14. Surah Ibrahim

In the second verse (36), he gives the reason for making this prayer. He said that he sought refuge from idol-worship because it has led many a people astray. He said so because he had seen his father and his people falling victims to the custom of idol-worship which had left them deprived of all possibilities of betterment in their lives. In the closing sentence of the verse, it was said: فَمَن تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي ۖ وَمَنْ عَصَانِي فَإِنَّكَ غَفُورٌ‌ رَّ‌حِيمٌ(So, the one who follows me is surely mine, and the one who disobeys me, then You are Most Forgiving, Very Merciful). It means that one who keeps faith and abides by good deeds could obviously hope to be blessed, but should there be someone who disobeys his prophet, then, his case rests with the forgiveness and mercy of Allah. If disobedience referred to here is taken to be restricted to evils deeds, a form of disobedience to Allah in practice, then, the meaning is obvious, that is, they too could hope to be forgiven by His good grace. And if disobedience is taken to mean disbelief, denial and rejection, then, equally obvious is the fact that Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) had already been told that there was no forgiveness for the Kafir (disbeliever) and Mushrik (one who ascribes partners to Allah) and that he should not intercede on behalf of them. After that, expressing the hope of their forgiveness cannot be correct. Therefore, in Al-Bahr Al-Muhit, it was said: At this place, Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) has not used words which would suggest a recommendation or prayer. He did not say that they be forgiven. Nevertheless, he was a prophet with abounding mercy which encompasses his disbelievers too. Every prophet wishes from the deep recesses of his heart that no one should ever be subjected to Divine punishment, not even a disbeliever. So, it was this elemental wish of his that he expressed when he said: 'then You are Most Forgiving, Very Merciful.' He did not say precisely that they be forgiven and treated mercifully. This is similar to what Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) said about the disbelievers of his community: وَإِن تَغْفِرْ‌ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (and if You forgive them, then, You are the Mighty, the Wise - 5:118) which, in other words, would mean: If You were to for-give them, then, You have the Might and the Wisdom. You can do everything and there is no one to stop You. Thus, these two blessed souls did not take the initiative of recommending forgiveness for disbelievers as it was contrary to the etiquette due before Allah. But, at the same time, they also did not say that those disbelievers be punished by Him. Instead of doing that, they remained respectful yet, in a manner of their own, gave vent to their elemental wish that they too may be forgiven. Injunctions and Instructions As for a du', (prayer) everyone makes it. But, everyone does not know how to. The prayers made by the blessed prophets are lesson-oriented. They teach us how to ask. And they tell us what is worth asking for. This prayer by Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) is in two parts. The first part pleads that Makkah be made the city of peace, free of all security threats, while the second part seeks that he and his children be de-livered from idol-worship forever. If we think about it, these are the two very basic principles of human betterment - because, should human beings remain insecure where they live or remain under the apprehension that their country would be at-tacked by an enemy, their lives can never be pleasant, neither materially, nor spiritually. Everything done in this world, for profit or pleasure, depends on peace. There can be no two opinions at least about that. A person threatened by all sorts of dangers to his peace and security would naturally find the best of blessings he is surrounded with - dining and re-tiring in palaces, villas and mansions with possession and wealth abounding - all too sour to savor. Even in terms of one's religious orientation, one can show his obedience to Divine commands only when one has the necessary peace to do so. Therefore, in the first prayer made by Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) ، included there are all aspects of human well-being, whether material or spiritual. Through this one sentence uttered by the Friend of Allah, Sayyidna Ibrahim, may the blessing of Allah and peace be upon him, he has asked for his children everything that matters in this world. We also learn from this prayer that emotional concern for one's children, and the arrangement of economic sufficiency and comfort for them is one of the obligations placed on the father, to the best of his ability and capacity. To make efforts for this purpose is not contrary to (what has been said about) Zuhd (having no greed for the worldly pleasures). Then comes the second prayer. This too has great comprehensiveness because Shirk and idol-worship are sins for which there is no forgiveness, therefore, he has asked for being shielded against them. If a sin gets to be committed after that, it can also be expiated through other deeds, and such sins could also be forgiven through someone's intercession. And if we take the 'worship of idols' mentioned in the text in its broader sense as taken by the noble mystics, that is, everything which makes man heedless to Allah is his idol, and overcome by its love, when man takes the initiative and disobeys Allah, this then is, in a way, its worship. So, in this prayer, that is, to be kept away from idol-worship, there is a coverage of being kept away from all sins. It is in this sense that some noble mystics of Islam have admonished their self against heedlessness and disobedience to the Creator; or, as the great Gnostic Rumi says: 'Every (evil) desire is an idol in your way.'

Brimming with wisdom, there is another prayer of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) which appears in the third verse (37) as follows: رَّ‌بَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّ‌يَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ‌ ذِي زَرْ‌عٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّ‌مِ رَ‌بَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ وَارْ‌زُقْهُم مِّنَ الثَّمَرَ‌اتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُ‌ونَ : 'Our Lord, I have settled some of my children in a valley of no vegetation [ nor any other obvious life support system ] close to Your sanctified House, so that, Our Lord, they may establish Salah. So, make hearts of a number of people yearn towards them [ to make them familiar with each other ], and provide them with fruits, so that they may be grateful.' The event which marks the making of this prayer by Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) goes back to the time when Allah Ta’ ala intended to have the edifice of Baytullah which was destroyed in the Deluge during the time of Sayyidna Nuh علیہ السلام reconstructed. He chose His 'friend,' Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) for this mission, arranging for him to migrate from Syria with wife, Sayyidah Hajira and son, Sayyidna Ismail (علیہ السلام) and settle down in that barren place. This he was appointed to do. It appears in the Sahih of Al-Bukhari that Sayyidna Ismail (علیہ السلام) was an infant at that time. Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) ، as ordered, had him “ Ismail (علیہ السلام) “ and his mother, Sayyidah Hajira stay near the present Baytullah and the well of Zamzam. At that time, this place was an open and barren ground surrounded by hills. There was no water and no habitation in sight. Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) had thoughtfully put some food in a provi-sion-bag and water in a water-bag. Thereafter, Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) was commanded to return to Syria. The spot where he received this command was the spot from where he started his journey as commanded. That there was the natural effect of having to leave his wife and infant son in this wilderness on him will become evident from the prayer which he made a little later, but he did not tolerate the idea of making the least delay in carrying out the Divine command, not even for a few moments which he could have used to inform Sayyidah Hajira and say a few words of comfort to her. As a result, when Sayyidah Hajira saw him going away, she repeatedly called from behind him wondering why would he leave them in that manner and in a place which had no human being around nor was there anything which could help them survive. But, the 'friend' of Allah did not look back. Thereupon, Sayyidah Hajira realized that one who is the 'friend' of Allah cannot betray them in that manner. Perhaps, this is nothing but a command from Allah Ta` ala. So, she called again and asked: 'Has Allah Ta` ala commanded you to leave this place?' Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) turned his face and said: 'Yes.' Hearing this, Sayyidah Hajira said: ' اِذاً لَا یُضَیِّعُنَا ' that is, 'Now it does not matter. Our Master, who has commanded you to leave this place, will certainly not let us be wasted away.' Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) kept going ahead until he reached close to a hill from where he could no more see Sayyidah Hajira and Sayyidna Ismail علیہ السلام . That was the time when he turned his attention towards Baytullah and prayed in the words mentioned in the verse1 (37). Many religious instructions and rulings issue forth from this prayer of 1. According to this interpretation, it is only the prayer mentioned in Verse (37) that was made at this time. As for the prayer mentioned in the verse (35) it was made at a later stage, when Makkah was already a populated city. Therefore, there is no contradiction between this statement and the comment made on the verse 35. (Editor) Sayyidna Ibrahim علیہ السلام . These are being taken up in some details as given below. The Wisdom of Sayyidna Ibrahim's Prayer 1. We see that Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) has accomplished two things very distinctly. On the one hand, he fulfills his obligation to his status as the Khalil or Friend of Allah. When and where he was commanded to leave for the country of Syria, he took no time in leaving his wife and infant son in a desolate wilderness. When he was saying yes to the Divine command, he did not show the least hesitation. He did what he was asked to do right away. He did not tolerate the idea of postponing or de-laying even to the natural limit whereby he would first go to his blessed wife, say some words of comfort to her and tell her that he is under Divine orders to leave about which she should not worry. This he did not do. What he did was: When and where came the Divine command, he obeyed it and moved ahead right on. On the other hand, he did not neglect the rights of his family on him and paid the debt of their love in his own way. Once he could see them no more from behind a hill on his way, he prayed before Allah Ta’ ala that they be protected and blessed with peace. Thus, he had asked good life for them because he was confident, and at peace with himself. He knew that a prayer made after having carried out the Divine command first would never be rejected by the merciful Lord. And this is what happened actually. The helpless infant and his equally helpless mother found shelter. Not only that they settled there all alone and by them-selves, a whole city flowered with people around them and for their sake; and furthermore, the matter did not end at the fulfillment of the needs of their lives lived in peace, but it is for their sake that the doors of all sorts of blessing are still open to the people of Makkah. This is prophetic steadfastness, and the beauty of balance; when considering one aspect, they would never ignore the other. The prophets are not like common mystics who are overpowered by the state they are in (maghlub al-hal) مَغلُوب الحال . Prophets educate. It is their education which goes on to make man perfect, universal. Now, let us go to some significant statements made in this prayer. They are from verse 37 and are being taken up in the order they appear there. 2. غَيْرِ‌ ذِي زَرْ‌عٍ (valley of no vegetation): When Sayyidna Ibrahim was commanded by Allah Ta’ ala that he should leave his infant son and his mother in that barren land and go to Syria, he had become certain from the command itself that Allah Ta’ ala would not let them perish, in-stead, they would, at least, be provided with water somehow. That is why he did not say: بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ‌ ذِي مَاء (in a valley with no water). What he said was: غَيْرِ‌ ذِي زَرْ‌عٍ (in a valley of no vegetation). Therefore, he requested that they be blessed with 'fruits' - even if they had to be brought in from some-where else. This is the reason why Makkah al-Mukarramah does not have any significant areas of cultivation even to this day. But, fruits from all over the world, the produce and product of things of all sorts reach there in such numbers and variety that it would be difficult to find a similar arrangement in many cities. (Al-Bahr Al-Muhit) 3. The next sentence: عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّ‌مِ (close to Your sanctified House) proves that the foundation of Baytullah had been laid out before the appearance of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) as proved by the leading commentator, Al-Qurtubi on the authority of several narrations under his commentary on Surah Al-Baqarah. According to him, the structure of Baytullah was first raised by Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) at the time when he was sent to the earth and was made to reach at this place from the Mountain of Sarandip through a miracle. Angel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) directed him to the site of Baytullah. Accordingly, Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) raised its structure. He and his children used to do Tawaf round it until came the Deluge during the time of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) when the sacred Baytullah was raised up (as trust), but its foundations remained embedded under the earth. Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) was commanded to build the Baytullah anew on the already existing foundations. These were identified and shown to him by Sayyidna Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) . After that, when this Abrahimic structure collapsed during the age of Arab Jahiliyyah, the Quraysh of that period rebuilt it. When its construction work was in progress, Abu Talib along with the Holy Prophet ﷺ participated in it, which was before he was made prophet. Here, Baytullah has been qualified as: مُحَرَّم (muharram) which means 'sanctified,' but could also mean 'protected.' The great Baytullah has both attributes. It has always been sanctified and esteemed, and always protected from enemies as well. 4. The next statement: لِيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ (so that they may establish Salah) is significant in that it was the first prayer he made soon after mentioning the helplessness of his infant son and his mother. His prayer was that they be made particular and punctual in their obligation of Salah as due because Salah is a cumulative receptacle of everything good and blissful in life, mortal or eternal. This tells us that there can be no greater concern, or love or desire for the betterment of children than that they be made to become particular and punctual with their Salah. Finally, there is something here we should not miss to note. Though, Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) had left behind at that time and at that place only a mother and her child, but the prayer he made was in the plural form. This tells us that Sayyidna Ibrahim had come to know that this place will have a populated city of its own and the line of this child will flourish and go far in time. Therefore, he included all of them in his prayer. 5. In the next sentence: أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ (hearts of a number of people), the word: أَفْئِدَةً (afidah) is the plural of: فُوَاد) which means heart. Here, the word: 'afidah' has been introduced in its indefinite form along with the particle: مِن (min) which is used for reducing, dividing and portioning. Hence, the meaning is: 'make hearts of a number of people yearn to-wards them). Tafsir authority, Mujahid says: If this reductive particle was not there in this prayer, instead, said there would have been: أَفْئِدَةً النَّاسِ (hearts of the people), then, Muslims, non-Muslims, Jews, Christians, virtually people of the whole world from the East to West would have converged on Makkah, which would have become a cause of inconvenience for them. It was in view of this reality that Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) ، in his prayer, used the words: 'make hearts of a number of people yearn towards them.' 6. In the next sentence: وَارْ‌زُقْهُم مِّنَ الثَّمَرَ‌اتِ (and provide them with fruits), the word: الثَّمَرَ‌اتِ (ath-thamarat) is the plural of: ثَمَرَۃ (thamrah) which means fruit. Customarily, they refer to fruits which are eaten. Given that sense of 'fruit,' the prayer would mean: 'provide them with all sorts of fruits to eat.' However, ثَمَرَۃ thamrah or fruit is also used in the sense of outcome and produce which is more general than things edible. The outcome of everything beneficial can be called its thamrah or fruit. Thus, the fruits of industries would be their products. The fruit of a job or work would be the pay or wages received as a result. In a verse of Surah Al-Qasas, also used there is the expression ثَمَرَ‌اتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ (fruits [ or produce ] of all things - 28:57). Here, instead of using the word: " شَجَرَ " (shajar : tree), what has been used is the word: شَيْءٍ (sha'ii : thing). Perhaps, this may be indicating that for these people Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) has not simply prayed for the provision of fruits to eat. Rather, the prayer he has made is for the end product of everything which includes the products and produce and use-worthy things of all kinds, and again, with earnest pleading and humble plaint alongwith the recounting of praises for Allah Ta’ ala, then, this would be a manner in which it can be strongly hoped that the prayer will be answered.

Stands for 'Qatiran', the original Qur’ anic word which means a highly inflammable oil extracted from the Pine-tree. Commentary Mentioned in Surah Ibrahim were some details of matters relating to prophets and their peoples, the evil end of those who opposed Divine in-junctions and, later on, Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) himself, who constructed the Baytullah, and for whose children Allah Ta’ ala made a community rise around them in Makkah al-Mukarramah, and provided for all its in-habitants perfect peace and extraordinary economic facilities, and it is his children, the Banu Ismail, who are the first addressees of the Glorious Qur'an and the Holy Prophet ﷺ . In this last section of Surah Ibrahim, the same people of Makkah have been exhorted to take a lesson from what had happened to past peoples; and, in a nutshell, they have been warned that, should they still not return to their senses, they better be ready to face the horrendous punishment of the day of Qiyamah. Initially, the first verse (42) is to comfort the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the oppressed of the world, then, it releases the threat of a severe punishment for all oppressors - that the unjust practitioners of crime should not become carefree because Allah Ta’ ala has given them respite. Let them not be deluded by the idea that Allah is not aware of their wrongdo-ings for which reason they are flourishing despite their crimes and for which reason nothing unwelcome happens to them, nor does any punishment visit them. This is not true. Instead of all that they presuppose, everything they are doing is all within the sight of Allah Ta’ ala, but He, in His mercy and wisdom, is giving them respite. In this verse: وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ اللَّـهَ غَافِلًا And never think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers are doing), the address is obviously to every such person whom his own negligence, and shaitan, have tricked to believe in something like that. And should it be that the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself is the addressee here, still then, the purpose of saying this would be to let the negligent of the community hear it and be warned - because, there exists just no possibility that the Holy Prophet ﷺ would, God forbid, ever think that Allah Ta’ ala is unaware or indifferent to what is happening.

In the second verse (43), it has been said that the postponement of sudden punishment against these unjust people is not any better for them because, ultimately, they will be seized in the great punishment of the Qiyamah and the 'Akhirah which will overtake them all of a sudden. The details of this punishment in the life to come and the horrendous happenings to be experienced there keep appearing right upto the end of the verse: لِيَوْمٍ تَشْخَصُ فِيهِ الْأَبْصَارُ‌ A day when the eyes shall remain upraised (in terror). مُهْطِعِينَ مُقْنِعِي رُ‌ءُوسِهِمْ They shall be rushing with their heads raised upward. لَا يَرْ‌تَدُّ إِلَيْهِمْ طَرْ‌فُهُمْ Their eyes shall not return towards them. وَأَفْئِدَتُهُمْ هَوَاءٌ , And their hearts shall be hollow. After the shape of things to come upon them has been stated, the address is to the Holy Prophet ﷺ who has been asked to warn his people of the punishment of that day, the day on which the unjust and the wrong-doing will have no choice but to call their Lord for some more time to return to the world they knew so that they could say yes to the call of prophets and follow them this time and may thereby have their deliverance from this punishment. The answer to their request will come from Allah Ta’ ala wherein it will be said: This is what you are saying now. Is it not that you had been giving sworn statements to the effect that your wealth and power shall never part with you, and that you shall go on living in the world just like that, in comfort and luxury, forever; and is it not that you had rejected the idea that you will live again and that there was a world hereafter?

In verse 45: وَسَكَنتُمْ فِي مَسَاكِنِ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمْ كَيْفَ فَعَلْنَا بِهِمْ وَضَرَ‌بْنَا لَكُمُ الْأَمْثَالَ And you dwelt in the dwelling of those who wronged themselves, and it became clear to you how We dealt with them and We put forth for you the examples, as obvious, the address is to the Mushriks of Arabia. These were the people the Holy Prophet was asked to warn: وَأَنذِرِ‌ النَّاسَ (And warn the people - 44). In this address, they have been asked to take their guard against what could happen to them as a result of their heedlessness. They could learn a lesson from what had happened to past peoples. The conditions they faced and the revolutions that overtook them could be-come their teacher. Yet, it is astonishing that they would still prefer not to learn a lesson - even though, they live in the very homes once occupied by peoples destroyed in punishment and walk around neighbourhoods once walked by them. The truth is that they know by direct observation, and by what some continuing reports have told them that terrible was the punishment which Allah Ta’ ala inflicted on them because of their acts of disobedience. The advice and the examples given here were to bring them to see truth and take the straight path, but it was certainly strange that they would still not listen and learn to act right.

Said in verse 46 was: وَقَدْ مَكَرُ‌وا مَكْرَ‌هُمْ وَعِندَ اللَّـهِ مَكْرُ‌هُمْ وَإِن كَانَ مَكْرُ‌هُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ And they worked out their plot and whatever they plot is be-fore Allah, even though their plot is such as would move the mountains. Which can be explained further by saying that those people tried to demolish the true faith and put in action their deadliest plans to bring harm to Muslims who had embraced the call of truth. But, all plans made by them, open or concealed, lie exposed before Allah Ta’ ala who is fully aware of them, and comprehensively capable of foiling them - even though, their plots were so precise and lethal that they would have made mountains back out from their place, but finally, nothing worked before the perfect power of Allah Ta’ ala. The hostile plots and plans mentioned here may possibly mean the plots and plans made by people destroyed in the past, for example, Nimrud, Pharaoh, the people of ` Ad and Thamud and others. And it is also possible that the text is referring to the Mushriks of Arabia who hatched many deep-seated and far-reaching conspiracies against the Holy ﷺ ، but they were all foiled by Allah Ta` ala. There are a good many commentators who have taken the word: (in) appearing in وَإِن كَانَ مَكْرُ‌هُمْ (even though their plot) as a particle of negation and explain the verse to mean that 'though they made many plots but it was not possible for their plots to make mountains move away from their place - and the mountain here means the high determination of the Holy Prophet ﷺ which remained totally unaffected by any of the moves made by the disbelievers.

After that, it was to let this be heard by the Muslim community, the Holy Prophet ﷺ or everyone thus addressed - was given a note of caution by saying: فَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ اللَّـهَ مُخْلِفَ وَعْدِهِ رُ‌سُلَهُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ عَزِيزٌ ذُو انتِقَامٍ So, do not think that Allah will do against His promise [ of sup-port, victory and success ] to His messengers. Surely, Allah is Mighty, the Lord of Retribution – 47 and that He would definitely retaliate against the enemies of His messengers and fulfill the promises made to them.

In the verses which appear onwards from here (48-51), the text re-turns to the awe-inspiring happenings of the day of Qiyamah. It is said: يَوْمَ تُبَدَّلُ الْأَرْ‌ضُ غَيْرَ‌ الْأَرْ‌ضِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ ۖ وَبَرَ‌زُوا لِلَّـهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ‌ The day on which this earth will be turned into some other earth, and the skies as well. And they all shall appear before Allah, the One, the All-Dominant. The statement that the earth and the sky will be turned into some other earth and sky may also mean that their distinctive characteristics and appearances will be changed. There are other verses of the Holy Qur’ an, and narrations from Hadith, which say that the whole earth will be transformed into a levelled surface having no house, tree, mountain and mound blocking the view, nor shall there remain any cave and abyss. It is this very state of change which the Qur'an refers to elsewhere in the following words: لَّا تَرَ‌ىٰ فِيهَا عِوَجًا وَلَا أَمْتًا (you will not see in it any crookedness, or curvature - 20:107). It means that things will not remain the way they are. Roads and pathways we see today wind their way past buildings and mountains negotiating all sorts of twists and turns on surfaces high and low. This will change and the whole thing would turn into flat, unobstructed ground. And this act of changing the earth and the sky could also be taken to mean that another set of the earth and the sky would be made in the place of the present ones. Out of the narrations of Hadith reported on this subject, only some of them seem to indicate either a change in features only while others suggest a change of the thing itself. Hadith authority, Al-Baihaqi has reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn Mas’ ud ؓ as based on authentic chains of narration that, about this verse, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: 'The ground of Al-Mahshar (the plain of Resurrection) will be brand new, radiant white like silver. And this earth surface would be such that no sin would have been committed over it by anyone, and on which no blood belonging to someone killed unjustly would have been shed.' The same subject appears in the Hadith reported in the Musnad of Ahmad and Tafsir Ibn Jarir, as narrated by Sayyidna Anas ؓ . (Tafsir Mazhari) In the Sahihayn (the two Sahihs) of Al-Bukhari and Muslim, there is a narration from Sayyidna Sahl Ibn Sa'd ؓ which reports that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: 'On the day of Qiyamah, people will be resurrected on an earth surface which will be clean and white like refined pita bread with no trace of anything else (such as house, garden, tree, mountain, mound etc.,). A1-Biahaqi has reported the same subject from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ' ؓ as in his Tafsir of this particular verse. And Hakim, backed by a strong chain of authority, has reported from a narration of Sayyidna Jabir ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: 'On the day of Qiyamah, this earth will be stretched like leather so that its wrinkles and crinkles are smoothed out (because of which caves and mountains of the earth would be all levelled down turning it into a flat surface), and at that time gathered on these plains there shall be the whole progeny of Adam. Such will be the multitude of people that one human being would have only as much land in his or her share as he or she can stand on. Then, I shall be the first to be called on the plains of Resurrection. There I shall fall down in prostration before the Almighty Lord, and when I shall be given the permission to intercede, I shall intercede for the whole creation so that they go through the reckoning of their deeds swiftly.' This last report obviously seems to indicate that the change made in the earth will be restricted to a change in its physical features, that is, caves, mountains, buildings and trees will not remain there. But, the earth itself will remain as it is. And all other narrations mentioned earlier tell us that the earth of the day of Resurrection (Al-Mahshar) will be an earth other than the present one. As for the change mentioned in this verse, it means the change of the earth itself. In Bayan al-Qur'an, Maulana Ashraf Thanavi (رح) has said that there is no contradiction here. It is possible that the features of the present earth will be changed at the time the first Horn is blown, then people will be transferred to some other earth for the purpose of reckoning of deeds. A saying of Sayyidna ` Ikrimah ؓ appearing in the Musnad of ` Abd ibn al-Humaid and reported in Tafsir Mazhari supports the view given above. The words used there can be translated as: 'This earth will contract and it will have another earth by its side on which people will stand for reckoning.' As based on a narration of Sayyidna Thawban ؓ ، it has been reported in the Sahih of Muslim that a Jewish rabbi came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and asked him: When this earth is changed, where would people be? He said: They would be in a dark area near the Bridge of Sirat. From here we also learn that people will be transferred from the present earth over to the other through the Bridge of Sirat. And Ibn Jarir has reported from several Sahabah and Tabi` in in his Tafsir that the present earth and all its rivers will turn into fire at that time. In other words, all this territory which now holds the population of the world will become the territory of Hell. However, the reality of things is known to Allah Ta` ala alone. A servant of His can do nothing but to live by his commitment to Him and not go about seeking the cause of His workings. In verses 50 and 51 towards the end, given there is the state in which the people of Jahannam will find themselves. Culprits will be shackled together in chains, that is, each group huddled separately and then shackled together. And the dress they would be made to wear will be from 'Qatiran' which is a highly inflammable tar-like oil and would catch fire instantly. Finally, in the last verse (52), it was made clear that the description of conditions to be faced by people on the day of Qiyamah was to warn them so that they would realize that there is no Being worthy of worship and obedience except the One Being of Allah T, and so that whoever from among them has some sense left in him or her would desist from Shirk while there was still the time to do so.