Verses 11–28
These verses detail the punishment that is certain to befall them that day and describe their overall condition. As we have already mentioned, this is the central goal of the chapter. The condition of the righteous on that day is used for emphasis to reinforce the intended warning by providing a source of contrast.
Commentary
فَوَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ ١١
(52:11) woe to the deniers on that day
This sentence serves as a conclusion that is drawn from preceding verses which spoke about the unavoidable punishment of the Day of Judgement. In other words: When the matter is as described and there is no escape from the punishment, then woe to those who, despite its inevitability, still deny its existence and lie about it. This verse indicates that the ones who will be punished are the very same ones who deny the reality of the punishment because, even if it does not explicitly condemn them to hellfire, it invokes woe (wayl) upon them on that day, which implies that this is indeed their destiny.
Alternatively, it could be read as meaning that the punishment will inevitably come to pass and there is no doubt that it will only fall upon those who deny it, because they are the ones who disbelieve in God and deny the Day of Resurrection, so woe to them on that day. What shows that the punishment will befall the deniers is the earlier phrase, your Lord’s punishment (), because God’s punishment will only fall upon those who the Prophet called toward Him but who did not answer the summons and denied his message.
الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي خَوْضٍ يَلْعَبُونَ ١٢
(52:12) those who play around in vain talk (khawḍ)
Khawḍ (‘vain talk’, lit. ‘delve’) means to go into false speech, Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī says:
‘Khawḍ means to delve into a body of water and this term came to be used figuratively to mean entering into different matters, it is mostly used in the Qurʾan for things that it is blameworthy to enter into.’ The fact that khawḍ in this verse appears indefinite indicates that it has an implicit adjective, namely khawḍ ʿajīb or ‘strange vain talk.’
Moreover, insofar as occupying oneself with falsehoods will not lead anyone to a truthful outcome but rather only to false or fanciful ones adorned by delusions, the Qurʾan describes them as ‘playing’, because playing is, by definition, an activity that only produces imaginary results.
Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: The deniers are those who persist in playing around in this strange vain talk by arguing about God’s signs, denying them, and mocking them.
يَوْمَ يُدَعُّونَ إِلَىٰ نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ دَعًّا ١٣
(52:13) the day when they will be shoved toward the fire of hell forcibly
The phrase, the day when… appears to be an exposition of that day, above ().
هَٰذِهِ النَّارُ الَّتِي كُنْتُمْ بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ ١٤
(52:14) ‘This is the Fire which you used to deny!’
Meaning: ‘They will be told: “This is the Fire which you used to deny!”’
When God says that they used to deny the Fire, He means that they denied the revelation that the Prophets conveyed to them from God about the existence of this Fire and about the fact that He would punish the guilty with it. In short, this verse means that this Fire is the confirmation of what the Prophets brought, which you had denied.
أَفَسِحْرٌ هَٰذَا أَمْ أَنْتُمْ لَا تُبْصِرُونَ ١٥
(52:15) Is this then magic, or is it you who do not perceive?
Here, God builds on the previous verse—This is the Fire which you used to deny!—by posing a rhetorical question intended as a rebuke. In it, He asks them, if this is the same Fire whose existence you rejected, then the miracles and revelation of the Prophets were not magic or trickery, as you claimed them to be either. This is not something imaginary or fictitious, as you impugned. On the contrary, it is something you can see clearly in front of you and experience directly. Therefore, this verse is in a similar vein to the verse elsewhere in the Qurʾan, The day when the faithless are exposed to the Fire, ‘Is this not a fact?’ ().
اصْلَوْهَا فَاصْبِرُوا أَوْ لَا تَصْبِرُوا سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ إِنَّمَا تُجْزَوْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ١٦
(52:16) Enter it (iṣlaw–hā), and whether you are patient or impatient it will be the same for you. You are only being requited for what you used to do.
The root salya (from which the imperative iṣlaw is derived) literally means to be exposed to the heat of fire. Therefore, this commands them to submit themselves to the fires of hell.
… and whether you are patient or impatient: This follows from the command for them to enter Hellfire, and the use of equivocation here is to show that it makes no difference to the outcome whether they are patient or not. That is why God follows this phrase with it will be the same for you. In other words, you will inevitably suffer the heat of Hellfire and there can be no escape from it, whether you are patient and endure it or not. No amount of patience or endurance will free you from this punishment or reduce it for you, and neither will any amount of fright or impatience avail you in any way.
Therefore the phrase, it will be the same for you, is the predicate of an implicit subject, namely ‘both (patience and impatience) are the same for you.’
You are only being requited for what you used to do: This explains the rationale for why their punishment is inevitable and why it will make no difference whether they try to endure it or not.
In short, this verse means: You are only due this evil recompense because you are being requited for the deeds you performed while you were alive. And, just as you cannot separate yourself from what you have done, you cannot be separated from the punishment for it. Alternatively, it could be read as meaning that you cannot escape the consequences of and recompense for your actions.
إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَنَعِيمٍ ١٧
(52:17) Indeed the Godwary will be amid gardens (jannāt) and bliss (naʿīm)
A janna (‘garden’, pl. jannāt, ‘gardens’) is an orchard shaded by trees, while naʿīm (‘bliss’) means an abundance of blessings. In short, those who possess the quality of Godwariness (taqwā) on that day will be lodged in gardens and surrounded by a multitude of blessings and enjoyments.
فَاكِهِينَ بِمَا آتَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ وَوَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ ١٨
(52:18) rejoicing (fākihīn) because of what their Lord has given them, and that their Lord has saved them from the punishment of hell.
The term fākiha (with which fākihīn shares a common root) refers to any kind of fruit. Some scholars have said that it refers to any kind of fruit except grapes or pomegranates. It is said that the verbs tafakkah and fakiha mean to pass fruits around or to receive fruits. This verse has been read variously in accordance with all of these meanings. So, some say that it means that they speak to one another about the blessings their Lord has bestowed upon them. Others say that it means that they will share the fruits given to them by their Lord with one another. Yet others say that it means they will enjoy the generosity of their Lord (in a similar vein to the first meaning). And other still say that it means that they will be amazed by the blessings their Lord has given them (perhaps in a similar vein to the second meaning).
The repetition of the phrase their Lord in this verse—the second time in the phrase, their Lord has saved them from the punishment of hell—is to show the great concern God has for the Godwary.
كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا هَنِيئًا بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ١٩
(52:19) Enjoy your food and drink (kulū wa–shrabū hanīʾan), for what you used to do.
They are told: ‘Eat and drink with enjoyment’ or ‘Eat and drink enjoyable food and drink’—in this sentence, the Arabic word hanīʾan can serve as either an absolute object (mafʿūl muṭlaq) or direct object (mafʿūl bih).
The phrase, for what you used to do, is either the object of the command enjoy your food and drink or of the word hanīʾan. The variation produces a subtle difference in the meaning of the verse: In the first case, it would mean that the food and drink is the result of their deeds in this world, while in the latter case, it would mean that their enjoyment of it is the result of their deeds in this world.
مُتَّكِئِينَ عَلَىٰ سُرُرٍ مَصْفُوفَةٍ ۖ وَزَوَّجْنَاهُمْ بِحُورٍ عِينٍ ٢٠
(52:20) They will be reclining (muttakiʾīn) on arrayed couches (surur maṣfūfa), and We will wed them to big-eyed houris.
The word muttakiʾīn (reclining) is derived from ittikāʾ, which means to rest one’s weight on a pillow or the like thereof.
Surur (couches) is the plural of sarīr, denoting ‘a raised seat.’
Maṣfūfa (arrayed) means that they are laid out next to one another, side-by-side, in a line.
Therefore, the meaning of the verse is that they will be resting on cushions and pillows, sitting on elevated seats.
… and We will wed them to big-eyed houris: The meaning of ‘wed’ here is to pair them with houris, not to solemnise a marriage between them. This is illustrated by the phrasing of the Arabic—wa zawwajnā-hum bi-ḥūr-i ʿayn—where the verb ‘wed’ (zawwajnā) is given a second object using the preposition bi, as when the verb zawwajnā is used in the sense of marriage, it is already doubly transitive and, as such, does not require the preposition bi for it to take a second object. See for example, the verse, We wedded her to you (zawwajnā-ka-hā) (), where if the preposition bi had been necessary for the verb to take a second object, the Arabic would have read zawwajnā-ka bi-hā.
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُمْ بِإِيمَانٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَمَا أَلَتْنَاهُمْ مِنْ عَمَلِهِمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ۚ كُلُّ امْرِئٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَهِينٌ ٢١
(52:21) And the faithful and their descendants who followed them (ittabaʿathum) in faith (bi imānin)—We will make their descendants join them (alhaqnā bi–him), and We will not stint them (mā alatnāhum) anything from their deeds. Every man is a hostage to what he has earned.
What is the difference between ‘following’ (ittibāʿ) and ‘joining’ (luhūq)? Some commentators have said that while both terms imply the sense of one party going ahead and another coming after, ‘following’ implies that the follower imitates the one they follow—such that they go wherever the latter goes, and they do whatever the latter does—whereas ‘joining’ does not suggest this, only that the two reach the same destination.
The verb alatna, derived from lāt and alāt (to stint) means ‘to diminish.’ Therefore, when God says, We will not stint them…, He means, ‘We will not diminish anything from their deeds by causing them to join their forbears.’
It appears as though the verse is intended to enumerate God’s blessings to the faithful. God tells the faithful that He will bless them by ensuring their descendants who follow them in faith will join them in paradise, as this is supposed to gladden them and soothe their hearts. This shows that the noun īmān (faith) is indefinite here to signal the generality of this belief (i.e. ‘any faith’) rather than to aggrandize or magnify it. In other words, those who follow them with any kind of faith, even if that faith is of a lesser degree than that of their forbears, will join them in paradise. After all, it could hardly be counted a blessing if God caused their descendants to join them while those descendants had a faith that was equal to or stronger than the faith of their ancestors.
The fact that the phrase, their descendants who followed them in faith, is not qualified or restricted in any way shows that it is referring to people who are capable of belief in the sense that they have reached the age of moral responsibility. Therefore, the term descendants here refers to adult descendants who have a moral responsibility to believe; it does not encompass children who died while still minors. However, this does not contradict the legal doctrine that says the children of the faithful are assumed to be believers even while they are minors.
In this vein, however, is another possible reading that can be derived from the indefiniteness of the word īmān, namely that their descendants who followed them in faith includes those who chose to believe as adults and those who followed the faith of their parents while still children. In this case, the blessing God is granting to the faithful is that their children who die before reaching maturity will still be admitted to paradise with them. In this case, the pronouns ‘them/their’ (hum) in We will not stint them anything from their deeds refers back to the faithful, just like they do in the phrases their descendants who followed them in faith. In this case, the statement, We will not stint them anything from their deeds, is intended to remove any suggestion that God will diminish the rewards of the faithful in order for their children to join them in paradise, because this would run counter to the spirit of divine generosity being expressed in the verse. Moreover, it is obvious that it would be ungenerous to diminish the rewards of the parents rather than the rewards of the minors (who, because of their age, have not had the opportunity to earn divine rewards).
From this, it is evident that the verse, the faithful and their descendants who followed them… represents the beginning of a new discourse, distinct from the one immediately before it, in which God expounds His generosity and blessings towards those who have faith: He says that He will ensure that their children join them in paradise so long as they follow them with any kind of faith, even if that faith is weaker or less intense than that of their parents. He says this to gladden and reassure the parents. Moreover, He promises not to diminish the rewards of the parents in order for their children to join them. On the contrary, He will give the children the same as He gives the parents or, at the very least, a sufficient amount of reward that there is no discrepancy between them.
There are some ill-informed readings of this verse. For example, that the term the faithful in this verse is actually the object of the verb wed in the previous verse, so that the meaning becomes: ‘We will wed them to big-eyed houris and the faithful…’ meaning that they will be married to the houris and joined to the faithful in companionship and camaraderie.
Another such reading is that descendants only refers to children who are still minors when they die. Yet another is that the pronouns ‘them/their’ (hum) in and We will not stint them anything from their deeds refers to the descendants. In this case, the meaning would be: ‘And we did not diminish the rewards of the descendants in the slightest by causing them to join their parents. On the contrary, we will give them their full recompense—for good or bad—then cause them to join their parents.’
Every man is a hostage (rahīn) to what he has earned: Based on the context, this offers a rationale for the statement, and We will not stint them anything from their deeds. The term rahīn is derived from rahn, which, according to al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, refers to a security or collateral that is given in exchange for a loan. He writes: ‘Insofar as a rahn is held as a security for a loan, the term came to be used to denote anything that is kept as a security or guarantee, no matter what it is.’
Perhaps this figurative meaning is what is intended by the verse, as if to say that the person is a piece of collateral that God holds as a security for his deeds, whether good or evil, until He can repay him in full for what he has done in this world, whether in the form of reward or punishment. Therefore, if God diminishes anything from his deeds and does not deliver his recompense in full, he would not truly be a hostage to what he has earned but merely a hostage to some of what he has earned, in which case someone else might be given the remainder of it, like his descendants who God causes to join him. Therefore, by saying, every man is a hostage to what he has earned, God is emphasizing that no one’s deeds (or the recompense thereof) will be given to anyone else.
But what about the verse, Every soul is hostage to what it has earned, except the People of the Right Hand ()? This is referring to them being a hostage to punishment on the Day of Judgement, as is clear from the context in which it appears, as in the following we read: They will be in gardens, questioning concerning the guilty ().
Some have suggested that the meaning of the present verse is that every man is a hostage to his evil deeds—as suggested by the aforementioned verse from Sūrah al-Muddaththir)—save for the People of the Right Hand. According to this reading, the phrase, every man is a hostage to what he has earned, is an aside referring to the inmates of hellfire in the middle of a passage describing the inhabitants of paradise.
Al-Zamakhsharī has resolved this apparent conflict between the two verses by adopting a figurative reading. He writes: ‘A servant’s soul is held hostage by God in exchange for the righteous deeds He wishes him to perform, in the same way that a man might hold his slave hostage for some work He has asked him to do. If he completes the task, He releases him, otherwise, He will punish them.’
However, it will be evident to the reader that this does not suffice to explain the connection between the phrase, every man is a hostage to what he has earned, and the rest of the verse in which it occurs.
وَأَمْدَدْنَاهُمْ بِفَاكِهَةٍ وَلَحْمٍ مِمَّا يَشْتَهُونَ ٢٢
(52:22) We will provide them (amdadnā–hum) with fruits and meat, such as they desire
This verse provides further details about some of the blessings and enjoyments they will receive in paradise, which were alluded to in the earlier verse, Enjoy your food and drink, for what you used to do ().
The verb amdadnā-hum (We will provide them) is derived from imdād, which means to bring something to someone time and again, and it is only used for good things, in the same way as the verb madd is only used for evil ones, as per the verse, and We will prolong (wa numuddu) his punishment endlessly ().
Therefore, the meaning of this verse is: We will provide them with fruits and whatever meats they desire as many times as they desire and on as many occasions as they desire, without ever ceasing.
يَتَنَازَعُونَ فِيهَا كَأْسًا لَا لَغْوٌ فِيهَا وَلَا تَأْثِيمٌ ٢٣
(52:23) There they will pass from hand to hand (yatanāzaʿūn) a cup (kaʾs) wherein there will be neither any vanity (laghw) nor sinfulness (taʾthīm).
The verb yatanāzaʿūn means to gather together and pass something around, while a kaʾs here refers to a large drinking bowl. The term kaʾs in classical Arabic is only ever used to refer to something that contains wine.
The meaning of laghw (vanity) here is the vain speech that comes out of the mouths of wine drinkers in this world, while taʾthīm (sinfulness) refers to the sinful behavior they indulge in under the influence of alcohol. The negation of vanity and sinfulness in this verse shows that the cup being referred to in this verse is indeed a wine cup. However, the wine of the hereafter does not produce the same effects as the wine of this world.
وَيَطُوفُ عَلَيْهِمْ غِلْمَانٌ لَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ لُؤْلُؤٌ مَكْنُونٌ ٢٤
(52:24) They will be waited upon by youths of theirs (yaṭūf ʿalayhim ghilmānin lahum), as if they were guarded pearls
Note here that the verb yaṭūf (lit. ‘to circuit, circumambulate’) is used here to mean coming and going in service.
Some have said that the phrase ghilmānin lahum (youths of theirs) is kept indefinite here lest one might imagine that these ghilmān were the servants that they had in this world, whereas, in fact, like the houris, these youths are creatures of Paradise. They are akin to guarded pearls because of their beauty, grace, and purity.
وَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ ٢٥
(52:25) They will turn to one another, questioning each other.
In other words, each of them will ask the others about their condition in this world and what led them to attain the blessings of paradise.
قَالُوا إِنَّا كُنَّا قَبْلُ فِي أَهْلِنَا مُشْفِقِينَ ٢٦
(52:26) They will say, ‘Indeed, aforetime, we used to be apprehensive about our families (fī ahlinā mushfiqīn)…’
Al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī says that ishfāq (apprehension) refers to concern mixed with fear, for the one who is apprehensive loves the thing about which he is apprehensive and fears that harm might come to it, as God says, and who are apprehensive of the Hour (). In the present verse, the verb is made transitive using the preposition fī, and when this is the case it emphasizes the meaning of fearfulness.
Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: In this world, we were apprehensive for our families, we cared for their happiness and saving them from error and perdition, so we lived with them gracefully, advised them abundantly, and called them to the truth.
فَمَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا وَوَقَانَا عَذَابَ السَّمُومِ ٢٧
(52:27) ‘… But Allah showed us favor (mann Allah ʿalaynā) and He saved us from the punishment of the miasma (al–samūm)…’
According to al-Rāghib, mann (to show favor) means to pour out blessings on someone, which is a good thing, or to enumerate one’s favors to someone, which is a detestable action from anyone besides God. For example, see the verse, They count it as a favor to you (yamannūn ʿalayk) that they have embraced Islam. Say, ‘Do not count it as a favor to me (lā tamunnū ʿalayya) your embracing of Islam. Rather it is Allah who has done you a favor (Allah yamunnu ʿalaykum) in that He has guided you to faith, should you be truthful ().
God showed favor to the inhabitants of paradise by granting them felicity through enveloping them in His mercy and protecting them from the punishment of the miasma.
According to al-Ṭabrisī, al-samūm refers to a heat that penetrates the pores of the body and causes it pain, hence why a hot wind is referred to as rīh al-samūm.
إِنَّا كُنَّا مِنْ قَبْلُ نَدْعُوهُ ۖ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْبَرُّ الرَّحِيمُ ٢٨
(52:28) ‘…indeed we used to supplicate Him aforetime. Indeed He is the All-benign, the All-merciful.’
This explains why God showed them the favor mentioned in the previous verse, and the coda, Indeed He is the All-benign, the All-merciful explains why they used to supplicate Him.
Taken along with the two previous verses, the present verse shows that these inhabitants of paradise would supplicate to God in this world by worshipping Him through His oneness and submitting to His commands, and that they showed care and concern for their families by drawing them near to the truth and keeping them away from falsehood. This was the reason for the great favor that God showed to them in paradise and why God protected them from the punishment of the miasma. Of course, the ultimate reason for all of that is that God is the All-benign (al-Birr) and the All-merciful (al-Raḥīm), and so He treats those who invoke Him with kindness and shows them mercy.
Therefore, these three verses can be read in the same vein as the two latter most verses of Sūrah al-ʿAṣr: Indeed man is in loss, except those who have faith and do righteous deeds, and enjoin one another to the truth, and enjoin one another to patience ().
The All-benign (al-Birr) is one of God’s Most Beautiful Names. It is derived from birr, in the sense of to treat kindly. Some scholars have said it is similar in meaning to ‘the Gracious’ (al-Laṭīf).
Examining Narrations
- In al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī narrates via his chain of narrators from Abū Bakr, from Imām al-Ṣādiq, about the verse, And the faithful and their descendants who followed them in faith—We will make their descendants join them (): ‘The children fall short from the achievements of their parents, so God ensures that the children join their parents that the hearts of the latter might be gladdened.’
Author’s comments: The same tradition is also narrated by al-Ṣadūq in Kitāb al-tawḥīd via his chain of narrators from Abū Bakr al-Ḥaḍramī, from Imām al-Ṣādiq.
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī it is narrated from Sulaymān al-Daylamī, from Abū Baṣīr, from Imām al-Ṣādiq: ‘Surely the (deceased) children of our faithful followers (shīʿatunā min al-muʾminīn) will be cared for by Fāṭima. God says, We will make their descendants join them, meaning that they will be returned to their parents on the Day of Judgment.’
Author’s comments: This is also narrated by al-Ṭabrisī in Majmaʿ al-bayān as part of a tradition from Imām al-Ṣādiq with an incomplete chain of narrators.
- In Kitāb al-tawḥīd, al-Ṣadūq narrates via a chain of narrators from Abū Baṣīr that Imām al-Ṣādiq said: ‘When a child of the faithful dies, a caller cries out from the depths of the heavens and the earth, “Lo! Surely so-and-so child of so-and-so has died!” If one or both of their parents have already died, or if some of their faithful family members have died, they will be taken to join them and be raised by them. Otherwise, they will be raised by Fāṭima until one or both of their parents or some believing members of their family pass away, whereat they will be returned to them.’
- In Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, al-Ṣadūq narrates from al-Ḥasan b. Maḥbūb, from ʿAlī, from al-Ḥalabī, from Abū ʿAbd Allāh: ‘Surely God Almighty entrusts Abraham and Sarah with raising the deceased children of the faithful beneath a tree in paradise. This tree has teats like those of a cow and is in the middle of a palace made out of pearl. On the Day of Judgement the children are dressed and groomed and returned their parents, and they will be sovereigns in paradise with their parents. This is the meaning of the verse, And the faithful and their descendants who followed them in faith—We will make their descendants join them.’
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, Zādhān narrates from ʿAlī, who narrates that the Messenger of God, said, ‘Surely the faithful and their children will be in paradise.’ Then he recited this verse.
- In al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Bazzār and Ibn Mardawayh narrate from Ibn ʿAbbās with an incomplete chain of narrators from the Prophet: ‘Surely God will elevate the descendants of a believer to his level in paradise if their deeds are lower than his.’ Then he recited the verse And the faithful and their descendants who followed them in faith—We will make their descendants join them, and We will not stint them anything from their deeds.’
- In the same source, al-Ṭabarānī and Ibn Mardawayh narrate from Ibn ʿAbbā that the Prophet said: ‘When a man enters Paradise, he will ask about his parents, his descendants, and his children. He will be told, “They did not reach your level or the extent of your deeds.” He will say, “O my Lord! I strived for myself and for them!” So God will decree that they be brought to him.’ Then Ibn ʿAbbās recited the verse, And the faithful and their descendants who followed them in faith…
Author’s comments: The verse does not make any explicit reference to the parents mentioned in the tradition. However, it is still an appropriate meaning on account of the supplication of the angels, Our Lord! Admit them into the Gardens of Eden, which You have promised them, along with whoever is righteous among their forebears, their spouses and their descendants. Indeed You are the All-mighty, the All-wise ().
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, about the verse, wherein there will be neither any vanity nor sinfulness (), we read: ‘In Paradise there will be neither any singing nor indecency; the believer will drink wine without sinning.) They will turn to one another, questioning each other—he said, “in paradise.”’