Verses 63–73
These verses speak of the importance of the final hour and some of the punishment that shall befall the deniers (kuffār). They command the faithful to speak rightly and promise them a goodly promise. Then the sūrah finishes by mentioning the trust [offered to the heavens and the earth, amānah].
Commentary
يَسْأَلُكَ النَّاسُ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ ۖ قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ ۚ وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ السَّاعَةَ تَكُونُ قَرِيبًا ٦٣
(33:63) People are asking you about the Hour. Say: Knowledge of it is with Allah. What would make you understand that perhaps the Hour is near?
This verse tells of how the people were asking when the final hour would come. They wanted to know when it was—whether it was far or near—as the expression “hour (sāʿah)” implies. God commands the Prophet to tell them that God alone knows when it will fall; this is repeated throughout the Qur’an.
What would make you understand that perhaps the Hour is near? This emphasizes how unknown it is. It lets people know that the Prophet is like anyone else with respect to not knowing when it will occur. That is, it is not a secret which God revealed to the Prophet but which the Prophet hid from the mases.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَعَنَ الْكَافِرِينَ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ سَعِيرًا ٦٤
(33:64) Allah has cursed the deniers (kuffār) and prepared (aʿadda) for them a blazing fire (saʿīr).
By cursing the deniers (kuffār), God is distancing them from His mercy. Aʿadda means “to prepare”. Saʿīr is a kindled, blazing fire. The rest of the verse is clear.
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۖ لَا يَجِدُونَ وَلِيًّا وَلَا نَصِيرًا ٦٥
(33:65) To abide therein forever; they shall find no protector (waliyan) and no helper (naṣīran).
The difference between walī and naṣīr is that a walī handles all of matter himself, while a mawlā [a person ceding a matter to a walī] does not take on any of it. A naṣīr helps a person in some aspects of a matter but does not take it all upon himself; rather, the person being assisted is still involved. So a walī handles a matter wholly, whereas a naṣīr handles it partially. The rest of the verse is clear.
يَوْمَ تُقَلَّبُ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِي النَّارِ يَقُولُونَ يَا لَيْتَنَا أَطَعْنَا اللَّهَ وَأَطَعْنَا الرَّسُولَا٦٦
(33:66) On the day when their faces shall mutate in the Fire. They shall say, Woe be upon us! If only we had obeyed Allah and the Messenger!
This means that their faces will change from one form to another—for instance, turning yellow or black or gloomy. Or, it means turning them about so they are better impacted by the fire, as is done with grilled meat.
If only we had obeyed Allah and the Messenger! This is what they will say out of regret and vain hope.
وَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّا أَطَعْنَا سَادَتَنَا وَكُبَرَاءَنَا فَأَضَلُّونَا السَّبِيلَا ٦٧
(33:67) They shall say, O Lord! We obeyed our leaders (sādatanā) and great men (kubarāʾanā), and they misled us, away from the path!
Sādah is the plural of sayyid, which—according to Majmaʿ al-Bayān—means “a lord, ruler, chieftain, or nobleman who looks after the affairs of a large group of people.” Kubarāʾ is the plural of kabīr (“big”, “great”, “old”). Possibly, kabīr here is used in the sense of “elders”, since people usually follow and obey their chieftains or their elders.
رَبَّنَا آتِهِمْ ضِعْفَيْنِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ وَالْعَنْهُمْ لَعْنًا كَبِيرًا ٦٨
(33:68) O our Lord! Double their punishment (ḍiʿfayn), and curse them resoundingly!
Ḍiʿfayn are two identical shares of a thing. They asked for these people to receive a double punishment since they misled both themselves and others. This is also why they ask God to curse them heavily.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ آذَوْا مُوسَىٰ فَبَرَّأَهُ اللَّهُ مِمَّا قَالُوا ۚ وَكَانَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَجِيهًا ٦٩
(33:69) O you who believe! Do not be like those who vexed Moses. Allah absolved him of what they said, and he had a position with Allah.
This forbids them from treating their Prophet the way some of the Israelites treated their prophet, by slandering or troubling him. Vexed is not limited to vexation in word or in deed (although both are forbidden). However, Allah absolved him of what they said implies that they were slandering or defaming Moses, since one absolves a person of slander.
Possibly, the silence in this verse about how precisely they were troubling Moses supports what is mentioned in narrations—namely, that they were saying that Moses did not have what other men have [that is, he had a deficiency or defect in his male organ], so God cleared him of that; this will be discussed in the section on narrations.
Exegetes have put forward various views on how the people were troubling the Prophet. The most likely view is that this relates to what happened with Zayd and Zaynab. However, even if this be the case, many narrations relating to this story must still be discarded since they are not compatible with the sanctity and holiness of the Prophet.
And he had a position with Allah: Meaning, in addition to being absolved, he had a lofty status before God. Together, this and the succeeding verse can be construed as a prohibition on troubling the Prophet.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا ٧٠
(33:70) O you who believe! Mind Allah, and speak rightly (sadīdan).
Sadīd is from the root s-d-d meaning “correctly” and “rightly”. Speaking with sadīd means to speak truthfully and purposefully, with a point to what they are saying (other than gossiping or slandering). A believer should ascertain the truth of what he is saying and also ensure that it is neither vain talk nor something that would cause harm.
يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا ٧١
(33:71) Allah shall straighten out your deeds for you, and forgive you your sins. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great victory.
“Straightening out your deeds” and being forgiven follow as consequences from speaking rightly. This is because a person who speaks rightly no longer lies, speaks vainly, or says something which could cause harm. As a result, once this trait of “speaking rightly” is embedded, the person must necessarily cease any sort of vulgar, depraved, abhorrent, or useless acts. Therefore, their deeds naturally become rectified, and that person naturally regrets wasting their life on sins—if, indeed, they had done anything of the sort—and regret suffices as a means for seeking repentance.
Therefore, in what remains of his life, God will protect him from falling into danger. If he commits any of the lesser sins, God will forgive him. As God says: If you avoid the greater acts that you have been forbidden, We shall absolve you of the lesser ones (). Therefore, speaking rightly necessarily reforms a person’s conduct, and causes their sins to be forgiven—through the permission of God.
Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great victory: This is a handsome promise for the future due to all their righteous deeds and avoiding forbidden things; this shall bequeath them a great victory for obeying God and His Messenger.
With this, the sūrah essentially comes to a close, since obeying God and His Messenger was the main theme underlying the rulings (duties and prohibitions) mentioned in it. The final two verses are like a supplement to meaning of this verse.
إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَنْ يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنْسَانُ ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا ٧٢ لِيُعَذِّبَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَاتِ وَيَتُوبَ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا ٧٣
(33:72-73) We offered the trust (amānah) to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they feared it and refused it. But mankind took it; he was unjust, foolish. So Allah will punish the hypocrites, male and female, as well as the men and women who associate partners with Allah. And Allah will turn towards the male and female believers. And Allah has always been forgiving, merciful.
A trust (amānah)—whatever it may be—is a thing deposited or entrusted with a person to look after; then, it is returned to the person who deposited it. This particular trust mentioned in this verse is a thing which God entrusted to human beings, with the intent that the human being would look after it safely and securely, then return it back to the One who entrusted them with it.
What is this trust? From, so Allah will punish the hypocrites, male and female, it can be deduced that the trust was something related to hypocrisy, shirk (associating partners with God), and faith. Therefore, those who bear the trust are divided into groups based on how they handle the trust—hypocrites, mushriks, and believers.
Doubtlessly, the trust is a matter related to the true religion (al-dīn al-ḥaqq), since adhering or not adhering to it qualifies a person as a hypocrite, a mushrik, or a believer.
So, there is a question. Is the trust (amānah): (a) correct belief—bearing witness to the oneness of God, (b) a combination of beliefs and acts, whereby one accepts the details of religion (but without undue attention towards how well each detail is performed), (c) carrying out the prescribed acts of the religion scrupulously, or (d) a form of perfection that a human being reaches through one of the above?
(a) Correct belief. It cannot be this because the heavens, earth, and other creations declare the oneness of God, and glorify and praise Him. God says: There is no thing that does not glorify Allah (), whereas this verse makes it clear that they declined the trust.
(b) A combination of beliefs and acts, whereby one accepts the details of religion. It also cannot be this since the verse makes it clear that all human beings undertook the trust, whether or not they accept faith. Furthermore, it is apparent that most people have balked at accepting true faith or know nothing of it; therefore, they cannot be said to bear that responsibility.
(c) For the same reason, it is clear that the third option—carrying out the acts of religion scrupulously—is also not the case.
(d) A form of perfection that a human being reaches through one of the above. [ʿAllāmah is now exploring what type of perfection that could be.] It cannot be a form of perfection arrived at through belief in the oneness of God, since the heavens, earth, and other creations already declare that wholly. It also cannot be a form of perfection arrived at through knowing about or accepting the true religion since, as we said previously, all human beings bear the trust, even if they be hypocrites or mushriks. Furthermore, simply believing something does not lead to eternal happiness or misery; rather, it is the acts which emanate from those beliefs that have that determine their eternal future.
The view which the Author accepts: Therefore, the only remaining possibility is that the trust is something relating to true beliefs, righteous acts, and treading the path of perfection by ascending from the depths of materiality to the pinnacle of sincerity of faith in God alone. It is through sincerity in faith and total submission to God where a human being does not associate with any other than God that he may reach this pinnacle. So He [God] becomes the walī (complete guardian, full authority) of the human being through ceding the management of one’s affairs to Him; this is the divine wilāyah (al-wilāyah al-ilāhiyyah, full divine authority).
Therefore, the trust is the divine wilāyah. Offering it to the heavens, earth, mountains, and human beings is a figure of speech meaning to measure or weigh them. Accepting or rejecting it is a metaphor for whether or not they had the inherent capability and facility to handle. This interpretation is acceptable because it fits with the verse. For, despite their expansiveness, power, and strength, the heavens, earth, and the mountains lack the inherent capability to bear this; this is what is meant by their rejecting it and shrinking away from it.
However, the unjust, foolish human being did not reject it or shrink away from its weight and severe danger. The human being accepted it despite that. Therefore, based on how well they handle and hold firm to this trust, human beings are divided into different groups: hypocrites, mushriks, and believers. This is unlike the heavens, earth, and the mountains, since all of them are obedient and faithful.
Objection: Some might ask why a wise and omnipotent God would burden this unjust, foolish creature with a burden so perilous that—despite all their enormity and strength—the heavens, earth, and mountains all refused it. He did this while knowing that the human being is too weak to bear it, and that accepting it made him unjust and foolish, and led him into delusions and heedlessness of the consequences. With such an [in]capability to bear the trust, how could bearing it be anything but like following a leader who has gone insane? Those who are sane and rational would decline to follow such a person and would pity them for losing the ability to think straight.
Reply: While being unjust and ignorance are generally considered negative traits, they are what allow the human being to bear this trust, for a being which can be describe as unjust can also be described as just, and a being which can be described as ignorant can also be described as learned. Just as mountains can neither be called unjust nor ignorant, they can also neither be called just nor learned; the same for the heavens and the earth, unlike the human being.
The trust mentioned in the verse is divine wilāyah and the perfection of the attribute of servitude [towards God], which results from knowledge of God and acting rightly; this can also be called “justice”. It is described through these two things—namely, knowledge and justice—insofar as the bearer of it has the capability to lack them, and be unjust and ignorant. Thus is the human being; in and of himself, he can be unjust and ignorant, but this prepares him to bear the divine burden. Understand that.
The meaning of these two verses resembles:
We created the human being in the best form; then We returned him to the lowest form, except for those who believe that do good deeds, for they shall have a reward that shall be never cut off. ()
We offered the trust: Meaning the divine wilāyah and growing towards perfection through the truths of the truth religion in knowledge and deed. “Offering” it is a figure of speech for measuring the capability of these things to handle the trust.
To the heavens and the earth and the mountains: Meaning, to these enormous creations whose creation is greater than the creation of the human: The creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of the human. ()
But they feared it (ashfaqna) and refused (abayna an yaḥmilnahā) it: They feared to bear it and refused it due to their inherent inability to handle it; therefore, they did not accept it. The verb yaḥmilnahā conveys the sense of weight, in that it was too heavy for the heavens, earth, and mountains.
But mankind took it: Meaning, mankind had the inherent capacity necessary for it and was ready to accept it despite his weakness and smallness.
He was unjust, foolish: Meaning, he was unjust to himself and ignorant of the grave consequences of accepting this burden—nothing less than eternal perdition, should he betray it.
To put it more succinctly, it is because the human being is innately void of justice and knowledge but capable of accepting something that will develop these traits in himself that he can ascend from the depths of injustice and ignorance to the heights of justice and knowledge.
Unjust (ẓalūm) and ignorant (jahūl) are adjectives derived from ẓulm (injustice) and jahl (ignorance), respectively. They each describe the character of a person who is capable of being such, as Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī says, is similar to how one might say “a fractious horse (faras shamūs)”, “an unruly animal (dābbah jamūh)”, or “pure water (māʾ ṭahūr)”; or, as others say, in this adjectival form, the meaning of each adjective (“unjust” and “ignorant”) is intensified. In either case, however it is taken, the meaning is clear.
So Allah will punish (li-yuʿadhdhib) the hypocrites, male and female, as well as the men and women who associate partners with Allah: The l- at the beginning of the verse expresses a final destination. That is, it could be that the end result of bearing the burden is that God will punish the hypocrites and mushriks, male and female. For a person who betrays the trust but pretends not to is a hypocrite; few people will actually show others that they are betraying the trust. Possibly, due to this meaning, the verse mentions hypocrites before mushriks.
And Allah will turn towards the male and female believers. And Allah has always been forgiving, merciful: This sentence is linked to the previous (Allah will punish…) with the conjunction and. [That is, it continues to express an end goal of bearing the burden due to the fact that Allah will punish was prefaced by l-.] It means that the end result is that God will turn mercifully towards the believers, male and female. When God “turns” [from the same root as tawbah] towards His servant, it means that He turns towards him with mercy. So if a person has faith and has not betrayed the trust, He will turn to him with mercy and manage his affairs, for He is the guardian (walī) of the believers. He will guide him towards Himself, hiding his injustice and ignorance and adorning him with useful knowledge and righteous deeds, for He is forgiving and merciful.
Objection: Some might ask why the verses cannot be understood in such a manner that the “trust” means “religious duties” (that is, “the true religion”), “bearing the trust” means “having the inherent capacity to bear it”, “refusing to bear it” means “lacking the ability to bear it”, and “offering” it means “measuring their capability to bear it”? Everything that was said about the verse will still be applicable here.
Reply: Yes, however, performing religious duties (taklīf) is a prerequisite of embracing the divine wilāyah and perfecting the trait of servitude towards God. Therefore, the end goal is the divine wilayah and perfecting the trait of servitude, not the prerequisites in and of themselves.
Although both verses are in the voice of God, the verse shifts from first to third person in, so Allah will punish to show that the end of all matters resides with God, the Exalted, for He is God.
And Allah will turn (yatūba Allāh) towards the male and female believers: There is no need [in Arabic] to specify the subject Allah here, since it is implied by the verb. [That is, it simply could have said yatūba, not yatūba Allāh.] However, Allah is repeated to emphasise His concern over their rights and His attentiveness towards their concerns.
Exegetes have put forward other views regarding the trust, such as:
- The “trust” refers to religious duties, the performance of which leads a person to Paradise, and the omission of which leads a person to the Fire. “Offering the trust to the heavens, earth, and the mountains” is a way of examining whether they were ready for it; their refusing of the trust means that they were not ready for it. Conversely, when the human being bears the trust, it means that the human being was ready for it; the verses are figurative.
- The “trust” is the intellect, which is the foundation of the performance of religious duties, and which leads a person to either reward or punishment.
- The “trust” is the phrase there is no Allah but Allah (lā ilāha illā Allāh).
- The “trust” is the bodily organs, such as the eyes, ears, hands, legs, private parts, and tongues, which God entrusts a person with. A person must protect them and only use them in ways that are pleasing to God.
- The “trust” refers to the various trusts that people deposit with others, and keeping promises.
- The “trust” is knowledge of God and all that it entails. This is closest to the true meaning, and comes near to what we said previously.
Exegetes have also differed over what it means to offer the trust. Some of their views are:
- “Offering the trust” is meant literally. However, when the Qur’an speaks of “offering the trust to the heavens, earth, and mountains,” it means that God offered the trust to the inhabitants of those places—for instance, the angels in the heavens. God made it clear to them that betraying the trust would be an enormous sin, so they declined it and feared to bear it. However, God offered it to the human being, and the human being did not decline it.
- “Offering the trust” is meant literally. When God created the heavens, earth, and mountains, He placed the capacity for understanding in them and told them, “I am setting forth an obligation. I have created Paradise for whoever obeys Me, and the Fire for whoever disobeys Me.” They said, “We are compelled to do what you created us for. We cannot bear this obligation, and we seek neither reward nor punishment.” However, when God created Adam, He offered him this trust and he accepted it; he was unjust to himself and foolish about the severity of the consequences.
- “Offering the trust (ʿaraḍnā)” means “arguing or debating about it (muʿāriḍah)”. When it says “We offered the trust,” it means that God had the trust dispute against the heavens, earth, and mountains, and it won out and proved to be heavier than them.
- The verse is metaphorical and speaks of religious duties and the capability to fulfil them. That is, it means: “If God were to grant the heavens, the earth, and the mountains the ability to understand, and were to present them this trust, they would fear it and reject it; however, the human being would accept it.”
Looking back at what we said already regarding these verses will reveal the weak points in each of these views; therefore, take heed.
Examining Narrations
- In al-Kāfī, in a chain of narration from Muḥammad ibn Sālim, it is related in a hadith that Imām al-Bāqir said:
God never curses a believer. God, the Mighty and Glorious, says: Allah has cursed the deniers and prepared for them a blazing fire to abide therein forever; they shall find no protector and no helper ().
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, it is related via a chain of narration from Abū Baṣīr from Imām al-Bāqir:
The Israelites used to accuse Moses of having something wrong with his male organ since, whenever Moses wished to bathe, he would go to a place where no one could see him. One day, he was bathing at the bank of a river and had placed his clothing on a rock. So God ordered the rock to slide away from him [thereby making Moses chase it] so that the Israelites would see him and know that what they had said was not true. So God revealed: O you who believe! Do not be like those who vexed Moses. Allah absolved him of what they said, and he had a position with Allah. ()
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, it is related:
Exegetes disagree about how they were troubling Moses. One view is that Moses and Aaron climbed a mountain, and Aaron died. The Israelites accused Moses of killing Aaron, so God commanded the angels to bear the dead body over the Israelites, and the angels spoke of his death so that they understood that he had died of natural causes, and God absolved him of that accusation. This is related from ʿAlī and Ibn ʿAbbas.
Another view is that Moses used to be extremely modest and discreet, and used to bathe alone. So the Israelites asked, “What is he hiding from us unless he has a skin problem, or leprosy, or a scrotal hernia?” So once when he was bathing, he put his clothes on a rock, and the rock slid away with his clothes. Moses chased after it, and the Israelites saw him naked and saw that he was handsome, well-built man. Thus, God absolved him of what they said. This is related from Abū Hurayrah without a chain of narration.
Author’s comments: The first narration is also related in al-Durr al-Manthūr, also from Ibn Masʿūd. The second is also related from Anas and Ibn ʿAbbās.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Mardawayh relate that Sahl ibn Saʿd al-Sāʿidī said:
The Messenger of God never sat upon a minbar ever without reciting this verse: O you who believe! Mind Allah, and speak rightly. ()
Author’s comments: Something similar to this has also been narrated from ʿĀʾishah, Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, and ʿUrwah.
- In Nahj al-Balāghah, it is related [that Imām ʿAlī said]:
Whoever does not honour the trust shall fail. It was placed before the mighty skies, the vast earth, and the towering mountains, but none was found to be stronger, vaster, or higher than it. If anything could be unapproachable because of its height, vastness, power, or strength, it would have been them. However, they shrunk back from the consequences and understood what a weaker person would not realize; this [weaker person] was man. He was unjust, foolish ().
- In al-Kafī, it is related via a chain of narration from Isḥāq ibn ʿAmmār from a man that Imām al-Bāqir said regarding We offered the trust… ():
It is the wilāyah of the Commander of the Faithful [Imām ʿAlī].
Author’s comments: What is meant by “wilāyah of the Commander of the Faithful” is that he was the first of the ummah to open the door to (the divine wilāyah), although he was a human being. That is, it is making God one’s guardian (walī) in all matters, to strive in His way with sincere worship. It does not merely mean loving ʿAlī or just believing in his imamate. While some narrations present that view, they are examples of the application of the verse [not the sole root meaning of it].
That is, the verse does not specify exactly what they were asking, but one can deduce from the fact that they are asking about the “Hour” that they are asking when it will be (whereas the same would not be said if they were asking about the “Resurrection” or some other synonym for the Day of Judgment). (Trans.) ↩︎
See the discussion on and , including the sections on narrations. (Trans.) ↩︎
The headers in this section have been added by the translator. (Pub.) ↩︎
No other creation has this potentiality except the human being. (Pub.) ↩︎