Surah Ya-Sin 36:51-67 - Quran Translation Commentary

(36:52) They will say, ‘Ah, our woe. Who roused us out of our sleeping-place?’⁴⁴ This is what the All-merciful had promised, and the Messengers spoke the truth.⁴⁵

(36:53) It was not but a single blast, when lo! at once they are brought to their Lord - altogether.

(36:54) Then, today no soul shall be wronged in the least; nor will you be recompensed but for what you were doing.

(36:55) Verily, today the companions of Paradise are busy (in pleasantries), rejoicing⁴⁶

(36:56) They and their spouses: in shades,⁴⁷ reclining on decorated couches.⁴⁸

(36:57) For them are therein fruit, and for them whatever they ask for.⁴⁹

(36:58) ‘Salam,’ will be the word from a Lord Compassionate.

(36:59) ‘Fall apart today, O criminals.

(36:60) Had I not enjoined upon you, O children of Adam, that you should not worship Shaytan,⁵⁰ (that) surely he is your open enemy?

(36:61) And that you worship Me (alone)? This is the straight path.

(36:62) He did lead astray a great multitude of you (in the past). Were you not able to think?

(36:63) This is the Jahannum (then), that you were promised.

(36:64) Roast therein today, for that you were rejecting.’

(36:65) Today, We shall seal over their mouths and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify to what they were earning.⁵¹

(36:66) And, if We willed, We could surely have blotted their eyes,⁵² then they would have raced to the path, but how could they have seen?⁵³

(36:67) And, if We willed, We could have transformed them (fixe) in their places, then they would not have been able to move forward, nor could they have returned.⁵⁴

Commentary

44. The word “sleeping-place” (marqad) has been used because according to authorities such as Ubayy b. Ka`b, Qatadah and Mujahid, mankind will go into a short nap, just before the final blow of the Trumpet wakes them up (Tabari, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir and others).

Alusi however points out that if it is treated as “masdar mimi” then the meaning the word “marqad” will lend is, sleep. That is, who woke us up from our sleep? It has also been said by some of the Salaf that in comparison to what the unbelievers will see of the horrors of the Day, the punishment in the grave they had been undergoing would be like, to use a modern cliché, picnic.

45. “The dead will rise as in a stupor, and they will be confused in the new conditions! They will gradually regain their memory and their personality.

They will be reminded that Allah in His grace and mercy had already announced the Hereafter in their probationary lives, and the word of Allah’s messengers, which then seemed so strange and remote, was true and was now being fulfilled”

(Yusuf Ali).

“This is what .. spoke the truth,” - whose words are these? Mujahid and Qatadah thought it is the believers who will thus say. But Ibn Zayd said it is the unbelievers who will say so.

The former opinion sounds weightier (Tabari).

Ibn Kathir points out that Ibn Jarir’s inclination can be substantiated with another verse (22: 55, 56),

“The Day the Hour strikes, the criminals will swear (that) they tarried not but an hour. That is how they were being deluded. But those that were given knowledge and faith shall say, ‘Indeed you tarried by Allah’s decree to the day of resurrection. This then is the day of resurrection, but you were not knowing.’”

46. The translation reflects the understanding offered by Ibn Jarir. That is, the inhabitants of Paradise will be in various kinds of pleasantries, or, to put it as Majid does, “(they) shall be happily employed.”

The above is supported by Hasan’s opinion (Zamakhshari, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

However, Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, and Alusi also report the opinion of Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, Sa`id ibn al-Musayyib and others that the allusion is to breaking the seal of the virgins.

Reports to this effect are also in Ibn Abi Shaybah, Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Ibn Marduwayh (Shawkani).

But, that need not necessarily be the case. After all, that would be only one of the enjoyments in Paradise.

The verse is simply saying that the believers will be in such pleasantries as to make them unconcerned of the fate of the unbelievers (Alusi).

“Fakihin” however (translated here as “rejoicing”) has, Ibn Jarir points out, another connotation, viz., of relishing fruits.

Yusuf Ali adds: “Notice the subtle gradation in the description. First, in this verse, we have the nature of the mise en scene and the nature of the joy therein. It will be a Garden i.e., everything agreeable to see and hear and feel and taste and smell; delightful green lawns and meadows, trees and shrubs; the murmur of streams and the songs of birds: the delicate texture of flowers and leaves and the shapes of beauty in clouds and mist; the flavours of fruits; and the perfumes of flowers and scents. The joy in the Garden will be an active joy, without fatigue: whatever we do in it, every employment in which we engage there, will be a source of joy without alloy. ”

47. Asad notes: “In the Qur’ānic description of paradise, the term ‘zill’ (‘shade’) and its plural ‘zilal’ is often used as a metaphor for ‘happiness.’”

48. The textual word “ara’ik”, sing. arikah, has been explained as meaning “hijal”, sing. “hajalah” (Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid: Tabari). The latter is a word of Yemeni origin and stands for a curtained canopy, tent, pavilion or the like, decorated and adorned with colorful cloth prepared for a bride (Lexicon). Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Muhammad b. Ka`b, Hasan, Qatadah, Suddi and Khusayf however added as explanation, that the “ara’ik” will be under the “hijal”

(Ibn Kathir).

49. Ibn Kathir cites a report found in Ibn Majah and Ibn Abi Hatim, in explanation of the enjoyments of Paradise. Usama b. Zayd reported that the Prophet addressed his Companions one of those days and said, “Is there no aspirant for Paradise? Paradise has no hazard therein. It is, by the Lord of the Ka`bah, dazzling light, swaying fragrance, massive palaces, steady streams, plenty of ripe fruits, strikingly beautiful spouses, and lots of jewelry – in a place everlasting, in luxuries and pleasantries, in high rise splendid apartments.” They said, “We do aspire after it Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Say, ‘in sha Allah.’” Thereafter he spoke of Jihad and encouraged them to take part.

Haythami noted that the trustworthiness of one of the narrators has been questioned, but otherwise, the rest of the chain is reliable. Dhahabi also expressed his doubts about that narrator. Ibn Hibban however trusted him and hence placed the report in his Sahih collection (Au.).

50. It should be obvious, writes Razi in effect, that Shaytan being invisible, nobody worships him in the direct manner. Obeying his commands then, is to worship him (as said here:

“la ta`budu”). Whatever is done, even if it is an act of Allah’s worship, following either his command, or a whisper, or what will please him even when he is not with us, can be in his service. Further, if the sin is the “qalbi” type (of the heart), and not merely “jasadi” (of the body), then it is an act of worship directed to him. A sin in which one’s faith is not involved, where his belief in Allah remains untouched is “jasadi.”

That is, following Shaytan’s bidding from such a state of weakness can be of the “jasadi” type of service to him. In contrast, if there is lack of faith, such as where Allah’s powers are questioned, or doubted by the heart, then the sin is “qalbi.” Following Shaytan’s bidding from such a state is to worship him. The sins of the “Prophets” (so called because of their high status, are, (if admitted as sins despite their extremely minor nature), of the “jasadi” type. They reach higher status with Allah because of their quick repentance, and because of the extended acts of expiation.

They prove themselves better than the angels who said (2: 30),

“We sing your glory in Praise and magnify You.” There is no question of the Prophets and Messengers ever being in any doubt about Allah and His powers.

The relationship between us and Shaytan is of course, quite complicated leading to a variety of consequences.

For example, if someone worships Allah, but follows Shaytan’s bidding, to please other than Him, then, in actual fact he worshipped Shaytan. On the other hand, a believer’s vigilance can lead him closer to Allah, despite having temporarily fallen prey to Shaytan’s scheming.

To illustrate with an example, an act following Shaytan’s bidding, can actually lead to Allah’s approval, albeit indirectly. It can happen in this way.

Shaytan bids a man an evil and departs quite satisfied having left him busy with it. But if the sin in question is of the bodily type (jasadi), and not where the heart and soul’s approval is there (qalbi), then the man soon realizes the error. He is deeply rueful and turns to his Lord with greater vigor: remorseful, repenting, expiating, and so on. This takes him closer to Allah.

51. Other Qur’ānic passages tell us that after the mouths are sealed, not only organs but even the skin will speak out. The Qur’ān said (41: 20),

“When they arrive at it, their ears, their sights and their skins will bear witness against them – about what they were doing” (Shabbir, Mawdudi).

This is corroborated by the hadīth.

One is in Muslim, as reported by Anas b. Malik. He says: We were with the Prophet when he smiled. He asked, “Do you know why I smiled?” We said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “(I smiled) at the conversation of a slave with his Lord. He will say, ‘My Lord.

Have you not freed me of oppression?’ He will say, ‘Yes, of course.’ He will say, ‘I will not allow any testifier against me, except myself.’ He will say, ‘Enough for you against you, yourself as a testifier, and the honored Scribers as witnesses.’ Then his mouth will be sealed and his organs told, ‘Speak.’ They will speak out his deeds. Then he will be allowed to talk. He will say, ‘Away from you, and destruction (for you). Was it not for your sake that I was disputing?’”

(Kashshaf, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

There is another report in Muslim and other collections. The last part of this long report says, “Then a third one will be presented.

He will speak out like the previous one saying, ‘My Lord. I believed in You, in Your Book, Your Messengers, prayed, fasted, and spent (in Your cause)’ He will thus praise himself to the degree possible. He (Allah) will remark, ‘Even here (the lies)?!’ Then he will be told, ‘Now We shall bring up Our testifiers against you.’ He will wonder who could bear witness against him. Then his mouth will be sealed and his thighs, flesh, and bones told, ‘Speak out.’ His thighs, flesh, and bones will speak about his deeds.”

A report in Ibn Jarir, coming through Abu Musa al-Ash`ari says that when the record of deeds is presented, one of the unbelievers will deny that he did any such thing as recorded. He will say, “My Lord. This angel has written down things that I did not do.” The angel will protest, “Did you not do such and such a thing, on such and such a day, in place such and such?” He will say, “My Lord.

By Your Honor. I never did any such thing.” Then Allah will seal his mouth and his organs will be allowed to speak (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

There is a similar report in Tirmidhi (Shawkani).

And, a report in Ahmad tells us that it is the left thigh that will speak out first when told to. ‘Uqbah b. `Aamir says he heard the Prophet say, “The first bone of a man that will speak out when mouths are sealed is his left thigh” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

Haythami noted that the hadīth is also in Tabarani and carries a trustworthy chain (Au.).

52. Asad comments, “Lit., ‘We could surely have effaced their eyes’: a metaphor for ‘We could have created them morally blind’ and, thus, devoid of all sense of moral responsibility – which in its turn, would constitute a negation of all spiritual values in human life as such.”

53. Writes Asad: “In this instance – as, e.g., in 20: 96 – the verb ‘basura’ (‘he became seeing’ or ‘he saw’) is obviously used in its tropical sense of ‘perceiving [something] mentally.’ According to Ibn `Abbas, as quoted by Tabari, the phrase ‘anna yubsirun’ signifies ‘how could they perceive the truth.’”

That is, had Allah wished, He could have blinded them altogether so that, even if they rushed to the path, how could they have perceived it? This explanation comes from Ibn `Abbas (Ibn Kathir).

54. Asad again, “I.e., if it had been God’s will that men should have no freedom of will or moral choice, He would have endowed them from the very beginning with a spiritually and morally stationary nature, entirely rooted in their instincts (‘in their places’) devoid of all urge to advance, and incapable either of positive development or of retreat from a wrong course.”

If the passage is taken in the allegorical sense, then the above holds water.

The Salaf, however, offered a contextual explanation, as in Tabari and others, viz. the unbelievers wanted to attack the Prophet as he offered prayers in the Grand Mosque. Allah prevented them by blinding the eyes of some, so that they failed to spot the Prophet, and froze the movements of others to prevent them from advancing towards him.