(1–4) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. The time of their reckoning has drawn near for mankind, yet they remain heedless, turning away. * No renewed reminder comes to them from their Lord without their listening to it while they are at play, * their hearts distracted. Those who do wrong conceal their private counsel, saying, ‘Is this man anything but a human being like you? Will you then knowingly succumb to magic?’ * He said, ‘My Lord knows every word spoken in heaven and on earth, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.’”
This expresses amazement at the condition of mankind: no reminder has any effect on them, nor do they heed any warner. Their reckoning and their recompense for their righteous and wicked deeds have drawn near, yet they remain heedless and turn away—heedless of the purpose for which they were created and turning away from that against which they were warned. It is as though they were created for this world and born merely to enjoy it. Allah Most High continually renews His reminders and admonitions to them, yet they persist in their heedlessness and aversion. Thus He says, “No renewed reminder comes to them from their Lord”—reminding them of what benefits them and urging them to pursue it, and of what harms them and warning them against it—“without their listening to it” in such a manner that the proof is established against them, “while they are at play, their hearts distracted.” That is, their hearts are heedless, averse, and preoccupied with worldly pursuits, while their bodies are engaged in play. They occupy themselves with indulging their desires, practicing falsehood, and uttering vile words.
Yet what befits them is to be entirely otherwise: their hearts should attend to Allah’s commands and prohibitions, listening in a manner that enables them to understand what is intended; their limbs should strive in the worship of their Lord, for which they were created; and they should keep the Resurrection, the reckoning, and the recompense firmly in mind. In this way, their affairs would be made complete, their condition set aright, and their deeds purified.
There are two interpretations of the words, “The time of their reckoning has drawn near for mankind.” The first is that this nation is the last of all nations and its Messenger is the last of all messengers, and it is among his nation that the Hour will occur. Its reckoning is therefore near in comparison with the nations that preceded it, as the Prophet ﷺ said, “I and the Hour were sent like these two,” and he held together his index finger and the finger next to it.
The second interpretation is that the nearness of the reckoning refers to death: whoever dies, his resurrection has begun and he has entered the abode in which deeds are requited. This expresses amazement at every heedless person who turns away, not knowing when death will suddenly come upon him, whether morning or evening. This is the condition of all people except those reached by divine care, who therefore prepare for death and what follows it.
Allah then mentions what the wrongdoing disbelievers whispered to one another out of stubbornness and in an attempt to counter truth with falsehood. They secretly conferred and agreed among themselves to say of the Messenger ﷺ, “He is only a human being like you. What gives him superiority over you, and why should he alone be distinguished from among you? If any of you made the same claim, his words would be no different in kind from his. He merely wishes to assert superiority over you and become your leader, so neither obey nor believe him.” They also claimed that he was a sorcerer and that the Quran he brought was magic. Thus they urged one another to keep away from him and to drive others away, saying, “Will you then knowingly succumb to magic?”
They said this even though they knew that he was truly the Messenger of Allah because of the dazzling signs they had witnessed (1), signs unlike any witnessed by others. Nothing drove them to this except wretchedness, wrongdoing, and stubbornness. Allah Most High fully encompassed with His knowledge all that they whispered among themselves and will requite them for it. Thus He says, “My Lord knows every word”—whether concealed or openly spoken—“in heaven and on earth,” meaning throughout every region encompassed by them both. “And He is the All-Hearing” of every sound, in all the different languages and amid the manifold needs, “the All-Knowing” of what is harbored within consciences and concealed by innermost hearts.