Which Surah and Juz is Quran 21:97 from?

This ayah is from Surah Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets), the 21th surah of the Quran. It appears in Juz 17.

Are there hadiths related to Quran 21:97?

Yes — there are 3 hadiths related to this ayah from Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunan Abu Dawud, Sunan Ibn Majah.

What tafsir is available for Quran 21:97?

Commentary on this ayah is available from Ibn Kathir, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Abbas, Al-Jalalayn — classical scholars of Quranic exegesis.

What topics does Quran 21:97 relate to?

This ayah connects to these Quranic topics: Al-Haqq, Day of Judgment, Disbelief, Regret, Accountability.

Ayah 96

حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فُتِحَتْ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ وَهُ...

21:97Al-Anbiyaa

Q: What does Quran 21:97 mean?

Quran 21:97 (Surah Al-Anbiyaa, Ayah 97) translates to: "And [when] the true promise has approached; then suddenly the eyes of those who disbelieved will be staring [in horror, while they say], "O woe to us; we had been unmindful of this; rather, we were wrongdoers.""

Ayah 98

إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ حَصَ...

وَٱقْتَرَبَ ٱلْوَعْدُ ٱلْحَقُّ فَإِذَا هِىَ شَٰخِصَةٌ أَبْصَٰرُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يَٰوَيْلَنَا قَدْ كُنَّا فِى غَفْلَةٍۢ مِّنْ هَٰذَا بَلْ كُنَّا ظَٰلِمِينَ

Waqtarabal wa'dul haqqu fa-izaa hiya shaakhisatun absaarul lazeena kafaroo yaawailanaa qad kunna fee ghaflatim min haaza bal kunnaa zaalimeen

And [when] the true promise has approached; then suddenly the eyes of those who disbelieved will be staring [in horror, while they say], "O woe to us; we had been unmindful of this; rather, we were wrongdoers."

Themes in this ayah

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Day of Judgment88

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Day of Judgment

21:97Ayah 1112

7 ayahs in Al-Anbiyaa are strongly about the Day of Judgment. This is one of them.

← Previous on Day of Judgment21:49Who fear their Lord unseen, while they are of the Hour apprehensive.Next on Day of Judgment →21:103They will not be grieved by the greatest terror, and the angels will meet them, [saying], "This is your Day which you have been promised" -

Tafsir

Scholars offer complementary perspectives

View Full Tafsir: Al-Jalalayn on 21:97→

And the true promise that is the Day of Resurrection draws near and behold when the gaze of the disbelievers will be fixed on that Day because of its severity saying ‘O yā is for exclamation woe to us! this is our destruction! Verily in the life of the world we were oblivious to this Day. Nay but we were doing wrong’ to our souls by our denial of the messengers.

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The hour will not be established till the sun rises from the West; and when it rises (from the West) and the people see it, they all will believe. And that is (the time) when no good will it do to a soul to believe then." Then he recited the whole Verse (6.158)

Sunan Abu Dawud #5021Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet (May peace be upon him) as saying:Sahih

When the time draws near, a believer’s vision can hardly be false. The truer one of them is in his speech, the truer he is in his vision. Visions are of three types: Good visions are glad tidings from Allah, a terrifying vision caused by the devil, and the ideas which come from within a man. So when one sees anything he dislikes, he should get up and pray, and should not tell it to the people. He said : I like a fetter and dislike a shackle on the neck; a fetter indicates being firmly established in religion. Abu Dawud said : “when the time draws near” means that when the day and night are equal.

Sunan Ibn Majah #3653It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:Hasan

“When the end of time draws near, hardly any believer will see a false dream, and the ones who see the truest dreams will be the ones who are truest in speech. And the dream of the believer is one of the forty-six parts of prophecy.’”