Az-Zumar 39:62–72

Allah is the Creator and Controller, and associating others in worship with Him cancels out Good ...

Allah tells us that He is the Creator, Lord, Sovereign and Controller of all things; everything is subject to His dominion, power and guardianship.

لَّهُ مَقَالِيدُ السَّمَوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ

(To Him belong the Maqalid of the heavens and the earth.) Mujahid said, "Maqalid means `keys' in Persian." This was also the view of Qatadah, Ibn Zayd and Sufyan bin `Uyaynah. As-Suddi said:

لَّهُ مَقَالِيدُ السَّمَوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ

(To Him belong the Maqalid of the heavens and the earth.) "The treasures of the heavens and the earth." Both opinions mean that the control of all things is in the Hand of Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, for His is the dominion and to Him is the praise, and He is able to do all things. He says:

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بَِايَتِ اللَّهِ

(And those who disbelieve in the Ayat of Allah,) meaning, His proof and evidence,

أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْخَسِرُونَ

(such are they who will be the losers.)

قُلْ أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَأْمُرُونِّى أَعْبُدُ أَيُّهَا الْجَهِلُونَ

(Say: "Do you order me to worship other than Allah O you fools!") The reason for the revelation of this Ayah was narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim and others from Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the idolators in their ignorance called the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to worship their gods, then they would worship his God with him. Then these words were revealed:

قُلْ أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَأْمُرُونِّى أَعْبُدُ أَيُّهَا الْجَهِلُونَ - وَلَقَدْ أُوْحِىَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَسِرِينَ

(Say: "Do you order me to worship other than Allah O you fools!" And indeed it has been revealed to you, as it was to those before you: "If you join others in worship with Allah, surely your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers.") This is like the Ayah:

وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُواْ لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

(But if they had joined in worship others with Allah, all that they used to do would have been of no benefit to them.) (6:88).

بَلِ اللَّهَ فَاعْبُدْ وَكُن مِّنَ الشَّكِرِينَ

(Nay! But worship Allah, and be among the grateful.) means, `you and those who follow you and believe in you should make your worship sincerely for Allah Alone, with no partner or associate.'

The Idolators did not make a just Estimate of Allah such as is due to Him

وَمَا قَدَرُواْ اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ

(They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him.) means, the idolators did not give Allah His due when they worshipped others alongside Him. He is the Almighty, and there is none mightier than Him; He is the One Who is able to do all things; He is the Owner of all things and everything is under His control and power. Mujahid said, "This was revealed concerning Quraysh." As-Suddi said, "They did not venerate Him as He deserves to be venerated." Muhammad bin Ka`b said, "If they had made a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him, they would not have lied." `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

وَمَا قَدَرُواْ اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ

(They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him.) "These are the disbeliever who did not believe that Allah had power over them. Whoever believes that Allah is able to do all things, has made a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him, and whoever does not believe that, has not made a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him." Many Hadiths have been narrated concerning this Ayah and how it and other Ayat like it are to be interpreted and accepted without any attempts to twist or change the meaning. Concerning the Ayah,

وَمَا قَدَرُواْ اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ

(They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. ) Al-Bukhari recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "One of the rabbis came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, `O Muhammad! We learn that Allah will put the heavens on one finger, the earths on one finger, the trees on one finger, the water and dust on one finger, and the rest of creation on one finger, then He will say: I am the King.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled so broadly that his molars could be seen, in confirmation of what the rabbi had said. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited:

وَمَا قَدَرُواْ اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالاٌّرْضُ جَمِيعاً قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَمَةِ

(They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand)." Al-Bukhari also recorded this in other places of his Sahih. It was also recorded by Imam Ahmad and Muslim, and by At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i in the (books of) Tafsir in their Sunans. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

«يَقْبِضُ اللهُ تَعَالَى الْأَرْضَ، وَيَطْوِي السَّمَاءَ بِيَمِينِهِ، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ: أَنَا الْمَلِكُ، أَيْنَ مُلُوكُ الْأَرْضِ؟»

(Allah will grasp the earth and roll up the heavens in His Right Hand, then He will say: "I am the King, where are the kings of the earth")" This version was recorded only by Al-Bukhari; Muslim recorded another version. Al-Bukhari also recorded from Ibn `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«إِنَّ اللهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى يَقْبِضُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ الْأَرَضِينَ عَلَى أُصْبُعٍ، وَتَكُونُ السَّموَاتُ بِيَمِينِهِ، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ: أَنَا الْمَلِك»

(On the Day of Resurrection, Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, will grasp the earth with one finger, and the heavens will be in His Right Hand, then He will say, "I am the King.") This version was also recorded by Al-Bukhari It is recorded that Ibn `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this Ayah on the Minbar one day:

وَمَا قَدَرُواْ اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالاٌّرْضُ جَمِيعاً قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَمَةِ وَالسَّمَوَتُ مَطْوِيَّتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ سُبْحَنَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

(They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. On the Day of Resurrection the whole earth will be grasped by His Hand and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified be He, and High be He above all that they associate as partners with Him!) The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said while moving his hand forward and backward:

«يُمَجِّدُ الرَّبُّ نَفْسَهُ: أَنَا الْجَبَّارُ، أَنَا الْمُتَكَبِّرُ، أَنَا الْمَلِكُ، أَنَا الْعَزِيزُ، أَنَا الْكَرِيم»

(And the Lord will glorify Himself, saying "I am Compeller, I am the Proud, I am the King, I am the Mighty, I am the Most Generous.") And the Minbar shook so much that we feared that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would fall." This was also recorded by Muslim, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah.

The Blast of the Trumpet, the Judgement and the Recompense

Allah tells us about the terrors of the Day of Judgement, with its mighty signs and terrifying upheaval.

وَنُفِخَ فِى الصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَن فِى السَّمَوَتِ وَمَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ مَن شَآءَ اللَّهُ

(And the Trumpet will be blown and all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will swoon away, except him whom Allah wills.) This will be the second trumpet-blast, which will cause people to die. By this trumpet-blast, everyone who is alive in the heavens and on earth will be caused to die, except for him whom Allah wills. Then the souls of the remaining creatures will be taken, until the last one to die will be the Angel of Death, and there will be left only the Ever Living, Eternal One, Who was there in the beginning and will be at the end, forever. He will say three times,

لِّمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ

("Whose is the kingdom this day"), then He will answer Himself:

لِلَّهِ الْوَحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ

("It is Allah's, the One, the Irresistible!") (40:16). `I am the One existing Alone, I subjugated all things and I decreed that all things must come to an end.' Then the first one to be brought back to life will be Israfil, and Allah will command him to sound the Trumpet again. This will be the third trumpet-blast, the trumpet-blast of Resurrection. Allah says:

ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فِيهِ أُخْرَى فَإِذَا هُمْ قِيَامٌ يَنظُرُونَ

(Then it will be blown another time, and behold they will be standing, looking on) means, after they have been bones and dust, they will come alive, looking at the terrors of the Day of Resurrection. This is like the Ayat:

فَإِنَّمَا هِىَ زَجْرَةٌ وَحِدَةٌ فَإِذَا هُمْبِالسَّاهِرَةِ

(But it will be only a single Zajrah, when behold, they find themselves alive.) (79:13-14)

يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْ فَتَسْتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمْدِهِ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً

(On the Day when He will call you, and you will respond with His praise, and you will think that you have stayed (in this world) but a little while!) (17:52), and

وَمِنْ ءَايَتِهِ أَن تَقُومَ السَّمَآءُ وَالاٌّرْضُ بِأَمْرِهِ ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ دَعْوَةً مِّنَ الاٌّرْضِ إِذَآ أَنتُمْ تَخْرُجُونَ

(And among His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command. Then afterwards when He will call you by a single call, behold, you will come out from the earth.) (30:25) Imam Ahmad recorded that a man said to `Abdullah bin `Amr, may Allah be pleased with him, "You say that the Hour will come at such and such time." He said, "I thought that I would not narrate to you anymore. All that I said was that after a little while you would see something of great importance." `Abdullah bin `Amr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«يَخْرُجُ الدَّجَّالُ فِي أُمَّتِي فَيَمْكُثُ فِيهِمْ أَرْبَعِينَ

(The Dajjal will emerge in my Ummah and he will stay among them for forty. ) I do not know whether he said forty days or forty months or forty years or forty nights.

«فَيَبْعَثُ اللهُ تَعَالَى عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ، كَأَنَّهُ عُرْوَةُ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ الثَّقَفِيُّ، فَيَظْهَرُ فَيُهْلِكُهُ اللهُ تَعَالَى، ثُمَّ يَلْبَثُ النَّاسُ بَعْدَهُ سِنِينَ سَبْعًا، لَيْسَ بَيْنَ اثْنَيْنِ عَدَاوَةٌ، ثُمَّ يُرْسِلُ اللهُ تَعَالَى رِيحًا بَارِدَةً مِنْ قِبَلِ الشَّامِ، فَلَا يَبْقَى أَحَدٌ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ إِلَّا قَبَضَتْهُ، حَتْى لَوْ أَنَّ أَحَدَهُمْ كَانَ فِي كَبِدِ جَبَلٍ لَدَخَلَتْ عَلَيْه»

(Then Allah will send `Isa bin Maryam, peace be upon him, who resembles `Urwah bin Mas`ud Ath-Thaqafi, and he will prevail. Allah will destroy him (the Dajjal), then after that mankind will live for seven years with no enmity between any two people. Then Allah will send a cool wind from the direction of Ash-Sham, which will take the soul of every person who has even a speck of faith in his heart; even if one of them were to be inside the heart of a mountain, it would enter upon him.)" He said, "I heard it from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:

«وَيَبْقَى شِرَارُ النَّاسِ فِي خِفَّةِ الطَّيْرِ وَأَحْلَامِ السِّبَاع، لَا يَعْرِفُونَ مَعْرُوفًا، وَلَا يُنْكِرُونَ مُنْكَرًا، قال: فَيَتَمَثَّلُ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَيَقُولُ: أَلَا تَسْتَجِيبُونَ؟ فَيَأْمُرُهُمْ بِعِبَادَةِ الْأَوْثَانِ فَيَعْبُدُونَهَا، وَهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ دَارَّةٌ أَرْزَاقُهُمْ، حَسَنٌ عَيْشُهُمْ، ثُمَّ يُنْفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ، فَلَا يَسْمَعُهُ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا أَصْغَى لَهُ، وَأَوَّلُ مَنْ يَسْمَعُهُ، رَجُلٌ يَلُوطُ حَوْضَهُ فَيَصْعَقُ، ثُمَّ لَا يَبْقَى أَحَدٌ إِلَّا صَعِقَ، ثُمَّ يُرْسِلُ اللهُ تَعَالَى أَوْ يُنْزِلُ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَطَرًا كَأَنَّهُ الطَّلُّ أَوِ الظِّلُّ شك نعمان فَتَنْبُتُ مِنْهُ أَجْسَادُ النَّاسِ، ثُمَّ يُنْفَخُ فِيهِ أُخْرَى فَإِذَا هُمْ قِيَامٌ يَنْظُرُونَ، ثُمَّ يُقَالُ: أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ هَلُمُّوا إِلى رَبِّكُمْ

وَقِفُوهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ مَّسْئُولُونَ

(There will be left the most evil of people, as light as birds and with the hard hearts of wild predators. They will not recognize any good or denounce any evil. Then Shaytan will appear to them and say, "Will you not obey me" Then he will command them to worship idols and they will worship them. At that time they will have ample provision and a good standard of living. Then the Trumpet will be blown, and no one will hear it but he will tilt his head to listen. The first one to hear it will be a man who is filling his water trough, and he will die when he hears it. Then there will be no one left who has not died. Then Allah will send) -- or -- send down (rain like drizzle) -- or -- shade -- An-Nu`man one of the narrators was not sure of its wording (from which the bodies of the people will grow. Then the Trumpet will be blown once more, and they will be standing, looking on. Then it will be said, "O mankind, come to your Lord, (But stop them, verily, they are to be questioned) (37:24). Then it will be said,

«أَخْرِجُوا بَعْثَ النَّارِ، قال: فيُقَالُ: كَمْ؟ فَيُقَالُ: مِنْ كُلِّ أَلْفٍ تِسْعَمِائَةٍ وَتِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ، فَيَوْمَئِذٍ يُبْعَثُ الْوِلْدَانُ شِيبًا، وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يُكْشَفُ عَنْ سَاق»

("Send forth the people of Hell." It will be said, "How many" It will said, "From every thousand, nine hundred and ninety- nine." On that Day, children will be resurrected gray-haired, and on that Day the Shin will be laid bare.)" This was recorded by Muslim in his Sahih. Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet said:

«مَا بَيْنَ النَّفْخَتَيْنِ أَرْبَعُون»

(Between the two blasts, there will be only forty. ) They said, "O Abu Hurayrah, forty days" He, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I do not know." They said, "Forty years" He said, "I do not know." They said, "Forty months" He said, "I do not know."

«وَيَبْلَى كُلُّ شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْإِنْسَانِ إِلَّا عَجْبَ ذَنَبِهِ فِيهِ يُرَكَّبُ الْخَلْق»

(Every part of a man will disinegrate apart from the root of his backbone, and out of that he will be created anew.)

وَأَشْرَقَتِ الاٌّرْضُ بِنُورِ رَبِّهَا

(And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord,) means, it will shine brightly on the Day of Resurrection when the Truth (Allah), may He be glorified and exalted, manifests Himself to His creation, to pass judgement.

وَوُضِعَ الْكِتَبُ

(and the Book will be presented). Qatadah said, "The Book of deeds."

وَجِىءَ بِالنَّبِيِّيْنَ

(and the Prophets will be brought forward,) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "They will bear witness against the nations, testifying that they conveyed the Message of Allah to them."

وَالشُّهَدَآءُ

(and the witnesses) means, witnesses from among the angels who record the deeds of all, good and evil alike.

وَقُضِىَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ

(and it will be judged between them with truth, ) means, with justice.

وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُونَ

(and they will not be wronged.) Allah says:

وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَزِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَمَةِ فَلاَ تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئاً وَإِن كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا وَكَفَى بِنَا حَسِبِينَ

(And We shall setup Balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything. And if there be the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And Sufficient are We to take account.) (21:47)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ وَإِن تَكُ حَسَنَةً يُضَعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِن لَّدُنْهُ أَجْراً عَظِيماً

(Surely, Allah wrongs not even of the weight of a speck of dust, but if there is any good (done), He doubles it, and gives from Him a great reward.) (4:40) Allah says:

وَوُفِّيَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا عَمِلَتْ

(And each person will be paid in full of what he did;) meaning, of good and evil.

وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَفْعَلُونَ

(and He is Best Aware of what they do).

How the Disbelievers will be driven to Hell

Allah tells us how the doomed disbeliever will be driven to Hell by force, with threats and warnings. This is like the Ayah:

(The Day when they will be pushed down by force to the fire of Hell, with a horrible, forceful pushing.) (52:13) swhich means, they will be pushed and forced towards it, and they will be extremely thirsty, as Allah says:

(The Day We shall gather those who have Taqwa unto the Most Gracious, like a delegation. And We shall drive the criminals to Hell, in a thirsty state.) (19:85-86) When they are in that state, they will be blind, dumb and deaf, and some of them will be walking on their faces:

(and We shall gather them together on the Day of Resurrection on their faces, blind, dumb and deaf; their abode will be Hell; whenever it abates, We shall increase for them the fierceness of the Fire) (17:97).

(till when they reach it, the gates thereof will be opened.) means, as soon as they arrive, the gates will be opened quickly, in order to hasten on their punishment. Then the keepers of Hell, who are stern angels, severe and strong, will say to them by way of rebuking and reprimanding:

(Did not the Messengers come to you from yourselves,) meaning, `of your own kind, so that you could have spoken to them and learned from them,'

(reciting to you the Ayat of your Lord,) means, `establishing proof against you that what they brought to you was true,'

(and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours) means, `warning you of the evil of this Day.' The disbeliever will say to them:

(Yes,) meaning, `they did come to us and warn us and establish proof and evidence against us,'

(but the Word of torment has been justified against the disbelievers!) means, `but we rejected them and went against them, because we were already doomed, as it was decreed that we would be, because we had turned away from the truth towards falsehood.' This is like the Ayat:

(Every time a group is cast therein, its keeper will ask: "Did no warner come to you" They will say: "Yes, indeed a warner came to us, but we denied him and said: `Allah never revealed anything; you are only in great error."' And they will say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!") (67:9-10) which means, they will feel regret and will blame themselves.

(Then they will confess their sin. So, away with the dwellers of the blazing Fire!) (67:11) means, they are lost and doomed.

(It will be said (to them): "Enter you the gates of Hell, to abide therein...") means everyone who sees them and the situation they are in, will testify that they deserve the punishment. These words are not attributed to any specific person, but they are said as an indication that the entire universe will bear witness that they deserve what they are suffering, in accordance with the judgement of the Most Just, the All-Knowing. Allah says:

(It will be said (to them): "Enter you the gates of Hell, to abide therein...") meaning, `to stay there forever; you will never leave or depart.'

(And (indeed) what an evil abode of the arrogant!) means, `what an evil destiny and what an evil place to stay, because of your arrogance in this world and your refusal to follow the truth; this is what has led you to this, what an evil state and what an evil final destination!'