Words and meaning

From the Power of the Qurʾān…

Allāh سبحانه وتعالى says:

أَزِفَتِ الْآزِفَةُ
The Approaching Hour has drawn near.”
[An-Najm 53:57]

أَزِفَ
to draw near in time; to become imminent.

الْآزِفَةُ
the approaching one — a name for the Day of Resurrection, because it is drawing ever nearer.

Notice the power contained in just these two words:

أَزِفَتِ الْآزِفَةُ
“The approaching one has drawn near.”

The verb is expressed in the past tenseأَزِفَتْ, “has drawn near” — even though the Day of Resurrection is still to come. This gives a sense of such certainty and inevitability that it is spoken of as though it has already occurred.

And the verb أَزِفَتْ is followed by a noun from the same root — الْآزِفَةُ — reinforcing the meaning even further.

In only two words, the Qurʾān conveys:
urgency...
certainty...
inevitability...

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