Surah an-Nahl (The Bee ) 16 : 75

Overview (Verses 77 - 78)
 
In this passage the sūrah continues its discussion of the aspects confirming the truth of God’s oneness, such as the great variety of creation, the perfection of God’s blessings and His absolute knowledge of all things. However, in this passage, prominence is given to the question of resurrection. The Last Hours which is a Qur’ānic expression denoting the gathering and reckoning on the Day of Judgement, is one of the secrets which God keeps to Himself. The passage refers to the different hidden secrets of God’s creation in the heavens and the earth, in human beings and across the wide universe. One of these relates to the Last Hour, whose timing is known to God alone. He controls it with ease: “The advent of the Last Hour will be accomplished in a twinkling of an eye, or closer still.” (Verse 77) Another secret relates to what is created in the wombs of females. It is God alone who lets the foetus come out of the womb, with no knowledge whatsoever of the world it comes into. It is He also who gives human beings the blessings of hearing, seeing and thinking. These are favours which deserve gratitude. The sūrah also refers to the birds and how they are given the ability to fly. Needless to say, they are held aloft in mid-air by none other than God.
 
This is followed by a reference to some material blessings given to mankind. These are relevant to the aforementioned secrets. They include the blessings of abode, rest, shade and shelter in built up homes and temporary dwellings made of animal skin. The latter have the advantage of being easy to carry and re-erect when people are on the move. Reference is also made to furniture and other articles made of animal wool, fur and hair, and to places of shelter and garments that protect people from the heat of the sun and the might of the enemy. God reminds people of His blessings and how He has perfected them, so that they may fulfil their duty: “Thus does He perfect His favours to you so that you may submit to Him.” (Verse 81)
 
This is followed by details relating to resurrection, juxtaposed against pagans and the idols they worship. God’s messengers bear witness against such unbelievers, while the Prophet Muĥammad (peace be upon him) is witness against his own people.
 
In the Twinkling of an Eye
 
To God belongs the hidden secrets of the heavens and the earth. The advent of the Last Hour will be accomplished in a twinkling of an eye, or closer still. God has power over all things. (Verse 77) Resurrection is an essential question of faith that has attracted much controversy in all periods and communities. Every one of God’s messengers had to deal with it. Yet it is part of the realm of what is known to God alone: “To God belongs the hidden secrets of the heavens and the earth.” People stand before the thick curtains of ghayb, or God’s hidden knowledge, aware of their inability and inadequacy. They may have great knowledge of their world, and may be able to discover much of the treasures of the earth and its resources and potentials, but even the greatest human scientists stand helpless when it comes to the knowledge of the immediate and distant future. He simply does not know what will happen the next moment, and whether, when he has taken the next breath in, he will be able to breathe out. A human being may entertain high hopes, stretching in different directions, yet his destiny remains behind the curtain of God’s own knowledge. He himself has no means of knowing when his time will come. Yet it may come the next moment and he will be among the dead. It is in fact an aspect of God’s grace bestowed on human beings that they do not know anything of what will take place beyond the present moment. Their lack of knowledge gives them hope and urges them to continue to work and produce. Whatever they manage will be taken over and completed by those who succeed them, until every individual of the next generation faces, in his or her turn, their destiny.
 
The Last Hour is part of the knowledge kept hidden from man. If people knew in advance when their time was to come, life would cease to function, or, at least, would be seriously disrupted. It would certainly not follow the line set out for it. The irony is that people count hours, days, months and years moving all the time towards their pre-destined appointment when they will depart from this life.
 
“The advent of the Last Hour will be accomplished in a twinkling of an eye, or closer still.” (Verse 77) It is close at hand, but according to a calculation different from that of human beings. To bring it on, in full preparation, does not take much time. It is merely the twinkling of an eye and it is there, ready for all mankind: “God has power over all things.” (Verse 77) To resurrect such countless numbers of God’s creation, gather them all together, reckon their deeds, assign the reward for each of them, is all easy for God whose will is accomplished in no time. Whenever He wills something, He only says to it, ‘Be’, and it is instantly accomplished. If this seems difficult, it only looks so to the eyes of those who see, measure and count by human standards and criteria. Hence they are grossly mistaken.
 
To make things easier for people to understand, the Qur’ān gives a simple example from human life. People can in no way accomplish it themselves, and they cannot formulate a clear idea of how it happens. Yet it takes place at every moment of the day and night: “God has brought you forth from your mothers’ wombs devoid of all knowledge, but He has given you hearing, and sight, and minds, so that you may be grateful.” (Verse 78)
 
This is something close to us, yet it is so far away. We may see the different stages a foetus goes through, but we do not know how these are accomplished, because it is part of the secret of life which is known to God alone. The knowledge man claims and boasts of, and which he wants to use in order to test the reality of the Last Hour and the secrets of God’s hidden knowledge, is something acquired: “God has brought you forth from your mothers’ wombs devoid of all knowledge.” (Verse 78) Even the most advanced scientist is born devoid of knowledge. Whatever he subsequently learns is given to him as a blessing from God, within the limits He has set for mankind, and contingent upon what is needed for life on this planet: “He has given you hearing, and sight, and minds.” (Verse 78) It should be mentioned here that the Arabic word, af’idah, rendered in the translation as ‘minds’, originally denotes, ‘hearts’. The Qur’ān, however, uses it in reference to all human faculties of perception, which are generally referred to as constituting the human mind and intellect. The Arabic term also includes the power of inspiration, the nature and working of which are unknown to us. The Qur’ān reminds us here that God has given people all these faculties, “so that you may be grateful.” (Verse 78) When we appreciate the value of these blessings God has given us and His other blessings, we will certainly be grateful to Him. The first step in showing our gratitude is to believe in God, the Sovereign, the Supreme, who alone deserves to be worshipped.