6. Surah Al-An'aam

In short, on this venue of the great trial, a long period of time will pass for the trial to begin, so much so, that these people will wish that reckoning comes so that they can be relieved from their state of uncertainty, no matter what happens in the end. It is to indicate this length of stay that, as indicated earlier, the word, ثُمَّ (then) was prefixed to ثُمَّ (then We shall say). Similarly, the answer given by the disbelievers mentioned in the second verse (23) also appears with the word, نَقُول ; (then), which indicates that they too will come up with their answer after having deliberated over it for a long period of time, in which they will say: وَاللَّـهِ رَ‌بِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِ‌كِينَ (By Allah, our Lord, we ascribed no partners to Allah). In this verse, their answer has been identified فِتنَہ 'fitnah' which could mean ` trial' or ` infatuation.' Both meanings can be taken here. In the first case, the answer given by the disbelievers becomes a trial by itself; while, in the second case, it would mean that these people were infatuated with idols and other self-made objects of worship, even made sacrifices for them, but all that infatuation was gone on this day when they had no choice but to declare their total disassociation from them. There is something very astonishing in their answer. That was a nerve-shattering time with the day being the Day of Retribution with the awesome manifestations of the power and authority of their Lord all there, yet they had the courage to lie before their very Lord, and that too, with such shamelessness that they are swearing by His great name and saying that they were no disbelievers! Most commentators explain this answer given by the disbelievers as something not based on foresight or hindsight. In fact, it was caused by the heat of surrounding awe and the loss of personal nerves, a condition in which one utters what is not intended. But, by giving some thought to the general happenings and conditions of the Day of Resurrection, it could be said that Allah Ta` ala had given them the freedom to say things as they used to say in their life of the mortal world so that everyone present on the Day of Resurrection could see their full profile and get to know that these people did not stop at disbelief and polytheism, but that they were also unmatched as liars, for they would not desist from lying at least on an occasion so horrifying. Another verse of the Qur'an (Surah Al-Mujdalah): فَيَحْلِفُونَ لَهُ كَمَا يَحْلِفُونَ لَكُمْ (then they will swear to Him as they swear to you - 58:18) gives a hint in this direction which means that very much in the manner they swear falsely before Muslims, they would not hesitate in swearing as falsely before the Lord of all the worlds Himself. When these people have become sworn deniers of their Shirk and Kufr (attribution of partners to Allah and disbelief) on the day of Resurrection, that will be the time when Allah, in His absolute power, will have their mouths sealed with silence. His command will then go to the limbs of their bodies - ` now, you speak as witnesses to everything they did' - then, will come the proof that their own hands and feet and eyes and ears were all some kind of secret service agents who had been with them all along. They will tell, and tell everything they did. About that, it has been said in Surah Yasin: الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَىٰ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْ‌جُلُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ ﴿65﴾ (That Day shall We set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak to Us, and their feet bear witness, to all that they did - 36:65). After having witnessed this demonstration of unimaginable power, no one will, then, dare conceal anything or lie about it. At another place in the Holy Qur'an, it is said: وَلَا يَكْتُمُونَ اللَّـهَ حَدِيثًا (And they shall not conceal anything from Allah - 4:42). Explaining its meaning, this is what Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ had said: That is, they would first lie as much as they could, even swear falsely, but once their own hands and feet shall testify against them, they will not have the courage to say anything wrong after that. So, we see that a wrong-doer shall be given full freedom to put his statement on record in the court of the Judge of judges. If he chooses to lie, as he did in his mortal life, his right to do that will not be snatched away from him - because Allah will Himself, in His absolute power, demolish the facade of his lie through the testimony of his own body parts. This is why telling lies after death will not work. Think of an entrance examination or an admission test. After death, man's first test will be given by angels, مُنکَر Munkar and نَکِیر Nakir. Says the Hadith: When Munkar and Nakir will ask a Kafir (disbeliever): مَن رَّبُّکَ وَما دِینِکَ (Who is your Lord and what is your religion?), the Kafir will say: 4'bri bu (Oh 0, I do not know). In contrast a true Muslim will answer by saying: رَبِّی اللہ وَ دِینِیَ الاسلام (Allah is my Lord and Islam is my religion). It appears no one will have the courage to lie in this test, otherwise a Kafir could have given the same answer as was given by a Muslim. The reason is that the test will be taken by angels who do not have the knowledge of the unseen, nor are they capable of making hands and feet give witness. If man had the choice of lying there, the angels would have simply acted in accordance with the answer given, but this would have disturbed the system. This is contrary to the test of the day of Resurrection where questions will be asked and answers given before Al-mighty Allah which means that no lie will work there even if resorted to. Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit and Mazheri report from some elders that the people denying their Shirk on oaths will be those who did not openly declare a created being to be God or His deputy, but as for their deed, they had assigned all powers of Godhood to His created beings, and from them sought answers to their needs, in their name they would make offerings, and from them they would ask sustenance, health, children and everything they wished to have. These people did not consider themselves as Mushriks. Therefore, on the day of Resurrection they would swear to it that they were not Mushriks. Ultimately, Allah Almighty will expose their disgrace. Another question which arises in this verse is about what has been said in some verses of the Qur'an - that Allah Almighty will not speak to the disbelievers and sinners - while, the present verse seems to be indicating clearly that such address will come to pass. The answer is that such address or speech will not be in the form of honouring them or accepting their prayers. As for the negation of an address based on admonition, that is not intended in this verse. It could also be said that the address mentioned in this verse may be through the angels. As for the verse where Divine speech or address has been negated, it refers to an indirect address.

In verse 24, it was said: انظُرْ‌ كَيْفَ كَذَبُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۚ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُ‌ونَ (See how they lied about themselves - and lost to them was all that they used to coin). The address here is to the Holy Prophet ﷺ who has been asked to see how these people have lied against their own selves, and whatever they used to forge and fabricate against Allah (their idols and so-called partners to Allah) is lost to them. The expression translated as ` lied about themselves' means that the curse of this lie is going to fall on their own selves while the word, اِفتَرَاء translated as ` used to coin' may also mean that ascribing partners to Allah was a fabrication in the mortal world the reality of which was exposed on the day of Resurrection. And it is also possible that ` iftira' or fabrication could be referring to the false oath taken on the day of Resurrection following which the witness of the limbs of the body exposed their lie. Some commentators say that ` iftira' or fabrication refers to interpretations they used to put on their false objects of worship in the mortal world, for example: مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّ‌بُونَا إِلَى اللَّـهِ زُلْفَىٰ which means that ` We do not worship them taking them to be God but only do it so that they would intercede on our behalf with Allah and bring us closer to Him - 39:3.' This fabrication of theirs got exposed on the day of Resurrection when no one interceded on their behalf in their hour of trial, nor any one did anything to bring about a reduction in their punishment. This bring us to a question, for the verse seems to indicate that at the time of trial featuring these questions and answers, all false objects of worship will not be present there, but a verse of the Qur'an says: احْشُرُ‌وا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا وَأَزْوَاجَهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ ﴿22﴾ (gather (gather up those who have been unjust, and their partners, and what they used to worship - 37:22). This seems to indicate that the false objects of worship will also be present on the day of Resurrection. The answer is that the sense of their being absent from the plains of Resurrection, as it emerges from this verse, is limited to their being unavailable as partners, sharers or intercessors. Thus, though they would be unable to help their clients in any way but, they would be present there. So, there remains no contradiction between the two verses. Then, it is also possible that all of them could be gathered together at one time and place, then be separated and the question is asked after the separation. In these two verses, it should be particularly borne in mind that the choice of free speech given to disbelievers on the day of Resurrection which they utilized by denying on false oath that they had any-thing to do with Shirk, is not without its implications. Perhaps, it carries a hint that the habit of telling lies is an evil habit which is never easy to shake off. So much so that these people, who used to swear falsely before Muslims during their life in the mortal world, were unable to stop lying even on the fateful day of Resurrection which put them to disgrace before the entire creation of Allah. Therefore, lying has been strongly condemned in the Qur'an and Hadith which give serious warning to those who tell lies. At many places in the Qur'an liars have been cursed. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: Stay away from lying because a lie is the accomplice of sins, and a lie and a sin will both go to Jahannam. (Ibn Hibban in his Sahih) The Holy Prophet ﷺ was asked what deed could take one to Hell. He said: A lie [ the Musnad of Ahmad ]. And on the night of the Mi` raj (the Ascent to Heaven), the Holy Prophet ﷺ saw a man having the corners of his mouth being slit apart which then fall back into their place and become as they were, and again they are slit apart ... something to keep happening to him throughout the day of Qiyamah. He asked the angel, Jibra'il al-Amin: "Who is he?" Angel Jibra'il said: "He is a liar." And it appears in a narration from the Musnad of Ahmad that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: One cannot become a complete Muslim unless he gives up lying altogether, to the extent that he would not lie even by way of joke or fun. In addition to that, it appears in Al-Baihaqi and others, all on sound authority, that the character of a Muslim may have other bad traits - but, not breach of trust and lying. Yet another Hadith says that lying decreases one's Rizq (sustenance).

The verse: وَهُمْ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ (And from it they prevent - 26), according to early commentators Dahhak, Qatadah and Muhammad ibn Hanafiyah, was revealed about the common disbelievers of Makkah who prevented people from listening to the Qur'an and following it - and saw to it that they themselves stayed away from it. It has also been reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ that this verse concerns the Holy Prophet's ﷺ respected uncle, Abu Talib , as well as other uncles who stopped people from causing pain to him, even supported him, but would not believe in the Qur'an nor follow it. If so, the pronoun in يَنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ will revert to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and not to the Qur'an. (Mazhari with narration by Ibn Abi a1-Hatim from Said ibn Abi Hilal)

Commentary There are three basic principles of Islam: Tauhid (Oneness of Allah), Risalah (Prophethood) and 'Akhirah (Belief in the Hereafter). All other articles of faith fall under these three. These are principles which tell human beings who they are and what is the purpose of their life. This understanding brings a revolution in their lives by showing them the straight path. Out of these, the Belief in the 'Akhirah, the belief that there is a reckoning of deeds to come when good shall be rewarded and evil punished, has pragmatically the most revolutionary effects, as it channels every human deed into a particular direction. This is the reason why all subjects dealt with in the Qur'an revolve around these three. In the verses appearing here, special emphasis has been laid on the reckoning of the 'Akhirah, its rewards and punishments, and the true nature of the mortal world. In the first verse, portrayed is the condition of wrong-doers and deniers of truth who, when made to stand by the edges of the Hell, and to observe the horrifying punishment far beyond their imagination, would wish that they were sent back into the world where now they would never falsify the signs and commands of their Lord, would believe in them and would be the true believers.

In the second verse (28), Almighty Allah, who is All-Knowing and All-Aware, exposes the reality of their wish, which would be nothing but the compulsion of circumstances, by making it clear that these people have always been addicted to lying and that they were liars even in their present wish under trial. The root of the problem with them was that they did not relish the realities brought before them by the prophets of Allah. They knew that the prophets were true, yet they raised dust to keep such realities unmanifested either because of their chronic obstinacy or worldly greed. But, in the Hereafter, every-thing came out in the open. They saw the power of Allah with their own eyes. They realized that the prophets had told the truth. Even, the life after death, something they had denied all along was before them, really and physically. Then, they became direct witnesses to reward and punishment and Hell. After that, they were left with no argument to continue their attitude of denial and opposition. So, when they wished to be returned to the mortal world, that was mere absence of choice. Then, their All-Knowing, All-Aware Master said that this was what they were saying for now, but if they were to be sent back into the mortal world once again, they would simply forget all about their promises and resolutions and will revert to doing what they have been doing before, and would start getting involved once again with the unlawful from which they were stopped. Therefore, what they were saying now was also a lie and a ploy for deception. That their present statement has been called a lie could also be based on their ultimate deed, that is, their promising not to lie if returned to the world was not true, for this would never happen because they would still do nothing but keep lying when they go there. This lie could also mean that whatever they were saying at that time was not prompted by true intention. They were doing so simply to buy time and avoid punishment while in the heart of their hearts, they still have no intention of doing it.

As for the statement in the third verse (29): وَقَالُوا إِنْ هِيَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا (And they say, "There is nothing real but this worldly life of ours" ), it reverts back to the word, عَادُوا (` adu: would again go for) in verse 28. Thus, it means that should they be returned to the world, then, once they reach there, they will still say that they do not accept any life other than the life of this world. Life here is the life and they were not going to be raised again. A question arises here: When they have seen their return to life on the day of Qiyamah - and reckoning and accounting and reward and punishment - how can it be possible that they would deny it once they have been sent back into the world? The answer is that denial does not make it necessary that, in reality, they remain uncertain about these events and facts. Instead, it would be very much like our contemporary disbelievers and wrong-doers who, despite their knowledge of Islamic realities, keep sticking to their denial and falsification simply because of their hostility, that these people, once they are returned to the world, and despite having personal certainty of the realities of the day of Qiyamah, of rising to life back again, and of what would happen in the Hereafter, they would still resort to their old habit of belying and falsification simply because of their wickedness or hostility. This is what the Qur'an has said about some disbelievers within this present life: وَجَحَدُوا بِهَا وَاسْتَيْقَنَتْهَا أَنفُسُهُمْ ظُلْمًا وَعُلُوًّا They are striving hard to deny Our signs - while in them-selves being certain of their truth - (only) unjustly, and out of pride - 27:14. This is also similar to what was said about the Jews that they recognized the Last Prophet ﷺ as they would recognize their sons, yet they remained all bent on opposing him. To sum up, it can be said that the Creator knows, in His eternal knowledge, that the claim of these people that once they have been sent back to the world, they would become ideal Muslims, is a lie and a deception. If they were, as they wished, to be released into the world put together after its destruction, then, once again, they would do exactly the same things they used to do in their earlier lives. The Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: At the time of reckoning, Allah Ta` ala will ask Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) to stand near the Scale of Justice and will ask him that he should look at the deeds of his progeny and allow anyone whose good deeds outweigh his sins to go to Paradise. And then He would say: The one I shall admit to the punishment of Hell will be the one about whom I know that he, i f sent to the world again, would do the same thing he had been doing earlier.

About the sentence: وَهُمْ يَحْمِلُونَ أَوْزَارَ‌هُمْ (And they shall be carrying their burdens) in verse 31, it appears in Hadith narrations that, on the day of Qiyamah, the deeds of good people will become their ride while the evil deeds of evil people will be placed like a burden on their heads. Noteworthy here is that disbelievers and sinners will do everything possible to save their skins on the fateful day of Resurrection. They will be nervous and confused. Sometimes they would hide behind false swearing. At others, they would wish to be returned to the world of their earlier experience. But, none of them will say: Now, we have believed and now we shall be doing nothing but what is good - because they would have seen reality and seen it very clearly - that the phase of Akhirah, the Hereafter, is not the Venue of Deeds (Dar al-Amal), and that the soundness of 'Iman (faith) depends on its being ` bil-ghayb,' that is, without having the need to see what is Unseen. Confirming what has been seen is simply acting in line with what has been personally seen. It is not what the attestation to the truth of Allah and His Messenger is. So, let us be very clear that working for the pleasure of Allah Ta` ala, earning its fruits in the form of the promised state of everlasting bliss, hoping to be blessed with Paradise in the Hereafter, and having a good life of peace and tranquility right here are things which can be achieved only (repeat, only) through the life of the present world, neither before, nor after - for it is not possible to achieve these in the universe of spirits (arwah) before it, nor is it possible to achieve it in the domain of the Hereafter, after the world of our experience is no more there. The Present Life is a Great Blessing: Invest Wisely, and Prosper Now we can see that the life of this world is a great blessing, and certainly an asset of unmatched value. (To borrow the terminology of modern investors, ` with such chips in one's hands, who would not go for such a deal of deals?' - Tr.). So, this life is an opportunity which must be taken seriously. That is why suicide is forbidden as Harm in Islam, and equally prohibited is praying for death, even the making of a wish to die. This is so because it shows ingratitude for a great blessing of Allah Ta’ ala. Also clarified here is the basis on which worldly life has been characterized as game and fun in the last verse (32) here, as well as in several other verses of the Qur'an, or in many Ahadith which condemn worldly life. There, by worldly life what is censured is the time of life which is spent being heedless to the thought and concern of Allah Ta` ala. Otherwise, no wealth of the world is equal in worth to the time one spends in remembering Allah and doing what He has commanded us to do. This is also confirmed by a Hadith which says: اَلدُّنیَا مَلعُونُ مَّا فِیھا اِلَّا ذِکرُ اللہِ اَو عَالِم اَو مُتَعَلِّمُ Dunya is cursed and cursed is what is in it, except the Dhikr (Remembrance) of Allah, or ` Alim (a knowledgeable person) or a student. If seen closely, a teacher (of religion) and a student (of religion) are included under the Dhikr (Remembrance) of Allah because 'Ilm' means the knowledge which becomes the cause of the pleasure of Allah. So, the learning and teaching of such an ` Ilm are both included under Dhikrullah. In fact, according to the clarification of Imam al-Jazri, everything done in this world which is done in conformity with obedience to Allah, that is, in accordance with the injunctions of the Shari'ah, is all included under the Dhikr of Allah. This tells us that everything necessary that must be done in this life of the world, all permissible ways of earning one's livelihood, and the fulfillment of other needs which are not beyond the limits set by the Shari'ah, shall all be considered as being included under the Dhikr of Allah. In fact, the fulfillment of the rights of family, relatives and friends, neighbours and guests and others has been identified as an act of Sadaqah (charity) and 'Ibadah (worship of Allah). To recapitulate, it can be said that, there is nothing in this world more worthy of Allah's favour than اِطاعہ ` Ita` ah (obedience to Him) and Dhikr (remembrance of Him). Then, the dearest and the worthiest possession man has is his time of life in this world. And we know that this time is limited. And no one knows exactly how long his or her life is, seventy years or seventy hours, or no more than the span of a breath. On the other hand, we know that the pleasure of Allah which is the only guarantee of a good life, here and there, can be acquired only within the limits of our life in this world. Now, every human being, whom Allah has blessed with sense and vision, can decide it for himself how he is going to spend these limited moments and hours of his life, and in what. No doubt, common sense would demand that this precious time should mostly be spent in what would meet the pleasure of Allah. As for chores which are necessary to hold this life together, they should be taken to as needed. In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said: اَلکَیِّسُ مَن دَانَ نَفسَہُ وَرَضِیَ بِالکَافِ وَ عَمِلَ لِمَا بَعدَ المَوتِ Wise is he who controls his self, and stays pleased with minimal resources, and devotes his deeds for what is after death.

Commentary About the statement: فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يُكَذِّبُونَكَ (it is not you they are belying, rather, it is the signs of Allah they are denying) in the first verse (33), there is a related event, reported in Tafsir Mazhari on the authority of a narration by As-Suddiy, according to which, once Akhnas ibn Shuraiq and Abu Jahl, two chiefs of the Quraysh tribe met together. Akhnas asked Abu Jahl: 0 Abul-Hikam, (In Arabia, Abu Jahl was called Abul-Hikam - 'man of wisdom' - but because of his hostility to Islam, he became known as Abu-Jahl - 'man of ignorance' ), you and me are alone here. There is no third person listening to us. Tell me about Muhammad ibn ` Abdulluh. Tell me what you really think about him. Is he telling the truth or is he not? Swearing by Allah, Abu Jahl said: No doubt, Muhammad is true. He has never lied all his life. But, the problem is that the thought, that only a single branch of the tribe of Quraysh, the Banu Qusayy, is going to become the repository of all sorts of virtues and perfections while the rest of the tribe remains totally deprived, is something that we cannot take. It is too much. They have the flag in their hands. They have the important duty of providing water for the Hajj pilgrims in their hands. They are the custodians of the Ka'bah; its keys are in their hands. Now, if we are to accept that the station of prophethood also belongs to them, what the rest of the Quraysh will be left with? According to another narration reported from Najiyah ibn Ka'b, once Abu Jahl himself told the Holy Prophet ﷺ . We do not suspect you of lying nor do we belie you, but we do belie the Book or Religion which you have come up with. (Mazhari) Based on these narrations of Hadith, the verse can be taken in its real sense, that is, 'these disbelievers do not belie you, rather, they be-lie the signs of Allah.' And this verse could also be taken in the sense that these disbelievers, though belie you obviously but, in reality, the outcome of belying you is itself the belying of Allah and His signs - as it appears in Hadith, that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: Whoever causes pain to me is liable to be judged as causing pain to Allah.

The sixth verse (38): وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ (there is no creature moving …) tells us that, on the day of Qiyamah, animals will also be given life along with human beings. Following a narration of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ ، it has been reported by Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim and Baihaqi that, on the day of Qiyamah, all animals, beasts and birds will also be given life once again. Such will be the measure of Divine justice that a horned animal which had hit the hornless one shall be subjected to retaliation, as would be the case with others too. And when all injustices have been vindicated, all of them would be commanded to become dust - and then, dust they shall become. This would be the time when the disbeliever will say: يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنتُ تُرَ‌ابًا [ 78:40] that is, ` would that I too were to become dust, and thus saved from the punishment of Hell!'. In another narration, again from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ ، Imam Al-Baghawi reports that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: On the day of Qiyamah, rights of all holders of rights shall be vindicated, to the limit that a hornless goat shall be vindicated against the horned one. Maximum Regard for the Rights of Allah's Creation Everyone knows that animals have not been obligated to observe the percepts of any Shari` ah or code of laws. Only human beings and Jinns have been so obligated. And it is obvious that the jurisdiction of reward and punishment does not apply to the non-obligated. Therefore, ` Ulama' have said that the retaliation against the behaviour of animals on the day of Resurrection will not be because of their being obligated, but it will be because of the Lord's utmost regard for equity and justice - based on which the cruelty of one living creature against' the other living creature will be recompensed, with no reward or punishment to follow for the rest of their behaviour. This tells us that the matter of mutual rights, and their infringements, pertaining to the creation of Allah is so serious that even non-obligated animals have not been left as exempted from it. But, it is regrettable that there are even many religiously-observing people who would act negligently about it.

Commentary The verses cited above, if seen in the context of verses appearing immediately previous to them, will show the particular mode in which Shirk and Kufr have been refuted and Tauhid, affirmed. First, the disbelievers of Makkah have been asked: If you are hit by a calamity now, for example, the punishment of Allah descends on you right here in this world or comes death or the very Day of Doom breaks loose, then think and answer who it will be you would call for help to keep this calamity away from you or who it would be you will hope to deliver you from this terrible punishment? Do you think these self-sculpted idols in stone or any others from among the creation of Allah you have given His status would come out to help you in your hour of trial? And then, would you still address your cry of distress to them, or would you rather appeal to none but Allah, the One, the All-Powerful? There can be no better answer from any sensible human being which was given by Allah Ta` ala Himself on behalf of them - that, at a time of such mass calamity, even the greatest Mushrik will forget all about his idols and self-appointed objects of worship and would call none but Allah. If so, the outcome is obvious. These idols of yours, and the objects of worship whom you have given the status of Allah Ta` ala and whom alone you regard as your problem solvers and granters of wishes, in fact, did not come to help you in your distress, nor could you muster the courage to call them up to help you out. Now then, when would it be that your devotion to them as objects of worship and their role of problems solvers assigned to them by you will start working for you? What has been said here is a gist of immediately previous verses. Stated here as a matter of supposition is that punishment could befall them within the life of this world as an outcome of their disbelief and disobedience. And, again as a matter of supposition, if the punishment does not visit them in the present life, then, the coming of the Qiyamah is certain after all when account will be taken from all human beings of their deeds and put in effect shall be the law of reward and punishment against these. ` Qiyamah' here could mean the commonly acknowledged Qiyamah or the Day of Doom. It is also possible that, by the particular use of the word, ` As-Sa` ah' (The Hour) -[ 41], the sense could be that of ` The Smaller Doom' (al-Qiyamatus-Sughra) which stands activated for every human being immediately after his or her death - as the saying is: مَن مَّاتَ فَقد قَامَت قِیَامَتُہ (For one who dies, his or her ` Qiyamah' (Doom) stands established right then) because a preliminary sampling of the ultimate reckoning of the Qiyamah will come before the deceased in his or her ` Qabr' (burial place) and in the state of Barzakh (the post-death - pre-Qiyamah state) and the sampling of the ultimate reward and punishment due ` there' would start showing up right from ` here.' (Not too difficult to visualize for those familiar with ` testers' and ` samples' provided on perfume counters in alcoves of major mega stores which are meant to tell the visitor: ` WYSIWYG!' That is, ` what you see is what you get.' - Tr.) But, despite warnings given in these verses to disobedient people against their attitude of complacency - lest there comes upon them some sudden Divine punishment as has come on past communities, or death, or ultimately the very reckoning after Qiyamah about which there is no doubt - such people have a mind of their own. They tend to take the whole world on the analogy of their limited experience in the already limited time of their life which makes them compulsive excuse seekers in such matters. Present before them the warnings and intimations given by blessed prophets and they will bypass them as ambiguous thinking, specially at times, and which reappear in all ages, when there are people around who, in spite of their open disobedience to Allah and His Prophet ﷺ ، keep prospering in wealth, property, influence, recognition and power, almost everything. So, on the one hand, here is what they witness with their own eyes, while, on the other hand, is the word of the blessed messenger of Allah who tells them that punishments do come upon the disobedient as it is the customary practice of the One they disobey. Now, as they look at the two sides of the argument simultaneously, then, their own excuse seeking disposition and, of course, the Satan hoodwinks them into believing that the word of the prophet is a deception or delusion. Now, for an answer, we can turn to the present verses where Al-mighty Allah has pointed out to the law which applies to what happened to past communities. It was said: وَلَقَدْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمَمٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّ‌اءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّ‌عُونَ ﴿42﴾. It means that Allah did send, before the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، His prophets to other communities which were tested in two ways. Firstly, they were tested with hardships and sufferings to see if these would become the cause of their turning to Allah. But, when they failed in this test and, rather than turn to Allah and abandon disobedience, became all the more engrossed in it, then, they were subjected to a different kind of test. The doors of worldly comforts were opened to them. They had everything they could wish for in the material world so that through these blessings they could recognize their Benefactor and remember Him. But they, rather than be grateful to Him, were so lost in the labyrinth of luxury that they forgot all about the messages and teachings of Allah and His Messenger. Thus, having traded their souls for the glitter of fleeting comforts, they failed in both tests, and their case before Allah became conclusively established against them. So, they were seized by the punishment of Allah suddenly which destroyed them to the last man. This punishment had come upon earlier communities too, down from the heavens and up from beneath the earth, and such mass punishments have come in other ways too which had reduced whole peoples and nations to ashes. The people of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) were deluged in the great flood which did not spare even mountain peaks. The people of عَاد ` Ad were hit by an eight-day long wind storm which left not one survivor. The people of Thamud were destroyed through a terrifying sound. The entire habitation of the people of Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) was overturned, the remnants of which still exist in the west of Jordan in the form of a low lying water level which is not conducive. to the survival of any sea life. Therefore, it is called The Dead Sea, and also the Sea of Lut. In short, these were some forms in which Divine punishment befell past communities as a result of their disobedience destroying whole nations and peoples in one stroke. However, it has also happened that such people died away naturally leaving no one behind to remember them. Also clarified in these verses is that Almighty Allah does not send down His punishment upon any people all of a sudden. Instead, punishments come at the level of admonitions the purpose of which is to make it possible for people to shed their heedlessness and take to the correct path. We also know from here that the hardship or distress which is sent to people on the earth as punishment for them, though outwardly looks like punishment but, in reality, it is not. Instead of that, it serves the purpose of a wake-up call designed to shake people out of their heedlessness. As such, it is nothing but mercy. Says another verse of the Qur'an وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُم مِّنَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَدْنَىٰ دُونَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَكْبَرِ‌ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْ‌جِعُونَ ﴿21﴾, that is, We will make them taste a lesser punishment, leaving the greatest punishment aside, so that they may return - 32:21. Removed from these very verses is the doubt about this world which is no place for rewards (Darul-Jaza' ), but a place where one must do what one should (Darul-` Amal). What then is the sense of being punished in this world where good and bad seem to be weighed on the same scale and where, in fact, the evil ones fare better than the good? The answer is clear. The real reward and punishment will come on that one day of Qiyamah, which is known as the very Day of Judgement (Yowmud-DIn) or the Day of Retribution (Yowm al-Jaza' ).. But, some hardships are sent in this world as a sample of punishment (Adhab) and some comforts as a sample of reward (Thawab) which are a token of mercy from Allah. Some spiritual masters have even said that all comforts of the world are indicators of the comforts of Paradise so that one learns to long for them. As for all those hardships and sorrows that afflict man in this world, they too are indicators of the punishment of the Hereafter so that man prepares to stay safe against them. Unless there is a sample or model-in sight, no one can be pursuaded towards anything, nor can anyone be detracted from any impending danger or evil. So, the comforts and discomforts of this mortal life are not rewards and punishments as such. They are, rather, samples or tokens of re-wards and punishments. We may say that this whole world is a show room of Akhirah (the Hereafter) where the trader displays the demonstration pieces of his merchandise in front of his store or shop so that they could attract the buyer. Thus, we can see that worldly prosperity or poverty, happiness or sorrow are not reward and punishment in the real sense. Actually, they are a method of bringing the creation of Allah alienated from its Creator back to His fold. At the end of verse 42 itself, this element of wisdom finds expression through the words: لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّ‌عُونَ (so that they may supplicate in humility). It means that the hardship inflicted on them during their life in the present world was really not aimed at punishing them. Since everyone turns to Allah naturally when in distress, the purpose was to make people turn to Allah through a little hardship. This tells us that the hardship or pain which visits a person or group as punishment is, in a sense, the working of Divine mercy.

As for the statement: فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ (We opened for them doors of everything) appearing in the third verse (44), it warns human beings at large that no one should be deceived by seeing the affluence of persons or groups and hasten to the conclusion that these were the people on the correct path and that their life was a model of success. One should never forget that among them there could be some of those disobedient ones who have been picked out to be seized with sudden and grave punishment. Therefore, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: When you see blessings and wealth raining upon someone - though he is deep in sin and disobedience - then, know that he is being lured into destruction اِستِدرَاج (Istidraj), that is, his affluence is an indicator of his being seized in punishment. (Narrated by Ahmad from 'Aqabah ibn ` Amir as in Tafsir Ibn Kathir) Following a narration from Sayyidna ` Ubadah ibn Al-Samit, leading commentator Ibn Jarir has reported that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: When Allah Ta’ ala wills to have a nation survive and grow, He creates in them two qualities: (1) moderation in everything they do, and (2) modesty and chastity, that is, abstinence from indulging in what is not right. And when Allah Ta` ala wills to destroy a nation, He opens for them the doors of breach of faith (Khiyanah), that is, they appear to be successful in the world despite their breaches of faith and wrong doings.