Аль-Муминун 23:99–111

The Disbelievers' Hope when death approaches Allah tells us about what happens when death approaches one of the disbelievers orone of those who have been negligent with the commands of Allah. He tells us what he says and how he asks to come back to this world so that he can rectify whatever wrongs he committed during his lifetime. Allah says:

("My Lord! Send me back, so that I may do good in that which I have left behind!" No!) This is like the Ayat:

(And spend of that with which We have provided you before death comes to one of you,) until His saying:

(And Allah is All-Aware of what you do) 63:10-11

(And warn mankind of the Day when the torment will come unto them)

upto His saying; (that you would not leave (the world for the Hereafter).) 14:44 And His saying:

(On the Day the event is finally fulfilled, those who neglected it before will say: "Verily, the Messengers of our Lord did come with the truth, now are there any intercessors for us that they might intercede on our behalf Or could we be sent back so that we might do deeds other than those deeds which we used to do") 7:53 And:

(And if you only could see when the criminals shall hang their heads before their Lord (saying): "Our Lord! We have now seen and heard, so send us back, that we will do righteous good deeds. Verily, we now believe with certainty.") 32:12 And;

(If you could but see when they will be held over the (Hell) Fire! They will say: "Would that we were but sent back! Then we would not deny the Ayat of our Lord. ..") until His saying;

(And indeed they are liars.) 6:27-28

(And you will see the wrongdoers, when they behold the torment, they will say: "Is there any way of return") 42:44

(They will say: "Our Lord! You have made us to die twice, and You have given us life twice! Now we confess our sins, then is there any way to get out") 40:11 and the Ayah after it:

(Therein they will cry: "Our Lord! Bring us out, we shall do righteous good deeds, not what we used to do." (Allah will reply:) "Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition could receive it And the warner came to you. So taste you (the evil of your deeds). For the wrongdoers there is no helper.") 35:37 Allah says that they will ask to go back, when death approaches, on the Day of Resurrection, when they are gathered for judgment before the Compeller (Allah) and when they are in the agonies of the punishment of Hell, but their prayer will not be answered. Here Allah says:

(No! It is but a word that he speaks;) The word Kalla (No!) is a word that is used to rebuke, and the meaning is: "No, We will not respond to what he asks for and We will not accept it from him."

(It is but a word that he speaks) refers to his asking to go back so that he can do righteous deeds; this is just talk on his part, it would not be accompanied by any action. If he were to go back, he would not do any righteous good deeds, he is merely lying, as Allah says:

(But if they were returned, they would certainly revert to that which they were forbidden. And indeed they are liars) 6:28. Qatadah said: "By Allah, he will not wish to go back to his family and tribe, or to accumulate more of the things of this world or satisfy his desires, but he will wish that he could go back to do acts of obedience to Allah. May Allah have mercy on a man who does that which the disbeliever will wish he had done when he sees the punishment of Hell."

Barzakh and Punishment therein

(and in front of them is Barzakh until the Day when they will be resurrected.) Abu Salih and others said that:

(and in front of them) means before them. Mujahid said, Al-Barzakh is a barrier between this world and the Hereafter. Muhammad bin Ka`b said, "Al-Barzakh is what is between this world and the Hereafter, neither they are the people of this world, eating and drinking, nor are they with the people of the Hereafter, being rewarded or punished for their deeds." Abu Sakhr said, "Al-Barzakh refers to the graves. They are neither in this world nor the Hereafter, and they will stay there until the Day of Resurrection."

(and in front of them is Barzakh). In these words is a threat to those wrongdoers at the time of death, of the punishment of Barzakh. This is similar to the Ayat:

(In front of them there is Hell) 45:10.

(and in front of him will be a great torment) 14: 17.

(until the Day when they will be resurrected). means, he will be punished continually until the Day of Resurrection, as it says in the Hadith:

(He will continue to be punished in it.) meaning, in the earth.

The sounding of the Trumpet and the weighing of Deeds in the Scales.

Allah says that when the Trumpet is blown for the Resurrection, and the people rise from their graves,

(there will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another.) meaning that lineage will be of no avail on that Day, and a father will not ask about his son or care about him. Allah says:

(And no friend will ask a friend (about his condition), though they shall be made to see one another) 70:10-11. meaning, no relative will ask about another relative, even if he can see him and even if he is carrying a heavy burden. Even if he was the dearest of people to him in this world, he will not care about him or take even the slightest part of his burden from him. Allah says:

(That Day shall a man flee from his brother. And from his mother and his father. And from his wife and his children.) 80:34-36 Ibn Mas`ud said, "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will gather the first and the last, then a voice will call out, `Whoever is owed something by another, let him come forth and take it.' And a man will rejoice if he is owed something or had been mistreated by his father or child or wife, even if it is little. " This is confirmed in the Book of Allah, where Allah says:

(Then, when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another.) This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim.

(Then, those whose Scales are heavy, these! they are the successful.) means, the one whose good deeds outweigh his bad deeds, even by one. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas.

(they are the successful.) means, those who have attained victory and been saved from Hell and admitted to Paradise. Ibn `Abbas said, "These are the ones who have attained what they wanted and been saved from an evil from which there is no escape."

(And those whose Scales are light,) means, their evil deeds outweigh their good deeds.

(they are those who lose themselves,) means, they are doomed and have ended up with the worst deal. Allah says:

(in Hell will they abide. ) meaning, they will stay there forever and will never leave.

(The Fire will burn their faces,) This is like the Ayah:

(and fire will cover their faces) 14:50. and:

(If only those who disbelieved knew (the time) when they will not be able to ward off the Fire from their faces, nor from their backs) 21:39.

(and therein they will grin, with displaced lips.) `Ali bin Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn `Abbas, "Frowning."

Rebuking the People of Hell, their admission of Their Wretchedness and their Request to be brought out of Hell

This is a rebuke from Allah to the people of Hell for the disbelief, sins, unlawful deeds and evil actions that they committed, because of which they were doomed. Allah says:

("Were not My Ayat recited to you, and then you used to deny them") meaning, `I sent Messengers to you, and revealed Books, and cleared the confusion for you, so you have no excuse.' This is like the Ayat:

(in order that mankind should have no plea against Allah after the Messengers) 4:165

(And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger) 17:15.

(Every time a group is cast therein, its keeper will ask: "Did no warner come to you") Until His saying;

(So, away with the dwellers of the blazing Fire!) They will say:

(Our Lord! Our wretchedness overcame us, and we were (an) erring people.) meaning, evidence has been established against us, but we were so doomed that we could not follow it, so we went astray and were not guided. Then they will say:

(Our Lord! Bring us out of this. If ever we return (to evil), then indeed we shall be wrongdoers.) meaning, send us back to the world, and if we go back to what we used to do before, then we will indeed be wrongdoers who deserve punishment. This is like the Ayat:

(Now we confess our sins, then is there any way to get out) Until His statement:

(So the judgment is only with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great!") 40:11-12 meaning, there will be no way out, because you used to associate partners in worship with Allah whereas the believers worshipped Him Alone.

Allah's Response and Rejection of the Disbelievers

This is the response of Allah to the disbelievers when they ask Him to bring them out of the Fire and send them back to this world. He will say:

(Remain you in it with ignominy!) meaning, abide therein, humiliated, despised and scorned.

(And speak you not to Me!) means, `do not ask for this again, for I will not respond to you. Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas concerning this Ayah,

(Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me!) "These are the words of Ar-Rahman when silencing them." Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `Abdullah bin `Amr said, "The people of Hell will call on Malik for forty years, and he will not answer them. Then he will respond and tell them that they are to abide therein. By Allah, their cries will mean nothing to Malik or to the Lord of Malik. Then they will call on their Lord and will say,

(Our Lord! Our wretchedness overcame us, and we were (an) erring people. Our Lord! Bring us out of this. If ever we return (to evil), then indeed we shall be wrongdoers.) 23:106-107 Allah will not answer them for a time span equivalent to twice the duration of this world. Then He will reply:

(Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me!) By Allah, the people will not utter a single word after that, and they will merely be in the Fire of Hell, sighing in a high and low tone. Their voices are likened to those of donkeys, which start in a high tone and end in a low tone." Then Allah will remind them of their sins in this world and how they used to make fun of His believing servants and close friends:

(Verily, there was a party of My servants who used to say: "Our Lord! We believe, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You are the Best of all who show mercy!" But you took them for a laughing stock,) meaning, `you made fun of them for calling on Me and praying to Me,'

(so much so that they made you forget My remembrance) means, your hatred for them made you forget what I would do to you.

(while you used to laugh at them!) means, at their deeds and worship. This is like the Ayah:

(Verily, those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed. And, whenever they passed by them, used to wink one to another.) 83:29-30 meaning, they used to slander them in mockery. Then Allah tells us how He will reward His friends and righteous servants, and says:

(Verily, I have rewarded them this Day for their patience;) meaning, `for the harm and mockery that you inflicted on them,

(they are indeed the ones that are successful.) I have caused them to attain the victory of joy, safety, Paradise and salvation from the Fire.'