Transliteration:( Fa in tawallaw faqul aazantukum 'alaa sawaaa'; wa in adreee aqareebun am ba'eedun maa too'adoon )
"But if they turn away their faces, then say, 'I have proclaimed war against you on equal basis [168], and I do not know whether that which you are promised [169] is near or far.'"
This means I have given you information about the battle long before it, and did not attack you all of a sudden, so that—like us, you too can prepare for it.
Or it means: I preached to all of you in the same manner, without bias.
Thus, in this verse, there is a refutation of the false sects who claim unfair treatment or hidden agendas in Prophetic preaching.
This means that without Divine revelation,
I do not, on my own, understand whether the punishment of Allah Almighty is near or far, nor can it be judged by mere conjecture or analogy.
Therefore, verses such as "And the true promise drew near" (Surah Al-Anbiya: Verse 97) and "The accountability of the people is near" (Surah Al-Anbiya: Verse 1) are not contrary to this verse.
The Holy Prophet ﷺ knew that the Day of Judgement is near, and he himself said:
"Qiyamah and I are joined like the first and second fingers" (after the thumb).
The tafsir of Surah Anbiya verse 109 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Anbiya ayat 108 which provides the complete commentary from verse 108 through 112.
(21:109) If they turn away, say to them: “I have warned you all alike; and I cannot say whether what you have been promised[101] is near or distant.
101. That is, I do not know the time and the form of the punishment of Allah for your rejection of the message. It may come at any time in any shape.
[911]- The Prophet (ﷺ) made this message known to all people, not concealing any of it from anyone or preferring any group over another.
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