38. This can have two meanings:
(1) There is no room in me for more men.
(2) Bring all other culprits who may be there.
According to the first meaning the scene depicted would be that Hell has
been so stuffed up with culprits that it cannot hold any more; so much so that
when it was asked: Are you full? It cried out, alarmed: Are there still more
culprits to come? According to the second meaning, the scene depicted before
the mind is that the wrath of Hell is so flared up against the culprits that
it is constantly demanding more and more of them to be cast into it so that
no culprit escapes un-punished.
Here, the question arises: What is the nature of Allah Almighty’s addressing
Hell and its reply? Is it only something metaphoric, or is Hell actually a living
and intelligent being which may be spoken to and it may respond and give replies?
In this regard nothing can, in fact, be said with certainty. Maybe the meaning
is metaphoric and only for the purpose of depicting the actual scene of the
state of Hell it may have been described in the form of the question and answer,
just as one may ask a motor car: Why don’t you move forward? And it may say:
There is no fuel in me. But this also is quite possible that this conversation
is based on reality. Therefore, it is not correct to assume about the things
which are lifeless and mute for us in the world that they would be lifeless
and mute for Allah as well. The Creator can have communication with any of His
creatures and each of His creatures can respond to Him, no matter how incomprehensible
its language may be to us.
39. That is, as soon as the judgment will be passed about a person from the
court of Allah that he is righteous and worthy of Paradise, he will immediately
find Paradise in front of him. He will not have to travel a distance on foot
or by a conveyance to reach to it. There will be no interval between the pronouncement
of the judgment and his entry into the Paradise. From this it can be judged
how different the concept of space and time is between this world and the Hereafter.
The concept of space and time that we are familiar in this world will become
meaningless there.
40. The word awwab is very extensive in meaning. It implies the person who
might have adopted the way of obedience and Allah’s goodwill instead of the
way of disobedience, who gives up everything that is disapproved by Allah and
adopts everything that is approved by him, who gets alarmed as soon as he swerves
a little from the path of worship and obedience, and repents and returns to
the path of worship and obedience, who remembers Allah much and turns to Him
in all matters of life.
41. The word hafeez means the one who guards. This implies the person who
takes care of the bounds and duties enjoined by Allah, who guards the trusts
imposed by Allah and avoids the things forbidden by him, who keeps watch over
his time, energies and activities to see that none of these is being misemployed
or misused, who offers repentance, remains steadfast and keeps it strong and
intact, who examines himself over and over again to see that he is not disobeying
his Lord anywhere in word or deed.
42. That is, although he could not see the Merciful God and could not perceive
Him by his senses in any way, yet he feared His disobedience. His heart was
more dominated by the fear of the unseen Merciful God than the fear of other
perceptible powers and visible and mighty beings, and in spite of knowing that
He is All-Merciful, he did not become a sinner, trusting His Mercy, but feared
His displeasure in whatever he said and did. Thus, this verse points to two
of the believer’s important and basic characteristics: First, that he fears
God although he cannot see and perceive Him; second, that he does not persist
in sin in spite of his full awareness of God’s quality of mercy. These very
two characteristics make him worthy of honor in the sight of Allah. Besides,
there is another subtle point also in it, which Imam Razi has pointed out. In
Arabic, there are two words for fear, khauf and khashiyyat, which have a difference
in their shade of meaning. The word khauf is generally used for the fear that
a man feels in his heart on account of his sense of weakness as against someone’s
superior power and strength, and the word khashiyyat is used for the dread and
awe with which a man is filled and inspired because of somebody’s glory and
grandeur and greatness. Here, the word khashiyyat has been used instead of khauf,
which is meant to point out that a believer does not fear Allah only on account
of the fear of His punishment, but it is the sense of Allah’s glory and greatness
that keeps him awe inspired at all times.
43. The word munib in the original is derived from inabat, which means to
turn to one direction and to turn to the same again and again, just like the
needle of the compass that points to the magnetic north persistently, however
one may try to turn it away from that direction. Therefore, qalb-i-munib would
mean such a heart as has turned away from every other direction and turned towards
One Allah alone and then kept on turning towards Him again and again throughout
life. The same sense has been conveyed by the devoted heart. This shows that
in the sight of Allah the man of real worth is he who remains attached and devoted
to Allah alone not merely verbally but also truly and sincerely.
44. If the word salam in udkhuluha bi-salamin is taken in the meaning of
peace and security, it would mean: Enter this Paradise safe and secure from
every kind of grief, sorrow, anxiety and affiliation; and if it is taken in
the meaning of salam itself, it would mean: Enter this Paradise you are welcomed
here with the greeting of peace by Allah and his angels.
In these verses Allah has mentioned the qualities because of which a person
makes himself worthy of Paradise, and they are:
(1) Taqwa (piety),
(2) Turning towards Allah.
(3) Watching over and guarding his relationship with Allah.
(4) Fearing Allah although he has not seen Him, and has full faith in His
quality of mercy.
(5) Coming into His presence with a devoted and captivated heart, i.e. remaining
constant on the way of devotion and dedication till death.
45. That is, they will certainly get whatever they desire, but in addition
We will also give them that which they have never conceived and, therefore,
could not desire.
46. That is, they were not only powerful and strong in their own land but
had also made incursions into other lands and brought under their sway far off
lands as well.
47. That is, could their power and might save them when the time appointed
by Allah came for their seizure? And could they find shelter and refuge anywhere?
Now, on what trust do you hope that you will get refuge somewhere in the world
when you have rebelled against Allah?
48. In other words, either one should have so much of native intelligence
that one may think right of his own accord, or if not so, he should be so free
from prejudice and neglect that he may listen with attention when another person
tries to make one understand the truth.
50. That is, the fact of the matter is that We have made this entire universe
in six days and We did not become weary at the end so that We might be powerless
to reconstruct it Now, if these ignorant people mock you when they hear the
news of the life-after-death from you and call you a madman, have patience at
it, listen to whatever nonsense they utter with a cool mind, and continue to
preach the truth that you have been appointed to spread.
In this verse, there is a subtle taunt on the Jews and the Christians as
well, whereas in the Bible the story has been fabricated that God made the earth
and the heavens in six days and rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2). Although
the Christian priests are now feeling shy of it and have changed rested into
“ceased from working” in their translation of the Bible, yet in King James authorized
version of the Bible, the words “and He rested on the seventh day” are still
there, and the same words are also found in the translation that the Jews have
published from Philadelphia in 1954. In the Arabic translation also the words
are: fastraha ft! yaum as-sebi.
51. This is the means by which man gets the power and energy to continue
his struggle to raise the word of the truth and to call the people towards righteousness
throughout life with full determination even though he may have to pass through
heart-breaking and soul-destroying conditions and his efforts may seem to be
bearing no fruit. Praising and glorifying the Lord implies the Prayer here,
and wherever in the Quran the praise and glorification has been associated with
specific times, it implies the Prayer. The Prayer before sunrise is the Fajr
Prayer, and the Prayers before sunset are the Asr and the Zuhr Prayers. The
Prayers in the night are the Maghrib and the Isha Prayers, and the third, the
Tahajjud Prayer, is also included in the glorification of the night. (For explanation,
see
(E.N. 111 of TaHa);
(E.Ns 23, 24 of Surah Ar-Room). As for the glorification
that has been commanded after being free from prostrations, it may imply the
after-Prayer devotions as well as the offering of the voluntary prayers at the
end of the prescribed obligatory Prayers. Umar, Ali, Hasan bin Ali, Abu Hurairah,
Ibn Abbas, Shabi, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Hasan Basri, Qatadah, Ibrahim Nakhai and
Auzai say that it implies the two rakats after the Maghrib Prayer. Abdullah
bin Amr bin Aas, and according to a tradition, Abdullah bin Abbas also, held
the opinion that it implies the after-Prayer devotions, and Ibn Zaid says that
the object of this command is that voluntary Prayers should also be offered
after the prescribed obligatory Prayers.
According to a tradition reported in Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority
of Abu Hurairah, once the poor emigrants from Makkah came before the Prophet
(peace be upon him), and said: O Messenger of Allah, the rich people have attained
high ranks for themselves. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked: What has happened?
They said: They offer the Prayers as we offer, and they observe the fasts as
we observe; but they practice charity, which we cannot, and they set the slaves
free which we cannot. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Should I tell you
a thing which if you practiced, you would surpass all others, except those who
practiced the same that you practiced? It is this that you should pronounce
Subhan-Allah, Al-Hamdu-lillah and Allahu-Akbar, 33 times each after every Prayer.
After some time, the same people came and said: Our rich brothers also have
heard this and they too have started practicing, it. Thereupon the Prophet (peace
be upon him) said: This is Allah’s bounty and He bestows it on whomever He wills.
According to a tradition these devotional words have to be repeated ten times
each instead of 33 times each. Zaid bin Thabit has reported that the Prophet
(peace be upon him) instructed his companions that they should pronounce Subhan-Allah
and AlHamdu-lillah 33 times each and Allahu-Akbar 34 times after every Prayer.
Afterwards, an Ansar companion submitted: I have seen in a vision that somebody
was telling me that it would be better if I pronounced these three devotional
words 25 times each and then Lailaha illAllah 25 times. The Prophet (peace be
upon him) replied: Well, you may do likewise. (Ahmad, Nasai, Darimi).
Abu Saeed Khudri says: I have heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) pronounce
the following words when he would return after the Prayers were over: Subhana
Rabbika Rabbil-izzati anima yasifun wasalam-un alal-mursalin, walhamdu lillahi
Rabb-il alamin. (Jassas Ahkam al-Quran).
Besides these, several other forms of the after-Prayer devotional pronouncements
also have been reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him). Those who wish
to act on this instruction of the Quran may select the one they find suitable
from Mishkat. Bab adh-dhik-as-Salat, commit it to memory and practice it. Nothing
can be better than what the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself has taught in
this regard. But what one should bear in mind is that the real object of the
devotional pronouncements is not to utter these words only as a matter of course
but to refresh and fix their meaning in the mind. Therefore, the meaning of
whatever devotions one pronounces should be understood well and then practiced
with full consciousness of the meaning.
52. That is, wherever a dead person would be lying, or wherever his death
had occurred is the world, the cry of the caller shall reach him there, which
will urge him to rise and go before his Lord to render his account. This cry
will be such that everybody who rises from death anywhere on the surface of
the earth will feel as though the caller had called him from a nearby place.
Simultaneously will this cry be heard everywhere on the globe equally clearly.
From this also one can judge how different will be the concepts of space and
time in the next world from what they are in this world, and what forces will
be working there in accordance with the new laws.
53. The words yasmaun-as-saihata bil haqqi can have two meanings:
(1) That all the people will be hearing the cry of the right command.
(2) That they will be hearing the cry rightly.
In the first case the sentence will mean that the people will be hearing
the same right command with their ears, which they were not inclined to accept
in the world, which they had persistently refused to believe, and mocked the
Prophets who had brought it. In the second case it will mean that they will
certainly hear this cry, and they will realize that it is no fancy but indeed
the cry of Resurrection; they will be left with no doubt that the Day of Resurrection
of which they had been forewarned had arrived and the cry that was being raised
was of the same.
54. This is the answer to the saying of the disbelievers that has been reproduced
in verse 3 above. They said: How can it be that when we are dead and become
dust, we shall be raised back to life once again. This resurrection is far removed
from reason. In reply it has been said: This gathering together, i.e. raising
back to life and gathering all the people of the former and latter times together,
is very easy for Us. It is not at all difficult for Us to know as to where the
dust of one particular person lies and where of the other. We shall also face
no difficulty in knowing as to which are the particles of one and which of the
other among the scattered particles of the dust. Gathering together all these
particles separately and remaking each and every man’s body once again and then
creating in that body the same very personality which had lived in it before,
is not a task that may require any hard labor from Us, but all this can be accomplished
immediately at one signal from Us. All those human beings who have been born
in the world since the time of Adam till Resurrection can be brought together
by one command of Ours. If your petty mind thinks it is far off, it may think
so, but it is not beyond the power of the Creator of the Universe.
55. In this sentence there is consolation for the Prophet (peace be upon
him) as well as a threat for the disbelievers. Addressing the Prophet (peace
be upon him) it has been said: Do not care at all about what these foolish people
utter about you. We are hearing everything and it is for Us to deal with it.
The disbelievers are being warned to the effect: The taunting remarks that you
are passing against Our Prophet will cost you dearly. We are hearing everything
that you utter and you will have to suffer for its consequences.
56. This does not mean that the Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted to compel
the people into believing and Allah stopped him from this. But, in fact, although
the Prophet (peace be upon him) has been addressed, the disbelievers are being
warned, as if to say: Our Prophet has not been sent as a dictator over you.
He is not there to compel you to become believers even if you did not wish to
believe. His only responsibility is that he should recite the Quran and make
the truth plain to the one who would take the warning. Now, if you do not accept
his invitation, We will deal with you, not he.
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