Surah As-Sajdah, Ayah 28

How the Disbelievers sought to hasten on the Punishment, and what happened to Them

Allah tells us how the disbelievers sought to hasten on the punishment, and to bring the wrath and vengeance of Allah upon themselves, because they thought this punishment would never happen, and because of their disbelief and stubbornness.

وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَى هَـذَا الْفَتْحُ

(They say: "When will this Fath be...") meaning, `when will you prevail over us, O Muhammad, since you claim that there will be a time when you will gain the upper hand over us and take your revenge on us, so when will that happen All we see of you and your companions is that you are hiding, afraid and humiliated.' Allah says:

قُلْ يَوْمَ الْفَتْحِ

(Say: "On the Day of Al-Fath...") meaning, `when the wrath and punishment of Allah befall you, in this world and the next,'

لاَ يَنفَعُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِيَمَـنُهُمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يُنظَرُونَ

(no profit will it be to those who disbelieve if they (then) believe! Nor will they be granted a respite.) This is like the Ayah,

فَلَمَّا جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَـتِ فَرِحُواْ بِمَا عِندَهُمْ مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ

(Then when their Messengers came to them with clear proofs, they were glad with that which they had of the knowledge...) (40:83-85) Those who claim that this refers to the conquest of Makkah go too far, and have made a grievous mistake, for on the day of the conquest of Makkah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ accepted the Islam of the freed Makkan prisoners-of-war, who numbered nearly two thousand. If what was meant by this Ayah was the conquest of Makkah, he would not have accepted their Islam, because Allah says:

قُلْ يَوْمَ الْفَتْحِ لاَ يَنفَعُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِيَمَـنُهُمْ وَلاَ هُمْ يُنظَرُونَ

(Say: "On the Day of Al-Fath, no profit will it be to those who disbelieve if they (then) believe! Nor will they be granted a respite.") What is meant by Al-Fath here is Judgement, as in the Ayat:

فَافْتَحْ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَهُمْ فَتْحاً

(Nuh said: So Aftah (judge) between me and them) (26:118). and:

قُلْ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَنَا رَبُّنَا ثُمَّ يَفْتَحُ بَيْنَنَا بِالْحَقِّ

(Say: "Our Lord will assemble us all together, then He will judge between us with truth") (34:26).

وَاسْتَفْتَحُواْ وَخَابَ كُلُّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍ

(And they sought judgement and every obstinate, arrogant dictator was brought to a complete loss and destruction. ) (14:15)

وَكَانُواْ مِن قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ

(although aforetime they had invoked Allah to pass judgement over those who disbelieved) (2:89)

إِن تَسْتَفْتِحُواْ فَقَدْ جَآءَكُمُ الْفَتْحُ

(If you ask for a judgement, now has the judgement come unto you) (8:19). Then Allah says:

فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَانتَظِرْ إِنَّهُمْ مُّنتَظِرُونَ

(So turn aside from them and await, verily, they (too) are awaiting.) meaning, `turn away from these idolators, and convey that which has been revealed to you from your Lord.' This is like the Ayah,

اتَّبِعْ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ

(Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord, there is no God but Him.) (6:106) `Wait until Allah fulfills that which He has promised you, and grants you victory over those who oppose you, for He never breaks His promise.'

عَنْهُمْ وَانتَظِرْ

(verily, they (too) are awaiting.) means, `you are waiting, and they are waiting and plotting against you,'

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ شَاعِرٌ نَّتَرَبَّصُ بِهِ رَيْبَ الْمَنُونِ

(Or do they say: "A poet! We await for him some calamity by time!") (52:30). `You will see the consequences of your patience towards them, and the fulfillment of the promise of your Lord in your victory over them, and they will see the consequences of their wait for something bad to befall you and your Companions, in that Allah's punishment will come upon them.' Sufficient unto us is Allah, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat As-Sajdah.

Verse 28 carries a question posed by disbelievers: وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَـٰذَا الْفَتْحُ (And they say, "When will this decision take place?) Here, they are referring to the victory of believers against disbelievers as promised by the Holy Prophet ﷺ and are wondering about it since they see no traces of this likelihood anywhere around. Instead, they see Muslims as a group of people, scared, hiding,

The awarding of the Book of God to a group is tantamount to bestowing the keys of world leadership upon that group. But, such status is conferred on a group only when it exercises patience. ‘When they were steadfast’ has been explained as ‘When they were patient with the world.’ (Tafsir ibn Kathir). In other words, they attained the position of leadership when they exercised patience in the face of the adversity of this world. People accept that person (or group) as a leader or Imam who appears to be at higher level than their own—who lives for principles when others live for self-interest, who supports justice when others take the side of their own community; who shows tolerance on being wronged when others seek revenge; who reconciles with deprivation when others rush to find gains; who offers to make sacrifices for the sake of Truth when others know only how to sacrifice for self-interest. Such virtues are rooted in patience, and those who exercise this patience become leaders of the world. Man does not often learn lessons from events until the same disaster befalls him as has befallen others. Those who make innovative interpretations of religion and thus cause differences to arise, incur the risk of final rejection on the Day of judgement and thereafter experience nothing but unending denigration.