يَوْمَ نَطْوِى ٱلسَّمَآءَ كَطَىِّ ٱلسِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ ۚ كَمَا بَدَأْنَآ أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُّعِيدُهُۥ ۚ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَآ ۚ إِنَّا كُنَّا فَٰعِلِينَ
39:68.
20:56; 29:20; 30:12.
Commentary:
The verse purports to say that at that time the great empires will be rolled up like the rolling up of written scrolls by a scribe i.e. they shall be destroyed. But taken in a metaphorical sense it may signify that through the Holy Prophet a complete transformation will come about and the old heaven will be rolled up and in its place a new heaven and a new earth will be created. And so it came to pass. The old order died and with the Holy Prophet a new and better order came into being. Never had heaven witnessed such a complete transformation in the lives of a people as it did in the Holy Prophet’s time.
The expression نعیدہ (so shall We repeat it) implies that the order brought into being by the Holy Prophet will receive a setback through the material outlook on life created by the godless and mechanistic Western civilization. But this setback will be temporary and a new spiritual awakening will be brought about by the selfless efforts of a great follower of the Holy Prophet (the Promised Messiah) and his devoted followers, and Islam will again emerge triumphant. The verse may also mean that at the time to which reference has been made in the preceding verses, great empires will be reduced to ashes and powerful nations will be destroyed and other nations will rise to power in their place.
39:68.
20:56; 29:20; 30:12.
'The rolling up of the heavens' may mean that great empires will be swept away and powerful nations will be destroyed and other peoples will rise to power in their place. Or, the meaning may be that through the Holy Prophet a great transformation will come about and the old heaven will he rolled up and in its place a new heaven and a new earth will be created. The old order will die and in its place a new and better order will come into being. Never had the world witnessed such a complete transformation in the lives of a people as it did in the Holy Prophet’s time.
The expression, so shall We repeal it, implies that the order brought into being by the Holy Prophet will receive a setback through the material outlook on life of Muslims created by the godless and mechanistic Western civilisation. But this setback will be temporary and Islam will experience a new spiritual awakening and will again emerge triumphant.