"To Him is returned the knowledge of the Hour. And no fruits emerge from their sheaths." Al-Hasan's interpretation is that this specifically refers to palm trees when they bloom; no one knows how Allah brings them forth. "And no female conceives nor gives birth except with His knowledge." He says: No one knows the time of the coming of the Hour, nor what fruits emerge from their sheaths, nor what female conceives and gives birth, except He. There is no god but He.
Muhammad said: The preferred reading is "wa ma yakhruju" (and what emerges) with a [ya], because the [word] mentioned is masculine. The meaning is: and that which emerges.
His saying: "from their sheaths," meaning: the places where they were hidden. The covering of everything is its sheath (kumm), and from this it is said: the sleeve (kumm) of a shirt.
"And the Day He will call them," meaning: the polytheists, "'Where are My partners whom you claimed?'" that they were My partners. "They will say, 'We inform You'"—meaning we hear You—"'there is no witness among us'" who will testify today that there are deities with You.
