Abu Sa'id Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Tahiri informed us; my grandfather, Abd al-Samad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Bazzaz, related to us; Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Udhafiri informed us; Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Dabari informed us; Abd al-Razzaq related to us; Ma'mar informed us from Ayyub, from Ibn Sirin, from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Let none of you revile Time, for Allah is Time (1); and let him not call the grapevine al-karm (the noble one), for al-karm is the Muslim man.” (2)

The meaning of the hadith is that it was the Arabs’ custom to disparage and revile Time when calamities befell them, since they attributed to it the disasters and hardships that struck them. Thus they would say, “The calamities of Time have struck them,” and, “Time has annihilated them,” just as Allah Most High reports them as saying: “Nothing destroys us but Time.” When they attributed the hardships that befell them to Time, they reviled the One who brought them about. Thus, their revilement ultimately returned to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, for He is in reality the One who brings about the events which they attribute to Time. They were therefore forbidden from reviling Time. (3)

“When Our clear verses are recited to them, their only argument is that they say, ‘Bring back our forefathers, if you are truthful.’ (25) Say, ‘Allah gives you life, then causes you to die, then He will gather you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt; yet most people do not know.’ (26) To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; and on the Day the Hour is established, on that Day those who follow falsehood will be the losers. (27) And you will see every community kneeling. Every community will be summoned to its record: ‘Today you will be recompensed for what you used to do.’ (28)”

“When Our clear verses are recited to them, their only argument is that they say, ‘Bring back our forefathers, if you are truthful.’ Say, ‘Allah gives you life, then causes you to die, then He will gather you on the Day of Resurrection’”—that is, for the Day of Resurrection (4)—“about which there is no doubt; yet most people do not know.”

“To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; and on the Day the Hour is established, on that Day those who follow falsehood will be the losers”: that is, the disbelievers, who are the people of falsehood. Their loss will become evident on that Day when they are consigned to the Fire.

“And you will see every community kneeling”: crouched upon their knees, which is the posture of a litigant standing before a judge while awaiting the ruling.

Salman the Persian said: On the Day of Resurrection there will be a period lasting ten years, during which people will fall upon their knees,