34:3

وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَا تَأۡتِينَا ٱلسَّاعَةُۖ قُلۡ بَلَىٰ وَرَبِّي لَتَأۡتِيَنَّكُمۡ عَٰلِمِ ٱلۡغَيۡبِۖ لَا يَعۡزُبُ عَنۡهُ مِثۡقَالُ ذَرَّةٖ فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَلَا فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَلَآ أَصۡغَرُ مِن ذَٰلِكَ وَلَآ أَكۡبَرُ إِلَّا فِي كِتَٰبٖ مُّبِينٖ

Waqala allatheena kafaroo la tateena alssaAAatu qul bala warabbee latatiyannakum AAalimi alghaybi la yaAAzubu AAanhu mithqalu tharratin fee alssamawati wala fee alardi wala asgharu min thalika wala akbaru illa fee kitabin mubeenin

But those who disbelieve say, "The Hour will not come to us." Say, "Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you. [Allah is] the Knower of the unseen." Not absent from Him is an atom's weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than that or greater, except that it is in a clear register -

Word by word
  1. وَقَالَBut say
  2. ٱلَّذِينَthose who
  3. كَفَرُواْdisbelieve
  4. لَاNot
  5. تَأۡتِينَاwill come to us
  6. ٱلسَّاعَةُۖthe Hour
  7. قُلۡSay
  8. بَلَىٰNay
  9. وَرَبِّيby my Lord
  10. لَتَأۡتِيَنَّكُمۡsurely it will come to you
  11. عَٰلِمِ(He is the) Knower
  12. ٱلۡغَيۡبِۖ(of) the unseen
  13. لَاNot
  14. يَعۡزُبُescapes
  15. عَنۡهُfrom Him
  16. مِثۡقَالُ(the) weight
  17. ذَرَّةٖ(of) an atom
  18. فِيin
  19. ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِthe heavens
  20. وَلَاand not
  21. فِيin
  22. ٱلۡأَرۡضِthe earth
  23. وَلَآand not
  24. أَصۡغَرُsmaller
  25. مِنthan
  26. ذَٰلِكَthat
  27. وَلَآand not
  28. أَكۡبَرُgreater
  29. إِلَّاbut
  30. فِي(is) in
  31. كِتَٰبٖa Record
  32. مُّبِينٖClear
Saba · 34:3Makkah

Yes, by my Lord, it will come. Not an atom escapes Him.

One of three verses with this oath


The exchange
the Hour will not comethe deniers
answered
yes, by my Lordit will come
a clear recordeven an atom's weight
What is recorded
only the big things
an atom's weightsmaller, larger, all of it

Ibn Kathir says this is one of only three verses where the Prophet ﷺ is told to swear by his Lord that the Hour will come, against stubborn denial. Even when bones scatter and decay, Allah knows where every piece has gone and will bring them back.

You think about how big the world is and how small you are. Billions of people, endless data. Surely your little choices get lost. Not an atom's weight escapes Him. Nothing you do is lost in the crowd.

In a world this big, my choices disappear in the noise.

Not even an atom's weight escapes Allah. Every choice of mine is recorded.

Try this

Notice one tiny choice today, like a word or a glance, and make it a good one on purpose.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Those who disbelieve say: "The Hour will not come to us." Say: "Yes, by my Lord, the All-Knower of the Unseen, it will come to you; not even the weight of a speck of dust or less than that or greater escapes His knowledge in the heavens or in the earth but it is in a Clear Book. (3)That He may recompense those who believe and do righteous good deeds. Those, theirs is forgiveness and generous provision (4)But those who strive against Our Ayat to frustrate them – those, for them will be a severe painful torment (5)And those who have been given knowledge see that what is revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, and that it guides to the path of the Exalted in might, Owner of all praise (6)

The Hour will come so that each Person will be rewarded or punished in accordance with His Deeds

This is one of three Ayat – there is no fourth – where Allah commands His Messenger ﷺ to swear by His Almighty Lord that the resurrection will surely come, because the stubborn followers of disbelief denied that it would happen. One of these Ayat is in Surah Yunus, where Allah says:

وَيَسْتَنْبِئُونَكَ أَحَقٌّ هُوَ ۖ قُلْ إِي وَرَبِّي إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ ۖ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُعْجِزِينَ

(And they ask you to inform them (saying): "Is it true?" Say: "Yes! By my Lord! It is the very truth! and you cannot escape it!")(10:53). The second of these Ayat is this one:

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَأْتِينَا السَّاعَةُ ۖ قُلْ بَلَىٰ وَرَبِّي لَتَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ

(Those who disbelieve say: "The Hour will not come to us." Say: "Yes, by my Lord, it will come to you..."). And the third of them appears in Surat At-Taghabun, where Allah says:

زَعَمَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنْ لَنْ يُبْعَثُوا ۚ قُلْ بَلَىٰ وَرَبِّي لَتُبْعَثُنَّ ثُمَّ لَتُنَبَّؤُنَّ بِمَا عَمِلْتُمْ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ

(The disbelievers pretend that they will never be resurrected (for reckoning). Say: "Yes! By my Lord, you will certainly be resurrected, then you will be informed of what you did; and that is easy for Allah")(64:7). And Allah says here:

قُلْ بَلَىٰ وَرَبِّي لَتَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ

(Say: "Yes, by my Lord, it will come to you...") Then Allah is described in a manner that affirms that:

عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ ۖ لَا يَعْزُبُ عَنْهُ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا أَصْغَرُ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ وَلَا أَكْبَرُ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ 

(the All-Knower of the Unseen, not even the weight of a speck of dust or less than that or greater escapes His knowledge in the heavens or in the earth but it is in a Clear Book.) Mujahid and Qatadah said, "Nothing is hidden or concealed from Him." In other words, everything is encompassed by His knowledge, and nothing is hidden from Him. Even though bones may be scattered and disintegrate, He knows where they have gone and where they have dispersed, then He will bring them back just as He created them in the first place, because He has knowledge of all things.

Then Allah tells us of His wisdom in re-creating bodies and bringing about the Hour, as He says:

لِيَجْزِيَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ - وَالَّذِينَ سَعَوْا فِي آيَاتِنَا مُعَاجِزِينَ

(That He may recompense those who believe and do righteous good deeds. Those, theirs is forgiveness and generous provision. But those who strive against Our Ayat to frustrate them) meaning, those who try to turn others away from the path of Allah and who disbelieve His Messengers,

 أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مِنْ رِجْزٍ أَلِيمٌ 

(those, for them will be a severe painful torment.) This means, He will bestow His favor upon the blessed, who are the believers, and will punish the doomed, who are the disbelievers. This is like the Ayah:

لَا يَسْتَوِي أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ وَأَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ ۚ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ

(Not equal are the dwellers of the Fire and the dwellers of the Paradise. It is the dwellers of Paradise that will be successful.)(59:20)

أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَالْمُفْسِدِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَمْ نَجْعَلُ الْمُتَّقِينَ كَالْفُجَّارِ 

(Shall We treat those who believe and do righteous good deeds like those who cause mischief on the earth? Or shall We treat those who have Taqwa as the evildoers?)(38:28)

وَيَرَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ هُوَ الْحَقَّ

(And those who have been given knowledge see that what is revealed to you from your Lord is the truth,)

This is another kind of wisdom, following on from the one before, which is that when those who believed in what was revealed to the Messengers see the onset of the Hour and how the righteous and the wicked will be rewarded and punished respectively, which they knew of beforehand in this world from the Books of Allah and which they are now seeing with their own eyes, they will say:

لَقَدْ جَاءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِالْحَقِّ ۖ 

(Indeed, the Messengers of our Lord did come with the truth)(7:43). And it will be said:

هَٰذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ

(This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth!)[36:52]

لَقَدْ لَبِثْتُمْ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْبَعْثِ ۖ فَهَٰذَا يَوْمُ الْبَعْثِ 

(Indeed you have stayed according to the decree of Allah, until the Day of Resurrection; so this is the Day of Resurrection)(30:56),

وَيَرَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ هُوَ الْحَقَّ وَيَهْدِي إِلَىٰ صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ

(And those who have been given knowledge see that what is revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, and that it guides to the path of the Exalted in might, Owner of all praise.)

The Exalted in might is the One Who is All-Powerful, Whom none can overwhelm or resist, but He subjugates and controls all things. The Owner of All praise is the One Who, in all His words, deeds, laws and decrees, is deserving of praise, may He be glorified and exalted.