Аль-Фуркан 25:25–40

The Terrors of the Day of Resurrection, and how the Wrongdoers will wish that They had taken a Path with the Messenger

Here Allah tells us about the terror of the Day of Resurrection and the tremendous events that will happen, including the splitting of heavens when they are pierced by the clouds, that is the shadow of the magnificent light which dazzles all sight. The angels of heaven will come down on that Day and surround all creatures at the place of gathering, then the Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, will come to pass judgement. Mujahid said, "This is as Allah says:

(Do they then wait for anything other than that Allah should come to them in the shadows of the clouds and the angels)" (2:210)

(The sovereignty on that Day will be the true (sovereignty) of the Most Gracious,) This is like the Ayah,

(Whose is the kingdom this Day: It is Allah's, the One, the Irresistable!) (40:16) In the Sahih it says:

(Allah, may He be exalted, will fold up the heavens in His Right Hand, and will take the earths in His other Hand, then He will say: "I am the Sovereign, I am the Judge. Where are the kings of the earth Where are the tyrants Where are the arrogants")

(and it will be a hard Day for the disbelievers.) means it will be very difficult, because it will be the Day of justice and the decisive judgement, as Allah says:

(Truly, that Day will be a hard Day -- Far from easy for the disbelievers) (74:9-10). This is how the disbelievers will be on the Day of Resurrection. As for the believers, Allah says:

(The greatest terror will not grieve them.)

(And (remember) the Day when the wrongdoer will bite at his hands, he will say: "O! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger.") Here Allah tells us of the regret felt by the wrongdoer who rejected the path of the Messenger and what he brought from Allah of clear truth concerning which there is no doubt, and followed another path. When the Day of Resurrection comes, he will feel regret but his regret will avail him nothing, and he will bite on his hands in sorrow and grief. Whether this Ayah was revealed concerning `Uqbah bin Abi Mu`it or someone else among the doomed, it applies to every wrongdoer, as Allah says:

(On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire) as mentioned in those two Ayat 33:66 Every wrongdoer will feel the ultimate regret on the Day of Resurrection, and will bite at his hands, saying:

(O! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger. Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so-and-so as an intimate friend!) meaning, the one among the propagators of misguidance who diverted him from true guidance and led him to follow the path of misguidance, whether this refers to Umayyah bin Khalaf or his brother Ubayy bin Khalaf, or to someone else.

(He indeed led me astray from the Reminder) means the Qur'an,

(after it had come to me.) means, after it had reached me. Allah says:

(And Shaytan is to man ever a deserter (in the hour of need). ) meaning, he leads him away from the truth and diverts him from it, and uses him for the purposes of falsehood and calls him to it.

The Messenger will complain against His Opponents

Allah tells how His Messenger and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ will say: "O my Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Qur'an." The idolators would not listen to the Qur'an, as Allah says:

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لاَ تَسْمَعُواْ لِهَذَا الْقُرْءَانِ وَالْغَوْاْ فِيهِ

(And those who disbelieve say: "Listen not to this Qur'an, and make noise in the midst of it.") (41:26). When he would recite Qur'an to them, they would talk nonsense or speak about something else, so that they would not hear it. This is a form of forsaking it and rejecting it, and not believing in it is the same as forsaking it, and not pondering its meanings and trying to understand it is the same as forsaking it, and not acting upon it and following its commandments and heeding its prohibitions is the same as forsaking it, and turning away from it in favor of poetry or other words or songs or idle talk or some other way is the same as forsaking it. We ask Allah, the Most Generous, the Bestower of bounty, the One Who is able to do what He wills, to keep us safe from doing that which earns His wrath and to use us to do that which will earn His pleasure of preserving and understanding His Book, following its commandments night and day in the manner which He loves and which pleases Him, for He is Generous and Kind.

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِىٍّ عَدُوّاً مِّنَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ

(Thus have We made for every Prophet an enemy among the criminals.) means, `just as there is for you, O Muhammad, those people who scorned the Qur'an, so in all the previous nations did Allah make for every Prophet an enemy among the criminals, who called people to their misguidance and disbelief,' as Allah says:

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نِبِىٍّ عَدُوّاً شَيَطِينَ الإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ

(And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies -- Shayatin among mankind and Jinn) as stated in these two Ayat. (6:112) Allah says here:

وَكَفَى بِرَبِّكَ هَادِياً وَنَصِيراً

(But sufficient is your Lord as a Guide and Helper.) meaning, for the one who follows His Messenger and believes in His Book, Allah will be his Guide and Helper in this world and the Hereafter. Allah says

هَادِياً وَنَصِيراً

(a Guide and Helper.) because the idolators used to try to prevent people from following the Qur'an lest anyone be guided by it. They wanted their way to prevail over the way of the Qur'an. Allah says:

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِىٍّ عَدُوّاً مِّنَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ

(Thus have We made for every Prophet an enemy among the criminals.)

The Reason why the Qur'an was revealed in Stages, the Refutation of the Disbelievers, and their Evil

Allah tells us about the many objections raised by the disbelievers, their stubbornness, and how they spoke of things which were none of their concern. They said:

("Why is not the Qur'an revealed to him all at once") meaning, why was this Qur'an, which was revealed to him, not sent down all at one time, as the previous Books, the Tawrah, Injil, Zabur and other Divine Books Allah answered them, telling them that it was revealed in stages over twenty-three years, according to events and circumstances, and whatever rulings were needed, in order to strengthen the hearts of the believers, as He says:

(And (it is) a Qur'an which We have divided (into parts)...) (17:106). Allah says:

(that We may strengthen your heart thereby. And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages.) Qatadah said it means: "We have explained it." `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said it means: "We have given its interpretation."

(And no example or similitude do they bring,) This means no arguments or doubts,

(but We reveal to you the truth, and the better explanation thereof.) They do not say anything in an attempt to oppose the truth, but We respond to them with the truth of that same matter, more clearly and more eloquently than anything they say. Abu `Abdur-Rahman An-Nasa'i recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "The Qur'an was sent down all at once to the first heaven on Laylatul-Qadr (the Night of Power), then it was revealed over twenty years." Allah says:

(And no example or similitude do they bring, but We reveal to you the truth, and the better explanation thereof.) and:

(And (it is) a Qur'an which We have divided (into parts), in order that you might recite it to men at intervals. And We have revealed it by stages) (17:106). Then Allah tells us about the terrible state of the disbelievers when they are raised on the Day of Resurrection and gathered into Hell:

(Those who will be gathered to Hell on their faces, such will be in an evil state, and most astray from the path. ) In the Sahih, it is reported from Anas that a man said, "O Messenger of Allah, how will the disbeliever be gathered on his face on the Day of Resurrection" The Prophet said:

(The One Who caused him to walk on his two feet is able to make him walk on his face on the Day of Resurrection.)

Frightening the Idolators of Quraysh

Allah threatens the idolators who denied and opposed His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ and He warns them of the punishment and painful torment He sent upon the previous nations who rejected their Messengers. Allah begins by mentioning Musa, upon him be peace, whom He sent along with his brother Harun as a helper -- i.e., as another Prophet who helped and supported him -- but Fir`awn and his chiefs denied them both:

دَمَّرَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلِلْكَفِرِينَ أَمْثَلُهَا

(Allah destroyed them completely, and similar (awaits) the disbelievers) (47:10). And when the people of Nuh denied him, Allah destroyed them likewise, for whoever denies one Messenger denies all the Messengers, because there is no difference between one Messenger and another. If it had so happened that Allah had sent all His Messengers to them, they would have denied them all. Allah says:

وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ لَّمَّا كَذَّبُواْ الرُّسُلَ

(And Nuh's people, when they denied the Messengers,) although Allah sent only Nuh to them, and he stayed among them for 950 years, calling them to Allah and warning them of His punishment,

وَمَآ ءَامَنَ مَعَهُ إِلاَّ قَلِيلٌ

(And none believed with him, except a few) (11:40). For this reason Allah drowned them all and left no one among the sons of Adam alive on earth apart from those who boarded the boat,

وَجَعَلْنَهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ ءَايَةً

(and We made them a sign for mankind.) meaning a lesson to be learned. This is like the Ayah,

إِنَّا لَمَّا طَغَا الْمَآءُ حَمَلْنَكُمْ فِى الْجَارِيَةِ - لِنَجْعَلَهَا لَكُمْ تَذْكِرَةً وَتَعِيَهَآ أُذُنٌ وَعِيَةٌ

(Verily, when the water rose beyond its limits, We carried you in the boat. That We might make it a remembrance for you, and the keen ear may understand it) (69:11-12), which means: `We left for you ships that you ride upon to travel across the depths of the seas, so that you may remember the blessing of Allah towards you when He saved you from drowning, and made you the descendants of those who believed in Allah and followed His commandments.'

وَعَاداً وَثَمُودَاْ وَأَصْحَبَ الرَّسِّ

(And (also) `Ad and Thamud, and the Dwellers of Ar-Rass,) We have already discussed their story, which is referred to in more than one Surah, such as Surat Al-A`raf, and there is no need to repeat it here. As for the Dwellers of Ar-Rass, Ibn Jurayj narrated from Ibn `Abbas about the Dwellers of Ar-Rass that they were the people of one of the villages of Thamud. Ath-Thawri narrated from Abu Bukayr from `Ikrimah that Ar-Rass was a well where they buried (Rassu) their Prophet.

وَقُرُوناً بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ كَثِيراً

(and many generations in between. ) means nations, many more than have been mentioned here, whom We destroyed. Allah said:

وَكُلاًّ ضَرَبْنَا لَهُ الاٌّمْثَالَ

(And for each We put forward examples,) meaning, `We showed them the proof and gave them clear evidence,' as Qatadah said, "They had no excuse."

وَكُلاًّ تَبَّرْنَا تَتْبِيراً

(and each (of them) We brought to utter ruin.) means, `We destroyed them completely.' This is like the Ayah,

وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِن بَعْدِ نُوحٍ

(And how many generations (Qurun) have We destroyed after Nuh!) (17:17). "Generations" (Qurun) here refers to nations among mankind. This is like the Ayah,

ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ قُرُوناً ءَاخَرِينَ

(Then, after them, We created other generations (Qurun).) (23:42) Some defined a generation as being 120 years, or it was said that a generation was one hundred years, or eighty, or forty, etc. The most correct view is that a generation refers to nations who are one another's contemporaries, living at the same time. When they go and others succeed them, this is another generation, as it was recorded in the Two Sahihs:

«خَيْرُ الْقُرُونِ قَرْنِي، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ، ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُم»

(The best of generations is my generation, then the one that follows it, then the one that follows that.)

وَلَقَدْ أَتَوْا عَلَى الْقَرْيَةِ الَّتِى أُمْطِرَتْ مَطَرَ السَّوْءِ

(And indeed they have passed by the town on which was rained the evil rain.) refers to the town of the people of Lut, which was called Sodom, and the way in which Allah dealt with it, when He destroyed it by turning it upside down and by sending upon it the rain of stones of baked clay, as Allah says:

وَأَمْطَرْنَا عَلَيْهِم مَّطَراً فَسَآءَ مَطَرُ الْمُنذَرِينَ

(And We rained on them a rain. And how evil was the rain of those who had been warned!) (26:173),

وَإِنَّكُمْ لَّتَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهِمْ مُّصْبِحِينَ - وَبِالَّيْلِ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ

(Verily, you pass by them in the morning. And at night; will you not then reflect) (37:137-138),

وَإِنَّهَا لَبِسَبِيلٍ مُّقِيمٍ

(And verily, they were right on the highroad.) (15:76),

وَإِنَّهُمَا لَبِإِمَامٍ مُّبِينٍ

(They are both on an open highway, plain to see) (15:79). Allah says:

أَفَلَمْ يَكُونُواْ يَرَوْنَهَا

(Did they not then see it) meaning, so that they might learn a lesson from what happened to its inhabitants of punishment for denying the Messenger and going against the commands of Allah.

بَلْ كَانُواْ لاَ يَرْجُونَ نُشُوراً

(Nay! But they used not to expect any resurrection.) means, the disbelievers who passed by it did not learn any lesson, because they did not expect any resurrection, i.e., on the Day of Judgement.