وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَٰفِلًا عَمَّا يَعْمَلُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ ۚ إِنَّمَا يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ لِيَوْمٍ تَشْخَصُ فِيهِ ٱلْأَبْصَٰرُ
Important Words:
تشخص (will fixedly stare) is derived from شخص which means, he or it rose; or, he or it became raised. شخص النجم means, the star rose and became visible on the horizon. They say شخص بصرہ i.e. his eyes became fixedly open; his eyes became raised; or his sight became stretched and raised. شخص المیت بصرہ means, the dying man raised his eyes, which became fixedly open. The Arabs say شخص به امر i.e. something happened to him and disquieted him as though he were raised from the ground by reason of his disquietude (Aqrab & Lane).
Commentary:
With the preceding verse ended the prayer of Abraham, which was meant as an introduction for reverting to the subject of the Holy Prophet. Abraham had prayed that the worship of the One God might be established in Mecca through his progeny, particularly the Holy Prophet for whose appearance he had prayed to God (2:130). The conquest of Mecca, in which lay the Sacred House which had been built for the worship of the One God but which had now become the centre of idolatry, alone could fulfil this prayer. So the Holy Prophet is told here that he should not think that God is unaware of the actions of his enemies, who are now holding the House of God and are leaving no stone unturned to check the spread of Islam. He will certainly destroy the idolaters and establish His own worship in the land. The respite which was being granted to the Meccans was intended to afford them an opportunity to repent and mend their ways; and if they did not do so the day was not far off when, owing to the sudden consternation caused by Divine punishment, "the eyes will fixedly stare" in bewilderment. This graphic picture of the Fall of Mecca is continued in the following verse.