88. AL-GHASHIAH (THE OVERWHELMING EVENT)

NAME: In the first verse of the Surah the word ‘Ghashiah’ is used for the all-embracing devastation of the Doomsday, and this reference to the Overwhelming Event has given the Surah its name.
TIME OF REVELATION: It is a Makkan Surah, From the subject-matter discussed in the Surah it seems that it was revealed when the work of propagating the message was in the earlier stages.
CENTRAL THEME: Reward and Punishment is its central theme. The images of paradise and hell are built so effectively in short sentences that the reader, if he has a receptive imagination, can see them in this world. This Surah is a complement of the previous Surah. In that Surah the paradise and hell were described in bare points with no details, but in this Surah the images of both are presented. For this reason in the salat (prayers) generally Surah Al-Ghashiah is also recited with Surah Al-A’ala. In the tradition it is mentioned that the Prophet used to recite in the congregational prayers of Fridays and the Eids Surah Al-A’ala in the first rakat (part) and Surah Al-Ghashiah in the second rakat (part).(Muslim Kitabul Jumua).
ORDER OF THE VERSES: In the first verse the all-embracing devastation of the Doomsday has been mentioned so that those who are careless and negligent should be alerted.
In Verses Nos. 2 to 7 is described the condition of those who have rejected the belief about Doomsday and do not believe in being accountable to Allah for their deeds in this world.
Verses Nos. 8 to 6 describe the fate of those who believe in the Doomsday and live their lives thinking that one day they will have to account before Allah for what they do in this world.
Verses Nos. 17 to 20 invite our attention towards some signs in the universe which prove the wisdom and might of Allah. A contemplation of those signs supports the statement of the Quran that Allah has the power to cause the Doomsday to occur and to create the Paradise and the Hell, and that it is necessary that the arrangement for providing reward and punishment should be made.
In Verses Nos. 21 to 26 the Prophet has been addressed and has been told that his task is merely to remind and admonish; the responsibility of forcing the acceptance of truth on others was not that of the Prophet; therefore, the problem of those who are not prepared to listen to and accept the admonition of the Prophet should be left to Allah. Finally they have to return to Allah. At that time He will take their account.

88. SURAH AL-GHASHIAH (THE OVERWHELMING EVENT)

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. Has the information 1 about the overwhelming event reached you? 2

2. On that day (many) faces 3 will be downcast,4

3. Toiling, weary, 5

4. They will enter the blazing fire,6

5. They will be given to drink, of a boiling hot spring.7

6. No food will be there for them but bitter thorny shrub,8

7. Which will neither nourish nor satisfy hunger.9

8. Many faces that day will be joyful,10

9. Pleased with their efforts;11

10. In a paradise of high order;12

11. Where they shall hear no vain talk.13

12. Therein will be flowing springs.14

1. Although the addressee is the Prophet, the purpose is to inform and warn the common people.

2. The Overwhelming Event referred to here is the Doomsday. The idea is to say that the occurrence of the Doomsday will be an overwhelming event that will affect everybody and everything. Here this information is conveyed in the form of a question in order to shock the hearers so that what would be stated further about the Doomsday may be heard with due attention.

3. Here faces denote persons. As the internal conditions of a person is reflected from his face, and as his personality is also recognized from it, the word faces is used to denote persons.

4. This is the description of those persons who have been rejecting the belief about the final reward and punishment, and had been living in this world thinking that they have neither to appear before Allah nor to account for what they had been doing in this world.

5. That is: On the Doomsday the disbelievers will have to labour very hard and toil, and they will become very weak, e.g. immediately on rising from the graves, they will have to run to their destination, to wait for years in terrible heat without food and water for appearing before Allah for reckoning, to drag heavy chains in feet and neck, etc., etc. Those persons who had made themselves free from offering prayers in this world and considered it a bother were rightly deserving of this ‘rigorous imprisonment’ in the next world.

6. That is: when these rejecters of faith will return from Allah’s court on the Day of the Judgment, they will be directly conveyed to the Hell which will be having a blazing fire.

7. Boiling water because they disregarded the commands of Allah and did not believe in the Hereafter: they did not aspire for receiving the blessings of Allah and therefore they deserve to be treated in the next world with boiling water.

8. For eating they will not get anything nutritious or tasty. However they will get thorny shrub and also bitter fruit(Zaqqum), and drinks pus, etc. which they will have to eat and drink somehow. It is obvious that these things cannot serve as food. This punishment will be according to their deeds, because by rejecting the belief about meeting God in the Hereafter they had sowed thorns in this world and therefore they could hope to reap only what they had sowed.

9. That is: The thorn fruits, etc., which they will get to eat there will not supply any nutrition and will neither nourish their bodies nor will it satisfy their hunger. Allah had provided various kinds of tasty foods in this world to satisfy our hunger and to nourish our bodies. But when these disbelievers were ungrateful to Allah even after getting these blissful gifts, they therefore deserved to get these thorny fruits and thorny shurbs to eat. It may be noted that in the text the word “dhari” has been used, which is the name of a thorny and poisonous shrub.

10. Now the condition of those persons is being described who believed in the Hereafter and lived a life of responsibility in this world thinking that one day they will have to appear before Allah.

11. They will be pleased to see the best results of their efforts. They will be happy that they made the Hereafter the aim of their life in the world and were not lured by the worldly pleasures.

12. They will be in such gardens as will be on high and will also be of high order.

13. The society in the paradise will be so decent and the meetings there will be so disciplined that none will utter an indecent word and none will have to hear any nonsensical talk. The environment of the paradise will be of a very high moral order and quite different from the environment of the modern world where it is impossible to keep oneself safe from hearing obscene talk and senseless songs. And this will be a great blessing from Allah, which will be the undisputed lot of the righteous people.

14. The mention of the flowing spring in the Paradise indicates that there will be greenery and spring all around and it will continue endlessly and that there will be no scarcity of water and high class drinks in the Paradise.

13. Therein will be thrones, raised on high;15

14. And goblets kept well-arranged,16

15. And cushions set in rows,

16. And rich carpets spread out,17

17. Do they not look at the camels-how they are created?

18. And at the sky-how it is raised high?

19. And at the mountains-how they are fixed firm?

20. And at the earth-how it is spread out? 18

21. So (O Prophet!) you admonish them as your responsibility is to admonish.

22. You are not to force them to believe.19

23. But whosoever will turn away 20 and disbelieve. 21

24. Allah will punish him with severe punishment.22

25. Verily, to Us is their return.23

26. Then it will be for Us to call them to account.24

15. High and magnificent thrones are symbols of kingly life, and the people of the Paradise will enjoy such a life.

16. The goblets or cups will be kept ready and well arranged at hand so that the people will have no difficulty at all in getting the drinks of the Paradise.

17. This gives an idea of how comfortable and luxurious will be the life of the people in the Paradise, and what excellent provision for luxurious living will be available in the Paradise. The image of the Paradise presented in the above-mentioned Verses gives a correct and clean picture of the Paradise, and this is sufficient to create a yearning for the same in our hearts. As regards its actual reality, we cannot judge the things of the next world by any measures of this world, and therefore it will be futile to attempt any debate on this subject.

18. The rejecters of the Doomsday and the Paradise and the Hell, described above are invited to think, and in this connection their attention is diverted to the things around them. In the Arabian desert during a Journey, the first thing that comes to view is the camel. Therefore, they have been asked first to contemplate over this animal; do they not see with what characteristics, this animal has been created? Does not the creation of the camel with all those characteristics, which are necessary to successfully withstand the hardships of a desert life, prove the Might, the Over lordship and the Wisdom of Allah? While riding a camel when traveling in the desert, people see the sky, the mountains and the earth. Therefore they have been asked to contemplate-over these things. Does not this high sky testify to the great Might of Allah? And are not these mountains which have been firmly fixed in the ground symbols of His inimitable craftsmanship? And does not this earth on which billions and billions of people have been settled prove His Over lordship and Wisdom? If all this is true -the intellect says that this is the only truth -then for such God what difficulty is there for causing the Doomsday to occur, for reviving men, for creating a world with Paradise and Hell? And does not His Over lordship demand that He should cause such a day to occur when He should take the account of His slaves-to judge whether after benefiting from His blessings and gifts. they were grateful or ungrateful to Him. And will this not go against His Wisdom that there should be no purpose in the creation of such a high creature as man and that there should be no planning and no scheme behind this creation?

19. The job of the prophet is to admonish to invite people to the right path, to warn them of Allah’s punishment and to convey Allah’s Message. The task of forcing the people to believe has not been given to the prophet.

20. To turn away is to dislike the admonition offered; the recitation of the Quran is intolerable for him, and if anything is mentioned to remind him of his responsibility, he shows the least interest in it, or he avoids it altogether.

21. Disbelief or Rejection of Faith (Kufr) is not to accept the admonition of Quran and to refuse to accept its guidance and its teachings.

22. The punishment in the Hereafter to the rejecters of faith will be so severe that the Severest punishment of this world cannot equal it. But those who inspite of this clear warning of the Quran take the path of disbelief, then who can save them from reaching their due fate?

23. Return to Allah means that one day all persons will have to appear before Him, and not before any other person. Then is it wise that man should totally disregard this fact that he has one day to appear before his Creator without fail?

24. On the Day of the Judgment when all people will appear before Allah. He will take the account of everybody. That time those who did not care for the admonition of the Prophet and refused to accept the guidance of the Quran will have to face the strictest questioning.