will the rain fall? I left my wife pregnant, so when will she give birth? I know where I was born, but in what land will I die?” So Allah revealed this verse: “Indeed, Allah alone has knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die.” (1)

Ubayy ibn Ka‘b recited it: “in which land,” while the well-known recitation is: “in what land,” because the word for “land” bears none of the markers of the feminine gender.

It was also said that by “land” He meant “place.” Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Nu‘aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma‘il informed us; Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah informed us; Ibrahim ibn Sa‘dah informed us, from Ibn Shihab, from Salim ibn Abd Allah, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “The keys of the unseen are five: Allah alone has knowledge of the Hour; He sends down the rain; He knows what is in the wombs; no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow; and no soul knows in what land it will die.” (2)

“Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”