Surah 15 · Verse 87

[15:85-88] The Quran contains some interesting hints regarding the end of the world. See 20:15; 72:27. [15:87] The meaning of saban minal mathani (seven from pairs) has been interpreted by the majority of scholars as "oftrepeated seven," implying the most repeated chapter of the Quran, the sevenversed first chapter. However, if the first chapter of the Quran is part of the Quran, it surely is the part of the "great Quran." If the arrangement of the words were different, "we gave you the great Quran and seven from pairs," then, such an interpretation could be more plausible, since a part of the whole can be repeated after the whole for the purpose of emphasis. If the "great Quran" is the entire Quran, which is the most reasonable understanding, then the "seven pairs" or "fourteen" (of something) might have implications beyond the Quran. There is a hint in the verse: it might refer to the life span of Muhammed's people and its relation to the end of the world.