English Translation of Al-Quran
[37].Surah As-Saffat (Those Ranged in Ranks)
Ayat 176. Do they seek to hasten on Our Torment?
Ayat 177. Then, when it descends into their courtyard (i.e. near to them), evil will be the morning for those who had been warned!
Ayat 178. So, turn (O Muhammad ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH) away from them for a while,
Ayat 179. And watch and they shall see (the torment)!
Tafseer of Surah As-Saffat (Those Ranged in Ranks) Ayat 176 to 179. Do they wish (indeed) to hurry on our Punishment? The last verse enjoined Patience under the attacks of Evil, in the knowledge that evil must be conquered at last. Evil may perhaps turn back arrogantly and speak. If a punishment is to come, why not bring it on now? Why indeed? The answer is: when it comes, it will come like a rush by night when the enemy is overpowered, when he least expects it: when the day dawns, it is a sorry plight in which the enemy finds himself. But when it descends into the open space before them, evil will be the morning for those who were warned (and heeded not)! The parable is that of an enemy camp in a plain, which is surprised and destroyed by a night attack from the hills. Evil is the plight of any survivors in the morning. Their regrets will be all the more poignant if they had had some sort of a warning beforehand and had paid no heed to it! 178. So turn thou away from them for a little while, This and the following verse repeat verses 174-175 (with a slight verbal alteration). The argument in verses 176-177 brought in a new point. When that is finished, the repetition carries us back to the main argument, and rounds off the whole Surah. 179. And watch (how they fare) and they soon shall see (how thou farest)!
English Translation of Hadith
Hazrat Masruq (May Allah be pleased with him) said: We visited `Abdullah bin Masud (May Allah be pleased with him) and he said to us: O people! He who has the knowledge of any matter may convey it to the others. And he who has no knowledge, thereof, should say: “Allahu a’lam (Allah knows better).” It is a part and parcel of knowledge that a man who has no knowledge of a matter should say: “Allah knows better.” Allah said to His Prophet ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH): “Say (O Muhammad ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH)): `No wage do I ask of you for this (the Qur’an), nor am I one of the Mutakallifun (those who pretend and fabricate things which do not exist).”’ (38:86)
[Al-Bukhari Book 06, Chapter 60, Hadith # 333].
Lesson: as mentioned above in Surah As-Saffat Ayat 178. So, turn (O Muhammad ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH) away from them for a while. If one does not know about something, he should not say anything about it by way of conjecture, speculation and guesswork because this is also pretension which is forbidden. When religious scholars are asked about anything which they do not know, they should confess their ignorance. Such a confession is also a mark of scholarship. In other words, they should abstain from giving a verdict about any matter without doing a thorough study and research on it.
