Surah An-Naml, Ayah 85

Gathering the Wrongdoers on the Day of Resurrection

Allah tells us about the Day of Resurrection when the wrongdoers who disbelieved in the signs and Messengers of Allah will be gathered before Allah, so that He will ask them about what they did in this world, rebuking, scolding and belittling them.

وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ مِن كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ فَوْجاً

(And the Day when We shall gather out of every nation, a Fawj) means, from every people and generation a group

مِّمَّن يُكَذِّبُ بِـَايَـتِنَا

(of those who denied Our Ayat). This is like the Ayat:

احْشُرُواْ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ وَأَزْوَجَهُمْ

("Assemble those who did wrong, together with their companions (from the devils).") (37:22)

Commentary

(and they will be kept under control - 27:83), The word used here is derived from Waz', which means to stop. The sense here is that the people in front will be stopped, so that those left behind could catch up. Some have taken the word Waz' in the sense of 'pushing'. Hence, it would mean that they would be pushed while being brought to their stand.

وَلَمْ تُحِيطُوا بِهَا عِلْمًا (while you did not comprehend them with knowledge - 27:84). There is an allusion in this verse that falsifying the message of Allah Ta` ala is by itself a great sin, especially when one falsifies it without giving any consideration or thought, then the crime is doubled. This has brought to light that if an issue or subject is duly considered and thought over, and yet one could not get to the truth, in that situation the intensity of the crime is reduced. Nevertheless, the denial of the existence of Allah and His Oneness would not save any one from infidelity and adoption of the wrong path, and would thus lead to perpetual torment. It is because they are such self-evident matters that any mistake of judgment is not allowed in them.

The human being is a creature who has been blessed with the ability to see, hear and think. If these capacities are utilised in an open-minded way, realities may be seen and recognised with the utmost clarity. But, if a man is wrongly conditioned, truth may come before him unveiled, but he will remain unaware of it, as if he were blind and deaf. The fact is that, in this world, one can be guided to the right path, only if one wants to be guided. For one who has no burning desire to find the right path, no guidance of any kind will be of any avail. In order to become a seeker of Truth, the qualities most needed in a man are those of acceptance. In this world, only that man receives guidance who possesses the quality of readily accepting that which is well established by arguments and following that whole heartedly. Those who do not answer God’s call have finally to bow down before God’s verdict, but bowing down when the time for testing is over will be of no avail to anybody.