Surah As-Sajdah, Ayah 12

The Bad State in which the Idolators will be on the Day of Resurrection

Allah tells us the state of the idolators on the Day of Resurrection and what they will say when they see the Resurrection and are standing before Allah -- may He be glorified -- humiliated and brought low, with their heads bowed, i.e., in shame. They will say:

رَبَّنَآ أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا

(Our Lord! We have now seen and heard,) meaning, `now we hear what You say and we will obey You.' This is like the Ayah,

أَسْمِعْ بِهِمْ وَأَبْصِرْ يَوْمَ يَأْتُونَنَا

(How clearly will they see and hear, the Day when they will appear before Us!) (19:38). And they will blame themselves when they enter the Fire, and will say:

لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِى أَصْحَـبِ السَّعِيرِ

("Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!") 67:10 Similarly, here they are described as saying:

رَبَّنَآ أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَارْجِعْنَا

(Our Lord! We have now seen and heard, so send us back) to the world,

نَعْمَلْ صَـلِحاً إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ

(that we will do righteous good deeds. Verily, we now believe with certainty.) means, `now we are sure and we believe that Your promise is true and that the meeting with You is true.' But the Lord, may He be exalted, knows that if He were to send them back to this world, they would behave as they did previously, and they would reject and disbelieve in the signs of Allah and would go against His Messengers, as He says:

وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وُقِفُواْ عَلَى النَّارِ فَقَالُواْ يلَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلاَ نُكَذِّبَ بِـَايَـتِ رَبِّنَا

(If you could but see when they will be held over the (Hell) Fire! They will say: "Would that we were but sent back! Then we would not deny the Ayat of our Lord,") (6: 27) And Allah says here:

وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لاّتَيْنَا كُلَّ نَفْسٍ هُدَاهَا

(And if We had willed, surely We would have given every person his guidance,) This is like the Ayah,

وَلَوْ شَآءَ رَبُّكَ لآمَنَ مَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ جَمِيعًا

(And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, all of them together) (10:99).

وَلَـكِنْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ مِنْى لاّمْلأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ

(but the Word from Me took effect, that I will fill Hell with Jinn and mankind together.) i.e., from both classes, so their abode will be Hell and they will have no escape from it and no way out. We seek refuge with Allah and in His perfect Words from that.

فَذُوقُواْ بِمَا نَسِيتُمْ لِقَآءَ يَوْمِكُمْ هَـذَآ

(Then taste because of your forgetting the meeting of this Day of yours.) means, it will be said to the people of Hell by way of rebuke: `taste this punishment because you denied it and believed that it would never happen; you tried to forget about it and acted as if you had forgotten it.'

إِنَّا نَسِينَـكُمْ

(Surely, We too will forget you,) means, `We will deal with you as if We have forgotten you,' but nothing escapes Allah's attention, and He makes the punishment fit the crime, as He says:

الْيَوْمَ نَنسَاكُمْ كَمَا نَسِيتُمْ لِقَآءَ يَوْمِكُمْ هَـذَا

(This Day We will forget you as you forgot the meeting of this Day of yours) (45:34).

وَذُوقُـواْ عَذَابَ الْخُلْدِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

(so taste you the abiding torment for what you used to do.) i.e., because of your disbelief and rejection, as Allah says in another Ayah:

لاَّ يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا بَرْداً وَلاَ شَرَاباً - إِلاَّ حَمِيماً وَغَسَّاقاً

(Nothing cool shall they taste therein, nor any drink. Except Hamim, and Ghassaq) until:

فَلَن نَّزِيدَكُمْ إِلاَّ عَذَاباً

(No increase shall We give you, except in torment) (78:24-30).

Commentary

In verse 11, it was said: قُلْ يَتَوَفَّاكُم مَّلَكُ الْمَوْتِ الَّذِي وُكِّلَ بِكُمْ (Say, "The angel of death who has been assigned for you will take you in full" -11). In the verse previous to it, the deniers of the Qiyamah were warned and an answer was given to their wondering as to how would they be brought back to life once again after they had died and become dust. In the verse cited above, such people are being reminded, 'Think of your death which is, in itself, a great manifestation of the perfect power of Allah Ta’ ala. Your heedlessness and ignorance make you think that one's death comes all by itself, just like that. This is not how it is. In fact, fixed for your death there is a time with Allah and for this there is a standing system run through angels. Sayyidna ` Izra'il (علیہ السلام) is the foremost among them, the one who is the master-manager of death throughout the world. Whenever and wherever a person is destined to die, it is precisely at that time that he draws out his soul from his body.' This is what has been stated in the cited verse. It should be noted that مَلَکُ المَوت (malakul maut: angel of death) has been mentioned in the singular form. It means Sayyidna ` Izra'il (علیہ السلام) . Please compare it with another verse where it is said: الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ (the ones to whom the angels brought death - 16:28).

The gradual creation of the universe, in six days meaning six stages, along with the system full of wisdom governing it, is indicative of the fact that the Creator has some special purpose behind this creation. Moreover, numerous processes are incessantly going on in the universe. This further proves that its Creator is running it in a well-planned manner. The human being is a wonderful living organism, but if his body is analyzed, it will be found that it is composed of earth elements. Then this creation does not end there, but continues eternally through the process of procreation and regeneration. If the individual gives deep and serious consideration to these facts, his mind will be free of feelings of awe for anything except the Majesty of God. He will become a grateful subject of God. But there are very few who give deep consideration to anything. That is why there are very few people who offer praises to God and are grateful to Him.