Ayaat 1-5 – Submission of the Sky and Earth to their Lord’s Command
Ayaat 1-5
Through the opening ayaat Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala tells us that on the Day of Judgment the oceans and rivers will be filled up, the mountains will be crushed to pieces and scattered, and the earth will be leveled and turned into a smooth plain.
Jabir bin ‘Abdullah said that the Prophet salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “On the Resurrection Day the earth will be flattened out and spread out like the table-cloth; then there will hardly be room on it for men to place their feet.”
From this we understand that on that Day all men born from the first day of creation till the Day of Judgment will be resurrected and produced in the Divine Court. For gathering together such a great multitude of the people it is inevitable that the oceans, rivers, mountains, jungles, ravines and all high and low areas be leveled and the entire globe of the earth be turned into a vast plain so that all individuals of human race may have room on it to stand on their feet.
The earth listens to and obeys the commands of its Lord because that is the right thing to do. Allah’s command is great and honorable, it cannot be rejected. When it will be instructed to produce what is within it, the earth will throw out the dead buried in it and empty itself.
These short ayaat vividly demonstrate how both the sky and earth receive their orders and instantly comply with them. Their obedience is a manifestation of their conscious and dutiful submission. The image drawn here has shades of humility, solemnity and tranquility that are brought out in full relief. The impression it leaves is one of humble and obedient submission to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Ayaat 6-15 – Man’s Hard Labor
Ayaat 6-15
In such an atmosphere of conscious obedience, man is addressed from on high: “O mankind! Indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with great [exertion] and will meet it.” O mankind! your Lord has made you in a perfect way. He has given you your humanity which distinguishes you from the rest of creation. Your humanity endows you with certain characteristics which should have made you more conscious of your Lord, and more obedient and submissive to Him than both the sky and the earth.
Man certainly labors hard in this life, shouldering his responsibilities and exerting himself. Man labors not only for what is obligatory but also for what he enjoys. Nothing in this life comes easily or without effort. If there is not physical labor then certainly there must be some kind of mental or emotional exertion. Everyone is struggling for what they want but when we return to our Lord we fall into two groups.
He who is given his book in his right hand is the happy one who was true to his faith. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is pleased with him and rewards him well. He will have a lenient reckoning, that is to say that he will not be called to account for what he did in this life. This is abundantly clear in the traditions of the Prophet salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
‘A’ishah radhiAllahu ‘anha quotes, “I heard Allah’s Messenger saying in his prayers ‘Allahumma hasibni hisabein yaseera,’ (My Lord, make my reckoning a lenient one). When he had finished his prayers I asked him, ‘What is the lenient reckoning?’ He answered, ‘He who receives lenient reckoning will have his record looked into and will be forgiven, but he who is called to account on that day will perish.” [Ahmad]
This is, then, the lenient reckoning accorded to him who receives his record in his right hand. He shall win “and return rejoicing to his people,” who will also have won and arrived in heaven ahead of him.
Here we have an image of the winner’s all-important test: he returns with his face overflowing with happiness. This image is the opposite of what happens to the afflicted one who has to account for his evil deeds and receives his record with reluctance. “But as for he who is given his record behind his back, he will cry out for destruction and [enter to] burn in a Blaze.” [84: 10-12]
The Qur’an usually makes a distinction between receiving one’s record with one’s right or left hand. Here we have a new image: the record is given from behind one’s back. There is no reason to prevent anyone being given his record in his left hand and from behind his back at the same time. It is an image of one who feels great shame and hates to be confronted with what he has done.
From this we can comprehend the reality of being a winner, and the reality of doom.
The unfortunate one who lived his life on earth laboring hard but disobeying Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and indulging in what is forbidden will know his destiny. He realizes that what lies in front of him is more suffering and hard labor with the only difference being that this time the suffering is greater, uninterrupted and endless. So, he calls destruction upon himself, for he sees his own destruction as the only means of salvation from what will befall him. When man seeks refuge in his own destruction, then he is certainly in a helpless position. His own non-existence becomes his strongest desire. His hopelessness is beyond description.
It is certainly a case of indescribable distress and misery. “And [enter to] burn in a Blaze.” [84: 12] This is the end from which he wishes to escape by means of his own destruction; but there is no way out.
Having portrayed this miserable scene, the Surah gives us a glimpse of the sufferer’s past which led him to this endless misery: “Indeed, he had [once] been among his people in happiness; indeed, he had thought he would never return [to Allah].” [84: 13-14] The indulgence and the joy had taken place in this life. He cared for nothing beyond the moment he was in, and made no preparation for the Hereafter. Had he thought about the return at the end of his journey through life, he would have carried provisions to sustain him.
But man forgot that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is watching him. Indeed, He has always been aware of man’s thoughts, actions and feelings. There will be a return to Him to receive the reward merited by actions on earth. This is indeed what happens when all return to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to meet their appointed destiny, when what Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has ordained will take place.
The Prophet salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said,
قَالَ جِبْرِيلُ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ، عِشْ مَا شِئْتَ فَإِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ، وَأَحْبِبْ (مَنْ) شِئْتَ فَإِنَّكَ مُفَارِقُهُ، وَاعْمَلْ مَا شِئْتَ فَإِنَّكَ مُلَاقِيه
“Jibreel (‘alayhi salaam) said, ‘O Muhammad! Live how you wish, for verily you will die; love what you wish, for verily you will part with it; and do what you wish, for verily you will meet it (your deed).’” [Abu Daw’oud]
Ayaat 16-25 – Suffering through Life
Ayaat 16-25
The Surah then refers briefly to some worldly scenes. People, however, continue to overlook the evidence such scenes provide of the deliberate planning that has gone into the making of this world. Indeed, this planning includes the creation of man himself, and his phases and transitions through life. Man does not remain in one and the same state, but passes through countless stages gradually, from youth to old age, from old age to death, from death to barzakh (the intermediary state between death and Resurrection), from barzakh to Resurrection from Resurrection to the Plain of Assembly, then to the Reckoning, and then to the meting out of rewards and punishments.
An oath has been sworn by three things to confine this:
(1) by the twilight,
(2) by the darkness of night and the gathering together in it of all those human beings and animals who remain scattered in the day time, and
(3) by the moon’s passing through different phases to become full. These are some of those things which testify that rest and stillness is unknown in the universe in which man lives.
There is a continuous and gradual change taking place everywhere. Therefore, the disbelievers are wrong in thinking that life comes to an end after man has breathed his last.
The oath serves to draw man’s attention to these universal scenes. The twilight refers to that period of stillness after sunset when the soul is overwhelmed by a deep feeling of awe. The heart feels, at such a time, the significance of parting with a beloved companion, and the quiet sadness and deep melancholy this involves. It also experiences fear of the approaching darkness. Then comes the full moon as its light descends over the earth. The full moon is always associated with tranquility.
“[that] you will surely experience, state after state,” [84: 19]. Explaining the state after state Hasan Basri said that this means ease after difficulty, difficulty after ease, wealth after poverty, poverty after wealth, health after sickness and sickness after health. This means, we will pass from one state of suffering to another, as has been charted for us until we eventually meet Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Then follows an expression of wonder at those who persist in their denial of the faith when they have all these signs and abundant evidences around them which indicate the truth, “So what is [the matter] with them [that] they do not believe, and when the Qur’an is recited to them, they do not *prostrate [to Allah]” images (1) [84:20-21].
*Ayah 21 is a place of prostration. It was the Sunnah of the Prophet to prostrate upon reciting or hearing an ayah that talks about prostration. This prostration is known as the prostration of recitation or sujood al-tilawah.
There are numerous indications in the universe and within the soul which point out that the path of faith is the right path. One only receives guidance when one pays attention. When one opens up the Qur’an and begins reciting it and it seems as if his heart is opening up to the truth as he begins to comprehend the meaning. This understanding of the Qur’an kindles in people’s hearts God-consciousness, humbleness, obedience and submission to the Creator of the universe. The expression, “fall down in prostration,” refers to these feelings. The universe is splendid and inspiring: it offers a multitude of signs, mental stimuli and moments of purity which combine to arouse in us a ready response and a willing submission.
The Qur’ān is also superb and inspiring; it links the human heart with the Creator who made it. Hence the wonder: “So what is [the matter] with them [that] they do not believe, and when the Qur’an is recited to them, they do not prostrate [to Allah]” [84:20-21].
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala does not dwell on this for long rather He proceeds to describe the behavior of the unbelievers and the end which awaits them. “So give them tiding of painful punishment,” [84: 24] an unpleasant tiding for anyone who is awaiting news of his future.
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala closes the address by describing what awaits the believers who prepare for their future by good deeds, “For them is a reward uninterrupted,” [84:25]. The unfailing recompense is one which is continuous and unceasing, and will be given in the Hereafter, when people will be immortal.