement بَعْدَهٗ after this یُؤْمِنُوْنَ will they believe مَنْ Whoever یُّضْلِلِ (is) let go astray اللّٰهُ (by) Allah فَلَا then (there is) no هَادِیَ guide لَهٗ ؕ for him وَ یَذَرُهُمْ And He leaves them فِیْ in طُغْیَانِهِمْ their transgression یَعْمَهُوْنَ wandering blindly یَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ They ask you عَنِ about السَّاعَةِ the Hour اَیَّانَ when will be مُرْسٰىهَا ؕ its appointed time قُلْ Say اِنَّمَا Only عِلْمُهَا its knowledge عِنْدَ (is) with رَبِّیْ ۚ my Lord لَا no (one) یُجَلِّیْهَا can reveal [it] لِوَقْتِهَاۤ its time اِلَّا except هُوَ ؔۘؕ Him ثَقُلَتْ It lays heavily فِی in السَّمٰوٰتِ the heavens وَ الْاَرْضِ ؕ and the earth لَا Not تَاْتِیْكُمْ will it come to you اِلَّا but بَغْتَةً ؕ suddenly یَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ They ask you كَاَنَّكَ as if you حَفِیٌّ (were) well informed عَنْهَا ؕ about it قُلْ Say اِنَّمَا Only عِلْمُهَا its knowledge عِنْدَ (is) with اللّٰهِ Allah وَ لٰكِنَّ but اَكْثَرَ most النَّاسِ (of) the people لَا (do) not یَعْلَمُوْنَ know 7. Al-A'raf Page 175 قُلْ Say لَّاۤ Not اَمْلِكُ I have power لِنَفْسِیْ for myself نَفْعًا (to) benefit وَّ لَا and no ضَرًّا (power to) harm اِلَّا except مَا what شَآءَ wills اللّٰهُ ؕ Allah وَ لَوْ And if كُنْتُ I would اَعْلَمُ know الْغَیْبَ (of) the unseen لَا سْتَكْثَرْتُ surely I could have multiplied مِنَ of الْخَیْرِ ۛۖۚ the good وَ مَا and not مَسَّنِیَ (could) have touched me السُّوْٓءُ ۛۚ the evil اِنْ Not اَنَا (am) I اِلَّا except نَذِیْرٌ a warner وَّ بَشِیْرٌ and a bearer of good tidings لِّقَوْمٍ to a people یُّؤْمِنُوْنَ۠ who believe
(7:182) As for those who reject Our signs as false, We shall lead them, step by step, to their ruin without their even perceiving it.
(7:183) And (for this purpose) I will grant them respite. My design is incontrovertible.
(7:184) Have they not pondered that their companion [i.e. the Prophet Muhammad] is not afflicted with insanity? He is only a plain warner.
(7:185) Have they not observed the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and all that Allah has created143 and that their term of life might have drawn near144 After this warning from the Prophet, what will it be that will make them believe?
(7:186) For those whom Allah lets go astray, there is no guide; and He will leave them in their transgression to stumble blindly.
(7:187) They ask you concerning the Hour, when will its coming be? Say: 'The knowledge of it is with my Lord alone: none but He will disclose it at its time. That will weigh heavily on the heavens and the earth; and it shall not come to you other than all of a sudden.' They ask you - as if you are eagerly inquisitive about it - concerning it. Say to them: 'The knowledge of it is with none except Allah. But most people are unaware of this reality.'
(7:188) Tell them [O Muhammad]: 'I have no power to benefit or harm myself except as Allah may please. And had I knowledge of the unseen, I should have amassed all kinds of good, and no evil would have ever touched me.145 I am merely a warner and the herald of glad tidings to those who have faith.'
143. The word 'companion' here refers to the Prophet (peace be on him) who was born, brought up, grew into youth, in short, spent his whole life including his old age in their midst. Before the advent of his prophethood, Muhammad (peace be on him) was known to all the Quraysh as good natured and of sound mind. However, as he started calling people to accept the Message of God, they immediately dubbed him insane. Now it is obvious that they were not attributing insanity to him as regards his pre-prophetic life, for they had nothing evil to say about that period of his life. The charge of insanity, therefore, was levelled against the Message he began to preach when he was designated a Prophet.
The Qur'an, therefore, asks them to give serious thought to the teachings of the Prophet (peace be on him) and to see if there is anything that is inconsistent with sanity, or is meaningless and irrational. Had people reflected on the order of the universe, or carefully considered even one single creation of God, they would have been convinced of the truth of the teachings of the Prophet (peace be on him). They would have realized that whatever he said to refute polytheism, or to establish God's unity or the accountability of man in the Hereafter, or about the necessity of man's surrender to God, was corroborated by the entire order of the universe and every single atom of God's creation.
144. The unbelievers, feeble-minded as they are, fail to understand that no one knows when he will die. For death overtakes man totally unawares. This being the case, what will be the end of those who waste the time at their disposal until death overtakes them and fail to find the direction to their salvation?
145. The time of the advent of the Last Day is known to God alone Who knows the Unseen which, in fact, is not known even to the Prophet (peace be on him). Being human, he is not aware what the morrow has in store for him and his family. Had his knowledge encompassed everything - even things that lie beyond the ken of sense-perception and events that lie hidden in the future - he would have accumulated immense benefit and would have been able to avoid a great deal of loss owing to such foreknowledge. That being the case, it is sheer naivety to ask the Prophet about the actual time for the advent of the Last Day.