Verses 48–65
The previous section elaborated on the signs of divine unity that were alluded to in the introductory verses. Now, these verses proceed to an explanation of the hereafter—how the final hour will come, how they will be brought forward for accounting and reward what will happen to the dwellers of the Garden and the guilty. All of expands on the basic picture of the hereafter that has already been introduced.
Commentary
وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَى هَذَا الْوَعْدُ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ٤٨
(36:48) And they say, “When will this threat come to pass, if you be truthful?”
They disbelievers are mocking them because they cannot fathom that there is any truth to what is being said. Perhaps the relative pronoun hādhā (“this”) is used to imply that the last day is near [either in time, or in mind], for the Prophet and believers often used to hear about the hereafter and warn them about it. When the promise (waʿd) of the hereafter is mentioned alone, it encompasses both the promise of bliss and the promise of torment. When it is contrasted with its opposite (waʿīd), waʿd refers to eternal happiness, and waʿīd refers to eternal misery.
مَا يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً تَأْخُذُهُمْ وَهُمْ يَخِصِّمُونَ ٤٩
(36:49) They are waiting for (yanẓurūn) nothing but a single cry (ṣayḥa) which shall overtake them while they wrangle (yakhtaṣimūn).
Yanẓurūn means “to await” or “to be on the lookout for”. The ṣayḥa (according to the context of the verses) is the first trumpet blast. It is described as a “single cry” to show how minute their matters are before God—glorified be His might. He needs nothing more to bring about their doom. Yakhtaṣimūn is from the root kh-ṣ-m and means “to argue” or “to quarrel”.
In the previous verse, the disbelievers mocked and belittled the final hour by saying “when will this threat come to pass, if you be truthful?”. This verse replies with a similar tone and makes light of them in turn. They may be asking [in jest] when it will happen, but they are really waiting for nothing but a single blast, which is easy for God; it is no effort for Him, and He requires no assistance in seizing them. Then, they will have nowhere to run to save themselves. At present, they are heedless of it, simply wrangling between themselves.
فَلا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ تَوْصِيَةً وَلا إِلَى أَهْلِهِمْ يَرْجِعُونَ ٥٠
(36:50) Then they will not be able to make any bequests or return to their people.
This cry will take them by surprise, and they will be faced with sudden death. They will have no chance to make a bequest: neither will there be time for that, nor will there be anyone left to make a bequest to, for they shall all be taken at once. Those who are outside will have no chance to return home.
وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَإِذَا هُم مِّنَ الأَجْدَاثِ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَنسِلُونَ ٥١
(36:51) And the trumpet shall be blown, and—behold!—they shall hasten (yansilūn) from their graves (ajdāth) to their Lord.
This will be the second blow of the trumpet, upon which the dead will be raised. Ajdāth is the plural of jadath, meaning “grave”. Yansilūn means “to walk quickly”. Here, paired with to their Lord, it is a sort of reproval, in that they had disliked the notion of divine lordship [but now they will be forced to hasten to their Lord]. The rest of the verse is clear.
قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَن بَعَثَنَا مِن مَّرْقَدِنَا هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ ٥٢
(36:52) They will say, “Woe be upon us! Who has raised us (baʿathnā) from our graves (marqadinā)? This is what the Merciful promised, and the messengers spoke the truth.”
Baʿathnā means “to raise”. A marqad is a place of rest; here, it means “graves” (or “final resting places”). They are referring to God as “the Merciful (al-Raḥmān)” to implore divine mercy, even though, when they were alive, they used to quip, “What is this ‘Merciful One’?” (). Their words “and the messengers spoke the truth” are linked with a conjunction to “this is what the Merciful promised”; that is, a declarative sentence with an action verb is connected to a declarative sentence with a linking verb.
Their words—“Woe be upon us! Who has raised us from our graves?”—are founded on how they rejected the idea of the resurrection when they were alive. They sprouted from the roots of heedlessness and denial that they planted during their own lives. They drowned themselves in their own desires. Therefore, when they stand in their graves and are driven on towards the plains of resurrection, they are dumbfounded at entering a new world which is unwelcoming to them and offers them nothing but ruin. Terror—the like of which they had never experienced before—overtakes them. They are shocked. How is it that the mountains no longer stand? Thus, they cry out, “Woe be upon us! We are destroyed!” This was how they acted when they were alive, when calamity befell them. Then they ask who has raised them from their graves, for they are completely confounded.
Then, it hits them. The messengers had told them of the divine promise to resurrect them and recompense them. Thus, they bear witness that this is true and beg the Merciful for protection. They profess, “This is what the Merciful promised.” This is how they acted when they were still alive: when their enemies got the upper hand, they used to flatter and cajole them and act humble, confessing to all sorts of wrongdoings and shortcomings. Then, they bear witness to the truthfulness of the messengers: the messengers spoke the truth.
From this, the following points can be deduced:
Why they cried “woe be upon us!” when they were raised from their graves.
Why they first asked who raised from their graves. At first, they seemed ignorant of it, but then they confessed to the reality of the Merciful and the truthfulness of the messengers and the messages they had borne from God. [Therefore, someone might ask why they said this; the answer is given in the interpretation above.]
The disbelievers are the ones saying, “Who has raised us from our graves? This is what the Merciful promised, and the messengers spoke the truth.”
Some exegetes hold that “who has raised us from our graves?” is linked via a conjunction to “this is what the Merciful promised”, with the grammatical particle mā intervening (hādhā mā waʿada al-raḥmān), and that the grammatical particle mā either introduces a verbal clause or is a relative pronoun (that is, it is either a mā maṣdariyya or mā mawṣūla). Therefore, in this view, either God, the angels, or the believers are responding to the disbelievers, who asked, “Who raised us from our graves?”
However, it is no secret that this—especially the interpretation of mā as introducing a verbal clause—grates against the apparent meaning of the verses. If this is what the Merciful had promised were a reply from God or the angels to the question of who has raised us from our graves?, the reply would have had to have answered the question of who did it, not what they did, because they asked who resurrected them.
Some exegetes address this objection by saying that this type of reply is a way of throwing their disbelief and rebelliousness back in their faces, and that the reply still indicates who raised them (that is, that it was the Merciful). However, this explanation does not work.
Lastly, it can also be deduced that this is what the Merciful promised is a subject-predicate sentence. Some exegetes object to this and maintain instead that this describes graves (marqadinā), rendering the meaning, “Who has raised us from these, our graves?” (This is because sometimes a demonstrative pronoun can come after the word it is describing.) Then, mā becomes the subject of a new sentence whose predicate is omitted, which would mean something along the lines of, “What the Merciful promised is true.” However, this view is unlikely.
إِن كَانَتْ إِلاَّ صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ جَمِيعٌ لَّدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ ٥٣
(36:53) It will have been but a single cry, and—behold!—all will be brought before Us.
What “it” is left unmentioned. It means something along the lines of “this act will be but a single blast” or “this blast will be but a single blast which will take them by surprise, for they will be gathered before Us without any delay or respite.”
The expression before Us (ladaynā) is used because, on that day, all will be present for judgment before God.
فَالْيَوْمَ لا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَلا تُجْزَوْنَ إِلاَّ مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ٥٤
(36:54) So on this day, no soul shall be wronged at all, nor shall you (2nd person singular) be requited for anything but what you (2nd person singular) used to do.
This means that, on that day, all will be judged justly, and none shall be misjudged in any way.
Nor shall you be requited for anything but what you used to do: This explains the preceding phrase (on this day, no soul shall be wronged at all) and—in actuality—shows why there shall be no injustice on that day. For, on that day, they will be recompensed for their deeds by their actual deeds. Injustice can be defined as “putting something in the wrong place”. Therefore, burdening a person with his or her own deeds is by nature not unjust, since it involves putting something in the most suitable place.
The way that this verse describes how people will be summoned and addressed on the Day of Judgment (both the addressee and people in general) should be taken somewhat metaphorically. Some people imagine that this verse means that mean that people will hear these exact words from God, angels, or the believers. However, nothing in this verse indicates that these words will literally be uttered.
The clause, Nor shall you be requited for anything but what they used to is addressed here to both the saved and condemned.
Some exegetes maintain that the word illā (“except”, translated here as “anything but”) implies that this verse cannot encompass all people. This is because God will actually multiply the reward of the believers. He will grant the believers more than their just recompense, as in: They shall have what they wish, and with Us is more (). However, the verse itself is only speaking of actual recompense for deeds—deeds for deeds. Gifting a person with more than their just recompense is a different matter.
Possibly, this argument can also be responded to by saying that the meaning of the verse is that the righteous will not find their reward lessened in any way, nor will the wicked find their requital to be intensified, for wisdom would disallow this. However, there is no problem in increasing one’s reward or reducing punishment; the intent of nor shall they be requited for anything but what they used to do is that they will only be requited for the sort of thing they used to do; if it is good, then it is good, and if it is evil, then it is evil.
However, a problem with this response is that if this were what the verse were meant to say, there would be no disagreement; however, the disagreement is over what the verse itself intends to say.
إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ الْيَوْمَ فِي شُغُلٍ فَاكِهُونَ ٥٥
(36:55) The dwellers of the Garden on that day will be busy with enjoyments (fī shughulin fākihūn).
Shughul is something that occupies a person and keeps his attention away from other things. Fākih is from fakāha and means “jesting and cheerful bantering”, “enjoying”, or “taking pleasure in”. It has been said that it is not used as a trilateral verb.
Some say that fākihūn means “to possess fruit”, like the word lābin (meaning “to possess milk”) or tāmir (meaning “to possess dates”). However, it is unlikely that, here, it refers to actual fruit, since the verses mention fruit elsewhere, and so there would be no reason to repeat this.
It means that the dwellers of the garden, on that day, will be so busy enjoying the the blessings of the garden that they will not think of other things.
هُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُمْ فِي ظِلالٍ عَلَى الأَرَائِكِ مُتَّكِؤُونَ ٥٦
(36:56) They and their spouses, in the shade (ẓilāl), reclining on couches (arāʾik).
Ẓilāl is the plural of ẓill, although some say it is the plural of ẓullah. It means “shade from the sun beneath a rooftop or portico or tree or something similar”. An arīka (sing. of arāʾik) can refer to anything that is leant upon, such as cushions or other things.
It means, “The dwellers of paradise will be with their believing wives from this life or the heavenly maidens (ḥūr al-ʿayn), beneath the shade, shielded from the sun or other things, reclining on couches with honor and dignity.”
لَهُمْ فِيهَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَلَهُم مَّا يَدَّعُونَ ٥٧
(36:57) Therein they shall have fruits (fākiha) and whatever else they seek.
Fākiha is from the verb yatafakah (“to take amusement in”, “to eat fruit”) and means “fruit”, such as apples or citrus fruit. Yadʿūn is from the root d-ʿ-a (“to call”, “to ask for”, “to pray”) and means “to wish for”. It means that, in the garden, they will have fruit and whatever else their hearts desire.
سَلامٌ قَوْلا مِن رَّبٍّ رَّحِيمٍ ٥٨
(36:58) “Peace!”—a word (qawlan) from a merciful Lord.
“Peace” is the subject of a sentence whose predicate is elided. It is indefinite to make it sound larger than life and means something along the lines of “peace be upon them” or “they shall have peace”. Qawlan (“word”, “utterance”) is the object of an elided verb, and means something along the lines of “I shall utter a word to him from a merciful Lord.”
The most straightforward meaning is that they shall have peace [or a greeting of peace] from God, and that this is different from the peace wished upon them by the angels, mentioned in:
And the angels shall approach them from every gate. “Peace be upon you for what you endured! And what a blessed final abode.” ()
وَامْتَازُوا الْيَوْمَ أَيُّهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ ٥٩
(36:59) And stay apart today, O guilty ones!
Meaning, “On that day, We shall tell the guilty to stay apart from the dwellers of Paradise and will distinguish between them.” It is the actualization of what is referred to elsewhere, such as:
Or shall We make the faithful who work righteous deeds like the corrupt in the land, or shall we make the pious like the wicked? ()
Or do those who wrought evil think that We will make them like the faithful who worked righteous deeds, or that their life and their death shall be equal? ()
أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يَا بَنِي آدَمَ أَن لّا تَعْبُدُوا الشَّيْطَانَ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ ٦٠
(36:60) O children of Adam, did I not enjoin (aʿhad) you not to worship Satan? He is an open enemy to you.
Aʿhad (from the root ʿ-h-d) means “advise” or “make a bequest”. Here, “worshipping Satan” means “obeying what he whispers to a person or telling others to do what he says”, for obedience is due to God alone, or to those whom God commands people to obey. The reason given for not obeying him is that he is an open enemy, for a person’s enemy never approaches them with goodwill.
Some exegetes say that “worshipping Satan” here means worshipping deities other than God, and that they are referred to as “Satan” because he makes them seductive and glittery, but this view is rather contrived.
The words are addressed to the guilty in the name of “the children of Adam” because Satan first became an enemy of Adam when he was ordered to prostrate to Adam and refused haughtily. Therefore, he was cast out and became inimical to Adam’s descendants and vowed:
He said: “Tell me, is this he whom You have honored above me? If You respite me to the day of resurrection, I will most certainly cause his progeny to perish, except for a few.” ()
This divine warning not to obey Satan is also conveyed in the words of the messengers and prophets, as in:
O children of Adam! Do not let Satan bewitch you the way he caused your parents to leave the garden. ()
Do not let Satan ward you off; he is a clear enemy to you. ()
Some exegetes say that aʿhad refers to the covenant (ʿahd) that God made with human beings in the realm of pre-existence (ʿālam al-dharr), in which they were asked “am I not your Lord?” and swore “yes” ().
As we discussed previously in the exposition of verse of al-dharr (), the covenant taken there is in a way identical with the covenant directed at them in this world.
وَأَنْ اعْبُدُونِي هَذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ ٦١
(36:61) And to worship Me? This is the straight path.
This explains the previous verse and is linked to it with a conjunction. The meaning of the “straight path” was discussed in the exegesis on Qur’an (Sūrah al-Fātiḥa).
وَلَقَدْ أَضَلَّ مِنكُمْ جِبِلًّا كَثِيرًا أَفَلَمْ تَكُونُوا تَعْقِلُونَ ٦٢
(36:62) He has led astray a great multitude (jibil) of you. Could you not understand?
A jibil is a group. Some say that it is a large group. These words are a sort of gentle reproof.
هَذِهِ جَهَنَّمُ الَّتِي كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ ٦٣
(36:63) This is the hell which you were promised.
Meaning, “You the prophets and messengers told you of this again and again. It is the first thing that God swore to Iblīs:
‘You shall not have any authority over My servants, apart from the corrupt who follow you, and hellfire shall be their destination, for all of them’ ().”
The wording of the verse implies that the hellfire will be roused on that day.
اصْلَوْهَا الْيَوْمَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ ٦٤
(36:64) Today, burn in it (iṣlawhā) for what you used to reject.
Al-ṣalā means “to accompany and follow” [and is therefore from the root w-ṣ-l]. Some exegetes say that it means “to endure heat” [and therefore is from the root ṣ-l-y]. It is clear that for what you used to reject is addressed to the disbelievers who are intended by the guilty.
الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَى أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ٦٥
(36:65) Today, We will seal their mouths, and their hands will speak, and their legs will bear witness to what they used to do.
Meaning that these parts will all bear witness to what they were used for—such as if the hands or feet are employed to commit sins. Each limb will speak specifically about the sins under its domain. Hands and feet are mentioned as examples. Similarly, ears, eyes, and hearts are mentioned elsewhere, such as in . Skin is also mentioned in , and this will be elaborated on in the exegesis of Sūrah 41, God willing.
Examining Narrations
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, regarding they are waiting for nothing but a single cry (), it says:
This is at the end of time. A cry will echo forth while they are wrangling with each other in the marketplaces. They will fall dead on the spot, and none shall return to their homes or leave behind any bequest. This is what is meant by then they will not be able to make any bequests or return to their people ().
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, it is narrated:
Two men will have spread out a cloth for buying and selling things on, but they will not [conclude their deal] and fold it up before the final hour strikes. A man will be raising a morsel of food to his mouth [but will not be able to eat it because] the final hour will intervene. A man will be filling his trough to water his livestock, but they will not sate their thirst because the final hour will intervene.
Author’s comments: Something to a similar effect has been narrated in al-Durr al-Manthūr from the Prophet via Abū Hurayra and also from Qatāda without a chain of narration.
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, regarding And the trumpet shall be blown, and—behold!—they shall hasten from their graves (ajdāth) to their Lord (), it says:
Meaning, from the graves.
- And in a narration from Abū Jārūd from Imām al-Bāqir, regarding “Woe be upon us! Who has raised us from our graves?” (), it says:
A group of people will have been resting in their graves when they are raised for accounting; when they are awakened, they will think they had only been asleep. Then they will say, “Woe be upon us! Who has raised us from our graves?” The angels will reply, “This is what the Merciful promised, and the messengers spoke the truth” ().
- In al-Kāfī, with a chain of narration from Abū Baṣīr, it is related that Imām al-Ṣādiq said:
Abū Dharr—may God’s mercy be upon him—used to say in his sermons: “What lies between death and the resurrection is naught but something akin to a sleep which someone is then woken from.”
- Regarding the dwellers of the Garden on that day will be busy with enjoyments (fākihūn) (), Tafsīr al-Qummī says:
[It means] they will be enjoying the company of women and dallying with them.
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, regarding in the shade, reclining on couches (arāʾik) (), Abū Jārūd relates from Imām al-Bāqir:
Arāʾik are couches [akin to bridal couches] with curtained canopies.
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, regarding “Peace!”—a word from a merciful Lord (), it says:
Peace here means “safety”.
- Regarding And stay apart today, O guilty ones! (), Tafsīr al-Qummī says:
When God gathers people on the day of resurrection, they will remain standing upon their feet, sweat pouring down, until they cry out, “O Lord! Take us to account, even if towards the Fire!”
So God will raise a wind that will strike them, and a caller will call out, “And stay apart today, o guilty ones!” so that they may be distinguished from one another. So the guilty will go to the fire, and those in whose hearts is faith will go to the garden.
Author’s comments: It is related in some narrations that God—glorified be He—will manifest himself to them. As long as He is manifesting Himself, they will be so dazzled by Him that they will forget everything else. Here, “manifesting” means that all the veils between them and their Lord will be lifted so that they will perceive Him in all ways other than physical sight, for it is impossible to physically see God.
- In al-Iʿtiqādāt by al-Ṣādūq, it is related that Imām al-Bāqir said:
Whoever hearkens to a speaker has worshipped him. If the speaker is speaking on behalf of God, then that person has worshipped God. If the speaker is speaking on behalf of Iblīs, then that person has worshipped Iblīs.
- In al-Kāfī, with a chain of narration from Muḥammad ibn Sālim, it is related that Imām al-Bāqir said:
The limbs of a believer will not bear witness over them; instead, they will bear witness over those who have merited certain doom. The believer will be given his book in his right hand. God, the Exalted and Mighty, says: As for those who are given their book sin their right hands, they shall read their books…and not be wronged in the least ().
- In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is related from Masʿada ibn Ṣadaqa from Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad [Imām al-Ṣādiq] from his grandfather [Imam al-Sajjād] that the Commander of the Faithful [Imām ʿAlī] said in a sermon describing the terror of the day of resurrection:
God will have sealed their mouths, and so they shall not speak. Instead, their hands shall speak, and their legs shall bear witness, and their skin shall speak of what they did. They shall hide nothing from God.
Author’s comments: There are other narrations to this effect. Some will be mentioned at the end of the exegesis of Their hearing and eyes and skin shall bear witness to them (), and some were mentioned in the discussion on [Their] ears, eyes, and hearts will all be questioned ().
The Qur’an speaks of two blows of the trumpet, one at the end of the world, and another at the beginning of the hereafter, as the next verse mentions. [Trans.] ↩︎
In that the latter half of the verse is phrased in the second person singular, that is, a single, unspecified “you”. [Trans.] ↩︎
As an example, hands might steal, and feet might kick or walk somewhere disreputable. [Trans.] ↩︎
That is, it will come about unexpectedly, when people are busy doing ordinary things. [Trans.] ↩︎
That is, it is an explanation of the meaning of ajdāth, here already translated into English as “graves”. [Trans.] ↩︎