Neither delay nor advance (a term)
لَا يَسْتَـْٔخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ
lā yastaʾkhirūna sāʿatan wa-lā yastaqdimūna — they do not delay it by an instant, nor do they advance it
Four verses pair the X-form verbs yastaʾkhirūna and yastaqdimūna with the object sāʿatan, each time about an appointed term: once the term arrives, no movement in either direction along time is possible.
In all four verses the pair appears in the same frame: an appointed term (ajal) or appointed time (mīʿād), and the verbs of delaying and advancing are negated together; in (7:34), (10:49) and (16:61) the negation follows 'when their term comes', while (34:30) presents the appointed time itself, with no arrival clause. In (7:34) the frame is 'for every community there is a term; so when their term comes, they do not delay it by an instant, nor do they advance it.' (10:49) repeats the same statement almost verbatim, adding the particle fa- before the negated verb (fa-lā): 'when their term comes, they can neither delay it by an instant nor advance it.' (16:61) sets the pair after the statement that Allah postpones people 'to a specified term': 'then when their term comes, they can neither delay it by an hour nor advance it.' (34:30) shifts the addressee: the verbs are second person plural (tastaʾkhirūna, tastaqdimūna) and the pair is attached to 'an appointed time of a Day', with the preposition ʿanhu after the verb of delaying: 'which you can neither delay from it by an hour nor advance.' Read side by side, the occurrences show a fixed pairing of two opposite verbs of movement in time, both in the X verbal form, both negated, both measured by sāʿatan. The pairing does the work of totality: negating delay and advance together closes both directions, so the term's arrival is presented as admitting no adjustment in either direction. The one verse that changes person, (34:30), turns the statement from a description of communities into a direct address to the hearers.
Where it occurs
- 7:34 States that when a community's term comes, they do not delay it by an instant nor advance it.
- 10:49 Repeats the statement of (7:34) with fa- prefixed to the negated verb, within a reply about not controlling harm or benefit.
- 16:61 Applies the pair to people whom Allah postpones to a specified term.
- 34:30 Addresses the hearers directly in second person about an appointed time of a Day from which they can neither delay nor advance.
All Qur'anic expressions