The Day of Resurrection (al-Maʿād)
Tawhid Prophethood Divine Justice Imamah The Day of Resurrection Ethics and Society
Death 24 Barzakh 7 Judgment 54 Paradise 16 Hell 3
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Death
These verses depict the reality of man; show the potentialities of perfection which God has endowed him with; delineate the vast scope of his inner being; describe the various stages — death and life, and again death and life; then the return to God — through which he passes in his journey, explaining that the final destination is God.
He is a being, ever-changing, ever proceeding on his path of perfection, step by step, stage by stage. Before coming into this world, he was dead, then he was made alive by God and came here; again he will be caused to die and then be made alive again.
Man, in this world, lives two lives: there is this life which may be seen and perceived by all, and there is another life hidden behind this one; that hidden life is either good or bad — depending on his faith and deeds. Man will become aware of that hidden life when the veil of secrecy will be removed after death.
On the Immateriality of the Soul
The soul is something other than matter and body; it is beyond the jurisdiction of the rules governing matter and body. The body disintegrates, its parts are scattered, but the 'man' continues. The soul, therefore, is from the command of Allāh, and that command has been explained: 'His command, when He intends anything, is only that He says to it: Be, and it is.' The soul is from the kingdom — and it is not material.
On the 'I' That Is Never Forgotten
No doubt, I conceive in myself a concept which I refer to as 'I'; and it is equally certain that every man has a similar conception about himself. It is a conception which we are never oblivious of — as long as we are alive and conscious. It is not a limb of ours, nor a part of our body. Sometimes we become oblivious of one or another of our organs — or even of the whole body. But we are never oblivious of the 'I'. It proves that the 'I' is other than the body and its parts.
On the Forfeiture of Deeds: How the Soul Is Fixed at Death
The human soul, as long as it is connected with the body, is subject to changes in its qualities. When man does something good, there appears in his soul a spiritual quality which entitles it to receive the reward; when he commits a sin, the spiritual quality appearing in his soul entitles it to receive chastisement. This goes on till death overtakes him. The soul departs from the body, actions stop, changes cease, potentialities come to an end — and qualities acquired up to that time are firmly established in his soul in a way that it no longer accepts any change or alteration, except through the mercy of God or intercession by His chosen servants.
The Death Decreed Shall Surely Reach You
Death is something you cannot escape from even if you take refuge in strong shelters. Therefore, you should not think that if you were absent from the battle-field or if jihād was not prescribed for you, you would have remained safe from death or that death could not have overtaken you. The death decreed by God will surely reach you.
The Soul Stripped Bare at Death
When the soul leaves the body at death, the person will be disconnected from all material means and causes to which he was linked through his body in this life. At that point the person will see how the presumed independence and influence of these means all fade away. There he will realize that his affair from the beginning to end was up to nobody but his Lord — that he has no lord other than God, and no one else has any influence on him.
Coming into Existence and Returning, God's Own Breath
When we look at the existence of things and their coming to an end, this is not the same as fading away into nothingness, as we might imagine it is. On the contrary, the end of things is their return to God's presence just as they had descended into this world from His presence. Whatever is with God is everlasting, so this process of coming into being and reaching an end is nothing other than God's expansion and contraction of being, for it is God who originates things by unfurling His mercy and returns them to Him by seizing it, which is the promised Resurrection.
The Humanity of a Person Resides in the Soul
When God tells Pharaoh that He will deliver his body, this implies that there is something that exists beyond the body which Pharaoh lost when his body was overtaken by God's punishment, meaning the soul (nafs), which is also called the spirit (rūḥ). It is this soul that is taken away and received by God at the time of a person's death. The soul is what a person refers to when they say 'I.' It is the part that makes a human being a human being. It is what allows us to perceive, to intend, and to act through the body and its physical abilities and limbs. Therefore, the body is an instrument through which the soul interacts with the physical world.
The Veil Lifted Only at Death
The appearance of the angelic realm to humans immersed in the material world is contingent on a change in circumstance — essentially, the transition from this life to the afterlife, which is death. However, exceptions exist among God's chosen servants and purified allies who are free from the stains of sin and are close to His divine presence.
The World Folded Up Like a Dream
People are asleep. When they die, they wake up. That day is the day the world's expanse and embellishment will be folded up, and the world of humankind will be done away with, completely extinguished.
Death and Resurrection as Stages of God’s Plan
This verse shows that death is another stage that complements God’s plan. It is inevitable for every human being to pass this stage in the path that has been measured and determined for them. Resurrection is the final stage in humankind’s journey; once they reach it they will stay and abide there forever.
Death Is Not Extinction
Death does not mean extinction or annihilation, but rather a transition from one abode to another, which makes it a part of how things are directed in the universe.
The Soul Is the True Essence
God commands His messenger to respond to their argument for the improbability of the Resurrection by making the counter-claim that death does not represent the end of a person. On the contrary, the angel of death who has been entrusted with you will take you fully from your bodies—meaning he will extract your souls, in the sense of severing their bonds to the body. Your souls are the true essence of your being.
Nothing of You Is Lost
Whatever is 'you' is preserved and kept safe—none of it will be lost on the earth. Only your bodies will be lost as they transform from one thing into another, but they were already changing from the moment they came into being. Therefore, what is truly 'you' will be kept safe until you return to your Lord at the time of the Resurrection.
Soul Distinct from Body
This verse is one of the clearest indications in the Qur'an that the soul is not identical with the body or any particular part or state of the body.
The Soul Does Not Die
The personality of a human is preserved in his soul which is an independent, immaterial entity, unaffected by the vagaries of material existence, such as death or decay. Therefore, it can be deduced from the verse that the soul does not die when the body dies. Instead, it is preserved, so that it can go back to God.
The Soul Distinct from the Body
From this verse, we can deduce: First, that the soul is an entity that is distinct from the body, in the sense that it can be separated from it and exist independently of it while still retaining its own being. Second, that death and sleep both involve God taking the soul, but they differ in that death means that God takes the soul and does not return it, while sleep means that God takes the soul and might yet return it to its body.
The Human Being: Terrestrial Body, Transcendent Spirit
The creation of the human being, insofar as he is a terrestrial being who is connected to matter, is a different kind of creation to that of the heavens and the earth. This is because he is the combination of a terrestrial body that is made up of matter and will decompose into dust when he dies, with something else beyond that; something transcendent and immaterial that not only survives death but will be received and kept safe with God.
The Ephemerality of This World
This verse consigns all of humankind and the jinn to extinction and oblivion… The apparent meaning of the word fānin (translated as 'ephemeral') is that it refers to the future, as can also be gleaned from its context. This suggests that Everyone on it is ephemeral alludes to the fact this worldly creation will come to an end with the extinction of those who dwell within it, namely the jinn and humankind. A new creation will then be inaugurated for them, and both the extinction of this worldly creation and the dawning of the new creation of recompense upon them are counted amongst God's boons and blessings. This is because the life of this world is intended as a preliminary step towards the goal of the hereafter; and moving from a preliminary step to its ultimate goal is the highest form of blessing conceivable.
Death as Transition Between Modes of Life
Death, from what comes across from the teachings of the Qurʾan, is the transition from one mode of the modes of life to another mode. Consequently, there is no problem in associating the act of creation to death as it is to life. The statement that He may try you—which of you is best in deeds—is the goal and purpose of God's creation of death and life. Thus the meaning is 'Your creation, in this manner, which is where you live and then die, is a creation that is brought forth and is test-based.'
The Indivisible Reality of the Human Being
The spirit and the body are not independent of one another, neither in their essence nor in their properties. The human being continues to exist as the same reality whether the spirit and the body are together, or the spirit leaves the body. The Qurʾan's view is that the oneness of the human being is real. The human being is a single reality which is the source of all its physical, psychological and spiritual functions. And that reality is immaterial in its essence.
Life as Capital Investment for the Hereafter
The Book of God makes it clear that humans have an eternal life which does not end with death. Death is but a transfer from one abode to another. The Qurʾan clarifies that there are two halves to human existence. One half is the life of this world, in which humans are tested, and which determines how their life shall be in the other half. It determines whether they will have a happy or wretched eternal life. True beliefs and righteous deeds are the foundation of happiness in the next life, while disbelief and corruption are the foundation of wretchedness there. From all of this, it becomes clear that life is the capital of humans, which they invest to earn an eternal livelihood in the hereafter.
Barzakh
On the Martyrs Being Truly Alive
It is the life of bliss that is true life, and it is only the believers who will live that life, as Allāh says: 'And as for the next abode, that most surely is the life — did they but know.' They did not know it because their senses could perceive only the material aspects of this world. The martyrs are not dead, in that they are not extinct; they are alive — although you do not perceive that life by your senses.
The Martyrs' Joy at News from Earth
They rejoice in what they have received of God's grace and which is always present with them; they feel happy when they receive the good tidings regarding those who have not yet joined them — are still in this world — that they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve. Those who are killed in the way of God continue to receive the news about good believers whom they had left behind alive in this world. It happens that they see this reward in the abode which they abide in. It is because their knowledge of things emanates from observation, not from arguments.
Action, Preparation, Recompense — Three Abodes
In summary, the earthly life is the realm of action, the intermediate realm (known as barzakh or the isthmus) is the domain of preparation for the final judgement and recompense, and the afterlife is the domain of judgement and recompense.
Peace on the Three Days of Passage
Each of these days is the start of one of the worlds which Mankind enters and lives in. Peace will be upon him the day he is born, that is, no unpleasantness which would interfere with his happiness will touch him. Peace will be upon him on the day he dies—he will live a blissful life in the barzakh.
The Barzakh: Barrier Between Two Worlds
What is meant by this ‘barrier’ (barzakh) is the realm of the grave, which is the same as the imaginal world (ʿalm al-mithāl). It is a plane of existence where one lives after death until the rise of the Hour.
Life in the Presence of the Lord
If we put this verse beside God's words in Sūrah Āl ʿImrān—Do not suppose those who were slain in the way of God to be dead; rather they are living and provided for near their Lord ()—it becomes clear that set right their affairs means giving them a life in which they are worthy of being in the presence of their Lord through the removal of the veil separating them from Him.
The Soul's Guardian and the Preservation of Deeds
It would not be far-fetched to interpret the 'guarding of the souls' as the preservation of their essence and deeds. In this interpretation, ḥāfiẓ is meant as a genus. It means that upon death, the guarded souls neither decay nor are destroyed, until God resurrects them to life by returning their souls. At that point, everyone will be the same person that they were in this world. Then they will be compensated according to their preserved deeds, whether good or evil. What constitutes the reality of a person is their soul, not their body; and the soul is preserved.
Judgment
On the Human Soul's Journey: Alone Before God
Man shall leave this physical world behind, returning to his Lord and Creator. There shall be no room there for that knowledge which we named 'practical knowledge.' There will be no exploitation or taking advantage of others; no civilization, social give-and-take, nor any other of the paraphernalia connected with the life of this world. His only companion will be his deeds which he did in this world; he will see the good or bad results of his actions. Reality will become clear to him, and he will clearly know the Great News about which they had differed.
Why the Deviated Heart Follows Ambiguity
What is the basic source of perversity of heart and the tendency to mislead the people? It happens when one is inclined towards this material world, loves to remain on the earth for ever and succumbs to desires. The rust of perversity can be removed only by remembering the Day of Reckoning — for those who go astray from the path of God have forgotten the Day of Reckoning.
On the Day — Deeds Found Present
On the day that every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil. The word 'present' is muḥḍaran — literally, presented, brought in — pointing to the fact that the good and bad deeds are existent and safe from extinction, because only such a thing may be brought in and presented which already exists. He will realize it was of no avail to wish that a thing under such Divine protection should disappear.
The Breaking of the Covenant's Price
Whoever breaks the covenant of God and forsakes piety does so just for the enjoyment of the vanities of this world, giving preference to immediate desires over everlasting happiness. He exchanges the covenant of God and the piety with a few worldly trinkets. That is why it has been likened to a trade deal: the Covenant of God is the item sold; and insignificant worldly provision, its small price. God will not speak to them, nor will He look upon them on the Day of Resurrection — it is as though the verse wants to say: God shall not confer upon them any honor, neither great nor small.
The Day of Resurrection and the Appearance of Ultimate Truth
The reality is this: knowledge, the real one, is not found except with God. When the Day of Resurrection comes, the things will appear in their true forms and shapes, as the related verses show. Thus, there would not be on that day any place except for the true speech, as God says: 'they shall not speak except he whom the Beneficent Lord gives leave, and he will speak the truth — that is the certain day.'
Truth as the Standard of the Scales
The meaning is that 'the truth' will be the standard for measuring the deeds on the Day of Judgment — to the extent that there is truth in any action, it will have weight and value. Good deeds will be heavy on the scale because they include the truth, while evil deeds will have no weight because they are nothing but falsehood and vanity. Therefore, God will weigh the deeds on that day with the measure of truth, and the weight of each deed will be according to how much truth there is in it.
Multiple Scales for Multiple Deeds
The verses talk about 'scales' in the plural form — referring to the fact that every individual will have multiple scales, since each deed will have a measure of its own. The truth of prayer is different from the truth of almsgiving, the truth of fasting, the truth of pilgrimage, and so on. Every individual will have multiple scales corresponding to each deed's own measure of truth, and this clarifies why good deeds are heavy and evil deeds weightless.
The Elect on the Elevations
What is meant by those on the Elevations is a group of chosen servants of God — not angels — who have a much higher rank than the rest of the people on the Day of Resurrection and will recognize everyone among the two groups in paradise and hell. They will have certain rights on that day: the right to speak the truth, the right to testify to the acts of others, the right to intercede to save others, and the right to command and decree the fate of others. They are not described as experiencing the frightening events of that day, which means they are among God's most exclusive servants.
Reality Unveiled, All False Lords Annulled
This station is one where every soul is tested and examined for its past actions and what it has sent ahead for itself. Hence, the reality of its deeds will be revealed to it in the form of direct witnessing, not merely through them being recounted or explained to it. By witnessing the truth of everything first hand, it becomes apparent that God is the true master, all illusions fall away, and all the claims that human beings fabricate against the truth on the basis of their fantasies and desires vanish. These fabrications and claims have all arisen from the connections we draw in this world between causes and causal factors, as well as the independence and authority that we wrongly attribute to these causes. There is no god but God, and there is no true authority except Him, the Exalted.
The Stone Falling to Earth Foretells the Return
When God says that His promise of the Resurrection is true, this means that His creation is such that it will not be complete unless all things — including the human being — return to Him. This is like a stone that falls to earth from the sky: As it falls, its movement foretells that it will land on the earth, for its movement is something that will not end before it gradually approaches the earth and then comes to rest upon its surface. In the same way, things are gradually wending their way towards their Lord until they meet Him, per the verse, O man! You are labouring toward your Lord laboriously, and you will encounter Him ().
Without the Return, the Edifice of Religion Crumbles
It is also evident that belief in the Resurrection is one of the fundamental doctrines of the faith as, without it, there are no divine commands or prohibitions, no promise of reward or threat of punishment, and no prophethood or revelation. Therefore, without belief in the Resurrection, the entire edifice of the religion will crumble.
All Mankind Assembled, None Exempt
The distinctive characteristic of this day is that people are gathered for it, and the lām in la-hu indicates purpose. Therefore, this day has a purpose that can only be achieved by gathering humankind in a way that leaves no one absent. Equally, people have a role which connects each one of them to the totality. In doing so, the first intermingles with the last and the last with the first, and all are mixed with some and some with all. This role is the reckoning of their deeds in terms of faith and disbelief, obedience and disobedience, and generally in terms of happiness and misery.
Veils Lifted, Realities Fully Revealed
The Day of Resurrection is an event in which God will assemble His servants and remove the curtains and veils that are in front of them, thereby revealing truths fully, and unveiling what is behind the cover of the Unseen in this creation. At this point, there will be no longer any doubt or hesitation in their breasts, nor will any whisper of disbelief stir in their hearts. They will witness utterly that God is the Manifest Truth, they will see that all power belongs to God, and that dominion, protection, command, and control belong to Him alone with no partner having any share in them.
Words Bound by Permission, Not by Will
To summarize all the preceding points, the meaning of God's statement, no one shall speak except by His leave, is that people's speech on that day will not be like their speech in this world. It will not be a voluntary disclosure of their inner thoughts that permits the speaker to either lie or tell the truth. This volitional control, which is an integral part of the realm of deeds (this world), is abolished in the Hereafter.
The Stars of Causation Scatter and Vanish
The system of causes and effects, which they once perceived as existing independently of God, now cease to exist, severing the links and dissolving the causal relations between different things. At this point, the stars of causation scatter and the constellations that previously guided their suppositions in their darkness vanish. No sovereign retains any independent rule, no person of authority or power has anything to reinforce their status, no object has a refuge or sanctuary to which it can turn or with which it can take shelter in order to seek its protection.
The Illusory Bond Between Follower and Followed
The perceived connection between the follower and the followed is illusory and holds no real weight. This reality will become clear on the Day of Judgment when Satan disavows his followers and redirects their blame back onto themselves.
The Day of Resurrection as Manifest Reality
The enlightenment God provides on the Day of Resurrection transcends the worldly guidance offered through His Book, the language of the prophets, the imparting of wisdom, the giving of admonitions, and the noble debates they partook in. It's a clarity that can aptly be termed as 'manifest reality,' allowing no space for doubt, uncertainty, or internal conflict.
The Book Brought Forth Wide Open
The book of the reality of deeds is hidden from human perception and veiled behind a veil of heedlessness. God only brings it forth to the person on the Day of Resurrection, making him look at all its details. That is what is meant by: he will find it wide open.
Their Sleep as Proof of Resurrection
Their being awakened from sleep proves that the raising of the dead on the Day of Resurrection is a reality. The proof of this is that, for all that time, their souls were stripped from their bodies; their bodily functions were curtailed; their bodies and clothes neither decayed nor disintegrated; and, finally, they were exactly the same as they were when they entered the cave.
The Divine Sign Is Ongoing, Not Past
The general human condition — their fascination with worldly adornments, their obliviousness to the hereafter, and their own resurrection, when they will realize that they did not tarry long in this world — this is a perpetual sign of God similar to that of the Companions of the Cave.
Worldly Pleasures Cannot Substitute for the Eternal
The scant days lived in this world are worthless in comparison to that which is everlasting and can never be a substitute for it. More so, these worldly pleasures do not guarantee happiness to the human being nor provide him with any protection from God's Wrath should it befall him.
Man Has an Eternal Life Beyond This Ephemeral One
That Man has an eternal, everlasting life, compared to this immediate and ephemeral life which has no value. If he has a happy eternal life then having a miserable life in this world will not be of any harm to him.
Creation Is Not Sport
The Resurrection is what gives purpose to creation, and it in turn entails prophethood. If there were no Resurrection, there would be no aim or purpose to creation.
Heedlessness Before the Reckoning
Their hearts are filled with the love of this life, leaving no room for an effective and awakening remembrance of the reckoning that is to come.
The Annulment of Worldly Bonds at Resurrection
What is meant here by negating the ties of relationship is to negate their effectiveness. These ties and social bonds are a result of our worldly needs, which drive humankind to have a social life based on families and households. The hereafter, however, is a place where no means are effective anymore, including actions. Instead, it is a place for the rewards and results of actions.
The Sound Heart as the Only Currency
The soundness of heart is the criterion for success on that day, regardless of whether or not a person had possessions and children in this world.
The Day Property and Children Avail Nothing
The Day of Resurrection is a day of unveiling realities and severing ties; thus neither wealth nor children will avail people on the account of being one's property or kin.
Encountering God: When No Veil Remains
'Encountering God' (liqāʾ allāh) means when a servant stands in a station where there is no veil between him and his Lord, as will be the case on the Day of Resurrection which is the arena in which the realities will become manifest.
The Ultimate Place of Return
The verses of the Book of God consecutively mention that the ultimate place of return for everything is with God and that everything shall end up with Him and to Him is the return, while He is the One who begins creation and then recreates it.
Certainty Without Deeds
On the Day of Resurrection, they now have attained absolutely certainty of faith but have no good deeds to accompany it. Therefore they confess that they believe but ask to be sent back to this world to do righteous deeds in order that they might win salvation.
Creation Was Not in Vain
If the creation of the heavens and earth and everything between them was not for the sake of a fixed, eternal, intransient goal, it would have been in vain. And, by definition, a thing which is in vain has no inherent goal; it cannot be realized in the real world. However, it would not be possible for a wise God to do this, and there is no doubt in God's wisdom.
The Manifestation of Sovereignty
The day when they will emerge refers to the removal of every bond and every veil that prevented them from recognizing the truth. Nothing about them will be hidden from Allah: This explains the meaning of their emerging. In short, their hearts and deeds will be clearly visible to God; their inner and outer beings, whatever they remember and whatever they have forgotten—all will be unveiled and plain to see.
The Limbs Bear Witness
The witnessing of a person's limbs and faculties against them on the Day of Judgment means that they recount and enumerate the sins their owner performed with them in his or her worldly life. This means that these limbs had their own awareness in this world because, if God only granted these limbs their own sense and speech on the Day of Judgment or created a voice for them that recounts these deeds without their having any sense, neither of these scenarios could be called bearing witness.
Creation Aimed at the Eternal World
We did not create the perceptible universe and all of its components, the terrestrial and the supernal, except concomitant with the truth, with a fixed destination and accompanied by a specified term for its existence, which it cannot exceed. When that time comes, it will be annihilated. But it also has a fixed goal, for after this world another world will come which is the world of eternal life; the promised Resurrection.
Creation Cannot Be Mere Play
If there was nothing subsistent or enduring beyond this physical world, and God was continually bringing things into and out of existence again and again—giving life to this person and causing that one to die, then giving life to another, and so on and so forth—then everything He did would be mere pointless play. But it is impossible to ascribe play to God because all His actions are directed towards a proper goal. This means there must be another world that endures beyond this one to which all things journey.
Creation with Truth Contains Two Arguments for the Resurrection
God created the heavens and the earth with truth and with justice. With truth means that there must be some other world that lies beyond this one in which beings will endure. As for justice, this means that each soul will be given what it deserves based on what it has earned in this life, so one who has done good will be requited with good, and one who has done evil will be requited with evil. And because this does not take place in this world, it must take place in the other world.
Deeds Exist First in the Guarded Tablet
What you used to do means a person's external deeds insofar as they exist within the Guarded Tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ). So when their deeds are transcribed, this means what is connected with their deeds in the Guarded Tablet is transcribed, and their record of deeds is not just a record of their deeds, but also a part of the Guarded Tablet.
The Believer and the Evil-Doer Are Never Equal
Those who believe and do righteous deeds follow a way of life based on a true perception of their condition, and guidance and mercy from their Lord. Death represents the return to God and the transition from the life of this world to the life of the Hereafter, which is the final abode, the realm of eternal life, in which the righteous believer will live in happiness and ease, while others will live in misery and suffering.
The Lifting of the Veil on the Day of Resurrection
From this verse it becomes clear, firstly, that the Day of Resurrection is a day on which the veil of ignorance is lifted from the human being, allowing him to see things as they really are. Secondly, this verse shows that whatever the human being witnesses on the Day of Resurrection already exists ready for him while he is in this world. However, in this world he is unaware of it; he only becomes aware of it on the Day of Resurrection, the day on which the veil is lifted and the human being sees what is beyond it.
Sight of the Heart Made Acute
You were certainly oblivious of this that you now see with your own eyes. Even if your sight was acute in this world, your dependence on worldly means distracted you and rendered you unaware. But We have removed your veil from you and so your sight—meaning the sight and perception of the heart—is acute—meaning penetrating; you see now what you did not see in this world—today—on the Day of Judgement.
The Imminent Hour
This punishment is the punishment that has been foretold for the Day of Judgement and with which God has threatened the disbelievers and deniers, as is indicated by the subsequent verse. When God says, There is none who can avert it, this shows that this is a fixed divine decree that cannot be prevented, as per the verse: and the Hour is bound to come, there is no doubt in it, and Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves (). The fact that this verse describes this punishment as belonging to your (sing.) Lord rather than as 'God's punishment' is meant to show the Prophet that he has God's support against those who reject his mission.
The Resurrection as Second Genesis
The second genesis (al-nashʾa al-ukhrā) means the new creation that will take place in the Hereafter, where the recompense will take place. It 'lies' with Him in the sense that it is part of His irrevocable will (qaḍāʾ al-ḥatm) as He has promised that it will take place and described Himself by saying that He does not break His promises.
The Three Groups at the Hour
Describing the Imminent Event with both of them is intended to convey the fact that this event will overturn the entirety of the cosmic order that governs the material realm. When this happens, the secrets of the universe will become known, while these are currently veiled. At the same time, the usual chain of cause and effect that is visible today will disappear; the mighty disbelievers and sinners will be humbled and the Godwary will be made mighty.
The Light of the Faithful on the Last Day
Those men and women who have faith in God and His Messenger with their light moving swiftly in front of them and on their right sides… This verse is general in its meaning and encompasses the faithful of all prophetic nations, and not only the nation of the Prophet. The fact that it uses the phrase, moving swiftly, to describe the illumination of their lights shows that they are hastening to the highest levels of paradise that God have prepared for them, and all aspects of felicity and levels of nearness to God will be illuminated for them one after another until their light is completed fully.
Wealth and Power Are Futile Before God's Judgment
He had believed that wealth and power were the safeguards of his happiness, protecting him from misfortune and granting him control over his desires. In pursuit of these, he neglected his duty to his Lord, ignored the call to truth, and dismissed the message of the summoner. However, faced with the ultimate disconnection of all means and standing on a day when neither wealth nor offspring can be of any use, he mourns the ineffectiveness of his wealth and the dissolution of his power. And of what benefit is the regret?
The Light of Faith and the Completion of Deeds
It is not unlikely that the light running before them is the light of faith and the light on their right hands is the light of their deeds. From the context, it can be understood that the forgiveness they are seeking perfects their light, or else that this is a precondition for perfecting their light. Therefore, there are some gaps in their light, which is the light of faith and the light of their deeds. This light has gaps in reverse proportion to their degrees of faith, as well as in proportion to their misdeeds.
The Soul as Its Own Witness
Rather, man is very insightful (baṣīrah) over himself. The verse literally says, 'man is insight [not insightful],' which is a form of emphasis and exaggeration. This is like saying, 'Zayd is justice.' One will be a clear proof against oneself on that day, since one will be questioned concerning their hearing, sight and heart; since their ears, eyes and skin will testify against them; and since their hands and feet will speak.
The Day No Friend Inquires
Everyone will be so preoccupied with themselves that they will totally forget their friends. They will not even inquire about their close friends because of their personal problems. The punishment of the sinners will be so grievous on that day that they will wish they could pay in ransom their loved ones and closest relatives, such as their children, their spouses, their brothers, their entire clan, and everyone on the face of the earth.
The Inescapable Return
The human being is on an inextricable journey toward God, as He says: O man! You are labouring toward your Lord laboriously, and you will encounter Him (); Indeed to your Lord is the return (); and that to your Lord is the final end (). Therefore, one will inevitably meet their Lord, will return to Him, and will end at His presence, where they will not be veiled or obstructed by anything from Him.
The World as Argument for the Hereafter
We observe a robust and ordered universe that consists of the earth, the sky, the night, the day, and human beings which reproduce. It is impossible that such a fine and subtle system is a futile work that is made in vain and sport. Rather, beyond this impermanent and ever-changing world there must be a fixed and eternal system, where the outcome of righteousness and wrongdoing may manifest. Our pristine divine intuition (fiṭrah) commands us to conscientiousness and prohibits us from mischief. This world, however, lacks the capacity to reflect the felicity of the Godwary and the wretchedness of the mischievous.
The Hour as Beyond Time Itself
The occurrence of the Hour is concomitant with the annihilation of all things, and the expiration of all apparent means and causes. The Hour means the realization and manifestation of the fact that all sovereignty and kingdom belong to Allah, the One, the All-Paramount (). This means that the Day of Resurrection can only be ascribed to God, without anything else whatsoever intermediating between Him and that day as a real causal link. This also includes time. Accordingly, it is not perceivable for that day to have a time in the real sense of it.
The Day of Judgment as Separation
It is called a day of faṣl (separation, distinction, differentiation) in the sense that God's judgment on that day will separate the people. Each person will receive what they deserve. The wise management of affairs in this world clearly shows that beyond this realm of constant change and impermanence, there must be a fixed and eternal realm. The signs in this world reveal that following this life where there is action but no compensation, there will be a life where there is compensation but no action.
The Embodiment of Deeds
What is meant here is an elaborate and detailed knowledge about everything that one has committed in this world. A soul is meant in a generic sense, which would include all humans. What it has sent before and sent after are, respectively, things that one does during one's life, and things that accrue to the person due to a good or evil custom that they establish during their life and are practiced after their death. God says: We write what they have sent ahead and their effects [which they left behind] ().
The Earth Bears Witness
The earth will bear witness to the deeds of the children of Adam—along with the other witnesses, including their own limbs, the scribes from the angels who are appointed over them, and all other witnesses, human and non-human. The meaning is: 'The earth will recount its news because its Lord will inspire it to do so.' This means that the earth is conscious of the good and evil deeds that are committed on it. It carries and retains these records, until when it is ordered to broadcast them and testify to what it has borne. It can be deduced that life and consciousness pervade all things, though we may be unaware of this fact.
Paradise
Silence That Speaks of Greatness
The Qur'an has nowhere used the adjective 'the grateful' in appreciation except in these two verses. Yet, He has not mentioned in either place what their reward will be; this silence speaks a lot about its greatness and value.
Fear Removed, Sorrow Abolished
Fear — with all its aspects — may be removed from man only when there is no chance of deterioration or extinction for any bounty that he enjoys and possesses. Sorrow — with all its aspects — may be removed from him only when he is not deprived of any such bounty to begin with, nor has he lost it after finding it. When the Qur'an says that God has removed general fear and general sorrow from a man, it means that He has given him all possible bounties and favors for his enjoyment; and those bounties and favors will never deteriorate or be taken away from him. In other words, man will remain alive forever enjoying the everlasting happiness.
The Believer Who Has Sold the World
The verse urges them again to fight in the way of God by reminding them that all of them were believers who had already sold their worldly life — by accepting Islam — and bought the hereafter in exchange. It makes it clear that the endeavors of a fighter in the way of God are sure to bring in one of the two good results: either he will be killed in the way of God or gain victory over the enemy of God; and in either case he shall find a great reward from God. It does not mention the third possibility — that is, defeat and retreat — as a hint that a fighter in the way of God never retreats.
The Abode of Peace
God's awliyāʾ, even in this world, find themselves in the abode of peace which God has promised them — because they see God and not themselves as the sole possessor of everything. They have nothing to fear losing in the future and do not grieve over any loss in the past. Despite being in this world they are with their Lord, for they have no other engagement but Him; they pass their life in a state of inner seclusion and solitude while surrounded by all of creation.
The Ranks of the Faithful Are Ranks of Nearness to God
They have ranks before their Lord, forgiveness (maghfirah), and an honorable sustenance (rizq karīm): Forgiveness is God's pardon of their sins. Honorable sustenance is the blessings they shall enjoy in the garden. From this, it becomes clear that they have ranks before their Lord, forgiveness, and an honorable sustenance speaks of degrees of nearness, station and adoration (zulfā), and degrees of spiritual honor. Degrees of nearness to God naturally beget forgiveness and the garden.
The Sacred Transaction Between God and His Servants
God has formulated this promise in the style of a contract of sale, with Himself as the buyer and the faithful as the sellers, their persons and possessions as the commodities He is purchasing, paradise as the price He is paying for these, and the Torah, Evangel, and the Qurʾān as receipts of purchase. This is an exceedingly subtle metaphor. He then congratulates the faithful for their purchase and commends them on their great success.
Springs of Divine Unity Flowing Out Upon Their Tongues
He will quench their thirst with a rarefied drink that will purify their hearts from every kind of idolatry, whether manifest or hidden. He will envelop them in the light of knowledge and certitude, and, from their hearts, He will set flowing springs of divine unity that will flow out upon their tongues. First, they will glorify God and declare His transcendence; they will send peace upon their comrades from among the prophets, the truthful, the witnesses, and the righteous; then they will praise God and laud Him with the most eloquent praise and most brilliant acclaim.
Absolute Peace Found Only Beyond This World
God uses the term salām here without qualification, and there is nothing in His revelation that restricts it to specific conditions or modalities. Therefore, Paradise here is the abode of absolute peace, and such peace can only exist in Paradise. Whatever peace we find in this world is relative rather than absolute, for there is nothing in this world save that it is impeded or prevented from attaining what it desires, and there is no condition that is without its contraries and opposites.
All Praise as the Speech That Outlasts Every World
Whatever words are spoken in this world for purposes that serve their speaker — such as the words used in daily living, like all human discussions, or words that are spoken in acts of worship for the sake of divine reward, and the like thereof — will all terminate with the end of the world, for none of these worldly aims persist after this. Instead, all that will remain is the beautiful praise and magnification of God, which is the speech of the inhabitants of Paradise. And when he says, 'The day they encounter Him, their greeting will be, "Peace"', this means that their greeting on that day will be absolute peace, which shows that everything that exists there will, without exception, be in full agreement and harmony with what the human being desires. Everything that he wants, he shall have. Therefore, there is no need to use speech there in order to achieve any purpose for the speaker, as is the case with the speech of this world, so all that will remain is praise for the beauty and magnificence of God Almighty that people will witness, so ponder on this!
God's Promise Safeguarded by His Absolute Power
Thus, this exception serves to safeguard God's omnipotence. Indeed, God's power over them is not depleted by His admitting them to Paradise, His sovereignty is not nullified, and His kingdom does not fade. His omnipotence and control over time remains as they were before. To Him belongs the power to remove them from Paradise, despite His promise that they will dwell there permanently. However, He will not remove them due to this promise, for God does not break His promises.
Paradise as the Inheritance of the Godwary
Since Heaven, according to the divine promise, will be given to every human being on condition of faith and righteous action, the inheritance of the Godwary, those who guard against evil is the restriction of Paradise to them at the exclusion of the others who lost their prayers through neglect and followed their base desires.
The Life of This World Is Diversion
The life of the Hereafter, in which the human being will dwell in the actual perfection he has acquired by virtue of his faith and righteous deeds, is a goal in whose pursuit there is no diversion, play, futility or blame; it is life without end; pleasure without pain; happiness unsullied by grief. Therefore it is life in the truest sense of the word.
Spiritual Enjoyment Comes Through the Vision of the Heart
Whatever their souls desire means those things connected to physical desire, whether in the form of taste, smell, sound, or touch, that all humans and animals possess. Whatever their eyes delight in means splendor and beauty; this kind of enjoyment is only for human beings. It is also possible to include spiritual and intellectual pleasures in the delight of the eyes, for spiritual enjoyment comes from the vision of the heart.
Paradise Surpasses Human Description
Perhaps we can also read similitude in its conventional sense and from this glean that paradise is too lofty and magnificent to be encapsulated by any human description or defined by mortal language. This means that whatever similitudes we read here are merely to help our limited minds come to an approximate understanding of the nature of paradise, as suggested by the verse: No one knows what has been kept hidden for them of comfort ().
The Face That Looks Toward Its Lord
These are individuals whose hearts are oriented toward their Lord. They are not diverted or distracted from Him due to engagement with any of the apparent means and causes, because that day will terminate and sever all the apparent instruments and links. As they stand in any station on that day, or pass any stage on their way, they are embraced by God's mercy. Even as they sail in the gardens of paradise and indulge in its pleasures, they will be constantly witnessing their Lord, because whatever they see or observe, they see it as a sign of God.
The Two Abodes Contrasted
The hereafter is a realm of eternity. Some will abide in sheer happiness, and will indulge in whatever they wish. Others will be strictly wretched, and will taste nothing but pain. However, currently we are living an impermanent life in a transient realm that is governed by apparent means and external forces. In this abode, life is mixed with death, gaining is tied to losing, happiness is fraught with misery, comfort is blended with fatigue, and joy is coupled with sorrow. The hereafter is a realm of compensation but no action, while this world is a realm of action but no compensation.
Hell
When the Heart's Corruption Seals Its Own Doom
They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them… God has promised the hypocrites, men and women, and the faithless, the Fire of hell, to remain in it. That suffices them. Allah has cursed them — by banishing them from His mercy — and there is a lasting punishment for them — which will not end and from which they will never escape.
The Chastisement of the Hereafter Is Greater
The chastisement of the hereafter is greater because it emanates from divine power, leaving nothing standing and no hope of escape, not even through death or annihilation, just as when the tribulations of this world surround a person from all sides. Unlike worldly calamities and chastisement, it is eternal, unending. The story of the owners of the garden, therefore, is a general pattern which is often followed.
Hell Already Exists, Awaiting Manifestation
Hell will be exposed to anyone who has sight. The veil will be lifted from it, so they will witness it directly. This verse is comparable to the verse: You were certainly oblivious of this. We have removed your veil from you, and so your sight is sharp today (). This verse clearly shows that hell is already created before the Day of Resurrection; what happens on that day is that it will become manifest as the veils will be removed.