Surah Ibrahim, Ayah 49

The Condition of the criminals on the Day of Resurrection

Allah said,

يَوْمَ تُبَدَّلُ الاٌّرْضُ غَيْرَ الاٌّرْضِ وَالسَّمَـوَتُ

(On the Day when the earth will be changed to another earth and so will be the heavens) `and the creations will be brought before their Lord, and you, O Muhammad, will witness the criminals who committed the crimes of Kufr and mischief,'

مُقْرِنِينَ

(Muqarranin) bound together, each with his or her like, just as Allah said,

احْشُرُواْ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ وَأَزْوَجَهُمْ

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

وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ

(And when the souls are joined with their bodies.)81:7,

وَإَذَآ أُلْقُواْ مِنْهَا مَكَاناً ضَيِّقاً مُّقَرَّنِينَ دَعَوْاْ هُنَالِكَ ثُبُوراً

(And when they shall be thrown into a narrow place thereof, chained together, they will exclaim therein for destruction.) 25:13 and,

وَالشَّيَـطِينَ كُلَّ بَنَّآءٍ وَغَوَّاصٍ - وَءَاخَرِينَ مُقَرَّنِينَ فِى الاٌّصْفَادِ

(And also the Shayatin from the Jinn (including) every kind of builder and diver, and also others bound in fetters.)38:37-38 Allah said next,

سَرَابِيلُهُم مِّن قَطِرَانٍ

(Their garments will be of Qatiran (pitch),) that is used to coat camels. Qatadah commented that Qatiran (tar) is one of the fastest objects to catch fire. Ibn `Abbas used to say that the Qatiran, mentioned in the Ayah, is dissolved lead. It is possible that this Ayah reads as: (سَرَابِيلُهُمْ مِنْ قَطِرٍآنٍ) refering to heated lead that has reached tremendous heat, according to Mujahid, Ikrimah, Sa'id bin Jubayr Al-Hasan and Qatadah. Allah said next,

وَتَغْشَى وُجُوهَهُمْ النَّارُ

(and fire will cover their faces), which is similar to His other statement,

تَلْفَحُ وُجُوهَهُمُ النَّارُ وَهُمْ فِيهَا كَـلِحُونَ

(The Fire will burn their faces, and therein they will grin, with displaced lips.)23:104 Imam Ahmad recorded that Yahya bin Abi Ishaq said that Aban bin Yazid said that Yahya bin Abi Kathir said that Zayd bin Abi Salam said that Abu Malik Al-Ash`ari said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«أَرْبَعٌ فِي أُمَّتِي مِنْ أَمْرِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ لَا يَتْرُكُونَهُنَّ:الْفَخْرُ بِالْأَحْسَابِ، وَالطَّعْنُ فِي الْأَنْسَابِ، وَالْاسْتِسْقَاءُ بِالنُّجُومِ، وَالنِّيَاحَةُ عَلَى الْمَيِّتِ، وَالنَّائِحَةُ إِذَا لَمْ تَتُبْ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهَا، تُقَامُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَعَلَيْهَا سِرْبَالٌ مِنْ قَطِرَانٍ وَدِرْعٌ مِنْ جَرَب»

(Four characteristics from the time of Jahiliyyah will remain in my Ummah, since they will not abandon them: boasting about their family lineage, discrediting family ties, seeking rain through the stars, and wailing for their dead. Verily, if she who wails, dies before she repents from her behavior, she will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection while wearing a dress of Qatiran and a cloak of mange.) Muslim collected this Hadith. Allah said next,

لِيَجْزِىَ اللَّهُ كُلَّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ

(That Allah may requite each person according to what he has earned.) meaning, on the Day of Resurrection. Allah said in another Ayah,

لِيَجْزِىَ الَّذِينَ أَسَاءُواْ بِمَا عَمِلُواْ

(That He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done.) 53:31 Allah said here,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

(Truly, Allah is swift at reckoning.) when He wills to reckon a servants of His, for He knows everything and nothing ever escapes His observation. Verily, His power over all of His creation is the same as His power over one creature,

مَّا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلاَ بَعْثُكُمْ إِلاَّ كَنَفْسٍ وَحِدَةٍ

(The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as a single person. )31:28 And this is why Mujahid said,

سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

(swift at reckoning), means "keeping count."

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.

Man’s behaviour is such that he does not realize his fate right to the very end. If he attains some power or status, he becomes boastful and conceited as if these things were never going to be snatched away from him. He rejects the call of God and forgets that the things on the strength of which he rejects the call were all given to him by God Himself. Arguments are presented to him, but he pays no attention to them. The ultimate fate of the arrogant people of the past is well known to him, but he thinks that whatever happened was meant for others and that this will never happen in his case. Those who have been given opportunities for betterment in the present world feel proud of ignoring the Truth. But after death, when they see the result of their arrogance, they will be so ashamed of their past that they will want to return to the past, so that they can contradict themselves and accept that very truth which they had earlier proudly rejected. Opposition of Truth amounts to opposition of God. Opponents of the Truth which is supported by God, are always unsuccessful, even if they come with preparation of Himalayan proportions.