Surah rum prophecy. And ayat 4 meaning
Assalamu alykum
My question is regarding the prophecy mentioned in surah rum.
As we know, there is a timelines given
فی بضع سنین
“Within three to nine years”
Does this mean that there is lower limit also
i.e. the Romans will not be victorious before 3 but only after 3 years? And is there a consensus on this meaning?
A) the Romans will be victorious before 3 “or” 9 years pass.
B) the Romans will be victorious after 2 but before 9 years(in between)
The possibility second I found in tafseer al muyassar. And this meaning expresses that the Qur’an is talking about something going to happen after 2 years. That no false prophet would do.
Can you please confirm this, meaning that the victory will come after 2 years only not any where before that. Like in a few months or 1 to 2 years.
Answer
Wa’alaykum as Salām wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuhu,
Many commentators of the Qur‘ān explained the word Biḍ’ to refer to between three to nine.
Some commentators explained that it is any number below ten.
Kindly check Tafsīr aṭ-Ṭabarī.
References
وقال آخرون: بل هو ما دون العشر.
*ذكر من قال ذلك:
19329 – حدثنا القاسم قال، حدثنا الحسين قال، حدثني حجاج قال،قال ابن جريج، قال ابن عباس: (بضع سنين) ، دون العشرة.
وزعم الفراء أن”البضع” لا يذكر إلا مع”عشر”، ومع”العشرين” إلى التسعين، وهو”نَيِّفٌ” ما بين الثلاثة إلى التسعة. وقال: كذلك رأيت العرب تفعل. ولا يقولون:”بضع ومئة” (2) ولا”بضع وألف”، وإذا كانت للذكران قيل:”بضع”. (تفسير الطبري – 16 / 115)