Каф 50:19–26

Daze of Death

وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَ‌ةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ (And the daze of death has [ to ] come with truth. That is what you tried to escape...50:19) The phrase sakrat-ul-maut denotes the agony and the stupor or daze of death that a dying person experiences. Abu Bakr Ibn-ul-Anbari (رح) with his own transmitting authorities reports from Masruq that when the signs of death appeared on Sayyidna Abu Bakr Siddiq ؓ ، Siddiqah ` A'ishah ؓ was called. She came and when she saw her father's condition, she spontaneously versified and recited:

اذا حَشرَجَت یَوماً وَ ضاقَ بِھَا الصَّدر،

"When the soul one day will be uneasy and the breast thereby will become narrow".

Sayyidna Abu Bakr Siddiq ؓ heard this and said: "You recited this verse inappropriately; why did you not recite the Qur'anic verse [ 19] وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَ‌ةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ (And the daze of death has [ to ] come with truth. That is what you tried to escape...) ۔ When the Holy Prophet ﷺ faced the same state, he would put his hand in the water and wipe it over his blessed face, reciting لا إلہ إلا اللہ اِنَّ لِلمَوتِ سَکرَات "There is no god but Allah, indeed death has its pangs or stupor."

In the prepositional phrase بِالْحَقِّ "with truth", through the preposition بَا "ba" the action of the verb is passed on to the object, meaning " the pangs of death brought forth things that are true and real which none can escape or avoid" (Mazhari).

ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ (That is what you tried to escape...50:19) tahidu is derived from haid which denotes to incline; to turn aside or escape from a place; to avoid or shun it; and to acknowledge. Apparently, this verse addresses the entire mankind. Every man is naturally afraid or scared of, or alarmed and terrified by, the thought of death. Life is dear to him and death is a calamity for him. As a result, he makes plans to run away from death. This is from Shari point of view not wrong or a sin. Death, however, is inevitable. The purport of the verse is to show that 'this is the end you were trying to escape or avert or flee from; it has come to you. Therefore, your desire will not be completely fulfilled; you will have neither a shelter nor a refuge nor a sanctuary nor an asylum from it.'

Two Angels to Lead Man to the Plane of Hashr

وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ (And everybody will come, along with one [ angel ] to drive [ him to the field of reckoning ] and one [ angel ] to testify [ about his deeds ] 50:21). The verse before this depicts the way the Day of Judgment will be established. This verse describes the way in which all human beings will be brought to the plane of Hashr. With every man there will be a Sa'iq and a Shahid. Sa'iq, literally, denotes a person who remains behind a herd of animals or behind a group of people and drives them to a particular place. And Shahid refers to a witness. As for Sa'iq, by the consensus of traditions, it refers to an angel. But there are different views of scholars of Tafsir regarding Shahid. Some say that it too refers to an angel. In this way, there are two angels - Sa'iq and Shahid. Sa'iq's duty is to drive the people to the gathering place, and Shahid's task is to bear witness when the people's deeds will be presented. Another possible interpretation is that these two angels refer to the "honorable scribes" who used to accompany human beings all the time in the world on the right and left to record their deeds. A third possibility is that they refer to some other angels besides the ones mentioned here.

Some scholars interpret Shahid as referring to man's action, and other scholars think that the reference is to man himself. Ibn Kathir opines that the apparent context of the verse indicates that Shahid is also an angel who will bear witness to man's actions. Sayyidna ` Uthman Ibn ` Affan ؓ whilst delivering a sermon recited this verse and said: "Sa` iq will drive every person to Allah, and Shahid will testify about what one has done." Interpreters like Sayyidna Mujahid, Qatadah and Ibn Zaid ؓ placed the same interpretation on the two names. Ibn Jarir has preferred this interpretation.

The Unseen World Becomes Visible at Death

فَكَشَفْنَا عَنكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُ‌كَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ (Now We have removed your veil from you; so your sight today is sharp...50:22). There is a difference of opinion regarding the addressees of this verse. The preferred opinion is that Allah addresses mankind in general. This includes the believers, the unbelievers, the pious and the wicked. Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir and others have adopted this interpretation. The analogy drawn here is that this world is like the dream-world and the Hereafter is like the state of wakefulness. When man is in the dream-world, his eyes are closed and cannot perceive by his physical organs of sight the stark realities of the next world. When the physical organs of sight close, his dream-world ends and the state of wakefulness begins, and he is able to discern the stark realities of the Hereafter. Therefore, scholars have formulated the following aphorism:

النَّاسُ نِیَامُ فَاذِا مَاتُوا اِنتَبَھُوا

"People are sleeping in this world; when they die, they will wake up.

قَالَ قَرِ‌ينُهُ هَٰذَا مَا لَدَيَّ عَتِيدٌ (And his companion will say, "This is what I have with me, ready (to be presented as his record of deeds)... 50:23]. The word qarin (translated above as 'companion) refers to the recording angel that accompanies man all the time. Earlier we have learnt that there are two angels that record deeds. In the preceding verse they were referred to as Sa'iq and Shahid. The context indicates that, on the Day of Resurrection, the two scribes will be entrusted with two different tasks. One, named as Sa'iq, will drive the people to the gathering place, and the second, named as Shahid will carry the records of deeds and it is this angel who, after reaching the plane of Hashr, will say, هَٰذَا مَا لَدَيَّ عَتِيدٌ "This is what I have with me, ready (to be presented as his record of deeds)." Ibn Jarir, in his tafsir, states that the word garin comprehends both the angels Sa'iq and Shahid.

أَلْقِيَا فِي جَهَنَّمَ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ‌ عَنِيدٍ (Cast, both of you [ 0 angels,] into Jahannam every stubborn disbeliever.... 50:24]. The verb alqiya is grammatically dual in number, that is, addressed to two persons. It appears that Allah will say these words to the Sa'iq and Shahid angels; Allah will order them to throw him in the fire of Hell. Some other scholars explain it differently (Ibn Kathir).