“When the decree falls upon them, We shall bring forth for them a creature from the earth, which will speak to them: ‘Indeed, the people had no certainty in Our signs.’ (82)”

His saying, exalted is He, “When the decree falls upon them” means: when punishment becomes due upon them. Qatadah said: “When Allah becomes angry with them.” “We shall bring forth for them a creature from the earth, which will speak to them.” The scholars differed regarding what it will say. Al-Suddi said: “It will speak to them of the invalidity of all religions other than Islam.” Others said: Its speech will be that it says to one person, “This is a believer,” and to another, “This is a disbeliever.” (1)

It was also said that its speech is what Allah, exalted is He, says: “Indeed, the people had no certainty in Our signs.” Muqatil said: “It will speak to them in Arabic, saying: ‘Indeed, the people had no certainty in Our signs,’ informing the people that the inhabitants of Mecca did not believe in the Quran or in the Resurrection.”

The reciters of Kufa read “that the people” with the initial vowel in the accusative form, meaning: “because the people had no certainty in Our signs.” The rest read it with the initial vowel in the indicative form, as a new sentence: “Indeed, the people had no certainty in Our signs before its emergence.” Ibn Umar said: “That will be when what is right is no longer enjoined and what is wrong is no longer forbidden.” (2)

Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Asim al-Jahdari, and Abu Raja al-Ataridi recited it as “it will wound them,” with an open initial letter and a lightened second consonant, derived from al-kalm, meaning wounding. Abu al-Jawza said: “I asked Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, about this verse: ‘Will it speak to them, or will it wound them?’ He replied: ‘It will do both: it will speak to the believer and wound the disbeliever.’” (3)

Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn al-Fadl al-Khiraqi informed us; Abu al-Hasan al-Taysafuni informed us; Abd Allah ibn Umar al-Jawhari informed us; Ahmad ibn Ali al-Kushmihan informed us; Ali ibn Hujr informed us; Isma'il ibn Ja'far informed us; al-Ala ibn Abd al-Rahman informed us, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Hasten to perform righteous deeds before six things: the rising of the sun from its west, the smoke, the Dajjal, the Beast of the Earth, the death of one of you, and the coming of the Hour.” (4)

Isma'il ibn Abd Allah informed us; Abd al-Ghafir ibn Muhammad al-Farisi informed us; Muhammad ibn Isa al-Juludi informed us; Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sufyan informed us; Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj informed us; Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah informed us.