Living The Quran
From Issue: 646 [Read full issue]
Near at Hand
Al Naba (The Tiding) - Chapter 78: Verse 40 (partial)
"Lo! We warn you of a chastisement near at hand..."
In the Quran it is said that divine chastisement is near at hand. This statement was made over fourteen hundred years ago, and countless people had died prior to its revelation. Moreover, even now it cannot be said with certainty that the Last Day will occur after how many hundreds, thousands or even millions of years. Given this, how can this chastisement be described as something "near at hand"?
Time is actually relative to man's life. As long as he is alive, he is fully aware of it. After his death, only his soul survives, which does not any consciousness of time. So, when man is resurrected on the Day of Judgement he will think that he has been woken up only after a few hours' sleep. It will not occur to him that he had been lying dead for thousands of years.
Compiled From:
"Towards Understanding The Quran" - Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, Part 30, p. 16