Surah Ibrahim, Ayah 45

There will be no Respite after the Coming of the Torment

Allah mentions what those who committed injustice against themselves will say when they witness the torment,

رَبَّنَآ أَخِّرْنَآ إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُّجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ الرُّسُلَ

(Our Lord! Respite us for a little while, we will answer Your call and follow the Messengers!) Allah said in other Ayat,

حَتَّى إِذَا جَآءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ

(Until, when death comes to one of them, he says: "My Lord! Send me back.")23:99 and,

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَلُكُمْ

(O you who believe! Let not your properties divert you.) 63:9-10 Allah described the condition of the wrongdoers on the Day of Gathering, when He said,

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.

When the Truth presents itself to a man, he sets himself against it. He shows such fearlessness in the face of it, as if there were nobody else in the world more courageous than he. But this very Truth which is made manifest by a preacher of God’s word in the present world, will become evident in the Hereafter at the level of God; the opponents of Truth will then lose all their bravado. After seeing the horrible scenes of the Hereafter, their condition will be such that their eyes will leap from their heads; they will not even be able to wink. Tilting their heads back, they will rush towards the ground where all will be gathered and their hearts will be terror-struck.