(28–30) “We have sent you only as a bearer of good news and a warner to all humanity, but most people do not know. They say, ‘When will this promise come to pass, if you are truthful?’ Say, ‘You have an appointed Day that you can neither delay by a single hour nor bring forward.’”

The Most High informs us that He sent His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—only to give all people the good news of Allah’s reward and tell them of the deeds that lead to it, and to warn them of Allah’s punishment and tell them of the deeds that incur it. You have no control over the matter, and whatever the deniers and obstinate people demand of you is not your responsibility; it rests solely with Allah Most High.

“But most people do not know.” That is, they possess no sound knowledge. Rather, they are either ignorant or obstinate people who do not act upon their knowledge, so it is as though they had no knowledge at all. One consequence of their ignorance is that they considered the failure to comply with their demands of the Messenger a reason to reject his call.

One of their demands was that the punishment of which he warned them be hastened. Thus, they say, “When will this promise come to pass, if you are truthful?” This is wrongdoing on their part. What necessary connection is there between his truthfulness and his informing them of the time when it will occur? Is this anything but a rejection of the truth and foolish reasoning?

Suppose that, [concerning some matter] in the affairs of this world, a warner came to a people who knew him to be truthful and sincere. They had an enemy watching for an opportunity to strike them and making preparations against them, so he said, “When I left your enemy, he had already set out, intending to overrun and exterminate you.” If one of them then said, “If you are truthful, tell us precisely at what hour he will reach us and where he is now,” would that person be considered rational, or would he be judged foolish and insane?

All this is despite the fact that such an informant might be truthful or might be lying; the enemy might decide to target others, his resolve might weaken, and those people might possess defenses with which to protect themselves. What, then, of one who rejects the report of the most truthful of all creation—protected from error in what he conveys and one who does not speak from his own desire—concerning an inevitable punishment that cannot be averted and against which there is no protector? Is rejecting his report on the grounds that he did not specify when it would occur not the height of foolishness?