Surah Ha-Mim as-Sajdah, Footnote 62

This statement makes the listeners aware of two things: first, that not only the knowledge of the Hour, but the knowledge of all unseen matters, belongs to God alone—there is no other knower of the unseen. Second, that the God who possesses such detailed knowledge of every particular cannot possibly overlook anyone’s deeds and actions; therefore, no one should feel free to act however he pleases in God’s domain without fear. It is in light of this second meaning that this phrase connects with what follows. If one reflects on what is stated immediately after this, the sequence of the discourse itself makes clear that the point being made is: why are you so preoccupied with finding out the date of the Hour’s coming? Instead, be concerned with what price you will have to pay for your present misguidance when it does come. This is the very point the Prophet (peace be upon him) once made to a man who asked him about the date of the Hour. A narration reaching the level of mass transmission (tawātur) in the collections of Sahih, Sunan, and Musnad reports that once, while the Prophet was traveling somewhere, a man called out to him from a distance, “O Muhammad!” The Prophet said, “Speak, what do you want to say?” The man asked, “When will the Hour come?” The Prophet replied, in essence: “Woe to you, it is coming regardless — so what have you prepared for it?”