َ وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَى هَذَا الْوَعْدُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ﴿۲۵﴾ قُلْ إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَإِنَّمَا أَنَا نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ ﴿۲۶﴾ فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهُ زُلْفَةً سِيئَتْ وُجُوهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَقِيلَ هَذَا الَّذِي كُنْتُمْ بِهِ تَدَّعُونَ ﴿۲۷﴾ قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَهْلَكَنِيَ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ مَعِيَ أَوْ رَحِمَنَا فَمَنْ يُجِيرُ الْكَافِرِينَ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ﴿۲۸﴾

﴾25﴿ Wa yaqooloona mataa haazal wa'du in kuntum saadiqeen
﴾26﴿ Qul innamal 'ilmu 'indallaahi wa innamaaa ana nazeerum mubeen
﴾27﴿ Falammaa ra-awhu zulfatan seee'at wujoohul lazeena kafaroo wa qeela haazal lazee kuntum bihee tadda'oon
﴾28﴿ Qul ara'aytum in ahlaka niyal laahu wa mam ma'iya aw rahimanaa famai-yujeerul kaafireena min 'azaabin aleem

﴾25﴿ And they say, When will this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful
﴾26﴿ Say, The knowledge of it is only with Allah, and I am only a clear warner
﴾27﴿ Then when they see it approaching, the faces of those who disbelieved will turn dark, and it will be said, "This is what you were seeking to hasten
﴾28﴿ Say, Consider this: whether Allah destroys me and those with me or has mercy on us, who will protect the disbelievers from a painful punishment

[25] This is a rebuke directed at the denial of resurrection, and it is connected to (إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ) – “to Him you will be gathered.”
[26] This is the answer to that question, by entrusting the knowledge to Allah the Exalted—similar to what is mentioned in Surah Al-A‘raf (7:187).
(نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ) – Meaning: my duty is to clearly convey the certain warning and to establish it with proof.
Knowing the exact time is not required for delivering the warning.
[27] This too is a response, in the form of an afterlife warning.
(فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهُ) – Refers to a future time, but is expressed in the past tense to convey certainty.
(تَدَّعُونَ) – From the ifti‘āl form of du‘ā, meaning to intensely request, strongly desire, or urgently ask.
Iddi‘ā’ is also used for making a claim, often a false one—i.e., you do not accept (the truth) and insistently demand or claim otherwise.
[28,29] This is another rational proof, expressed through silent acknowledgment, along with a method of teaching in response to the words of the deniers.
They used to say: this Prophet and his followers will die, and we will be rid of them—as mentioned in Surah At-Tur (52:30).
Sometimes they would say: this Prophet and his companions oppose our gods, and punishment will come upon them.
The essence of the reply is: don’t worry about us—worry about yourselves, for it may be that punishment comes upon you. Who will save you then?
We believe only in Allah the Exalted, the Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman), who alone bestows blessings and has no partner. He is the One who saves us.
(إِنْ أَهْلَكَنِيَ اللَّهُ) – Ihlāk means sudden death, and rahmah here means delay or respite from death. Alternatively, ihlāk could mean punishment, and rahmah could mean divine help and the victory of Islam.
(فَمَنْ يُجِيرُ الْكَافِرِينَ) – The conditional clause is implicit: if Allah brings punishment upon you because of your obvious disbelief—either in this world or the next—then who will protect the disbelievers?
(قُلْ هُوَ الرَّحْمَنُ) – This implies an unspoken consequence, as mentioned earlier. The meaning is: we believe in the mercy of Allah the Exalted (who alone grants blessings and has no partner), and even if we face hardship, we place our trust in Him.
So we hope Allah the Exalted will not punish us and will deliver us from difficulties.
(وَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا) – This implies a rejection of shirk in control and knowledge, because true tawakkul (reliance) in Shari‘ah means believing that every benefit and harm comes only from Allah the Exalted, and that He alone possesses knowledge and wisdom—without any association with partners.