Surah Al-Hadid 57:11-19 - Quran Translation Commentary

(57:12) The Day you see believing men and believing women: their Light running before them and on their right side:²² glad tidings to you today (of) gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein. That indeed, is the supreme triumph.

(57:13) On the Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to those who believed, ‘Wait for us that we may borrow light from your Light.’ It will be said, ‘Return to your rear and seek for a light.’²³ Then a wall will be struck between them,²⁴ with a door,²⁵ in the inward wherein is mercy, while in front, outside it, will be chastisement.²⁶

(57:14) They will be calling upon them, ‘Were we not with you?’²⁷ They will reply, ‘Yes indeed. But you led yourselves to temptation,²⁸ and you awaited,²⁹ and fancies deluded you;³⁰ until Allah’s commandment came.³¹ (It was) the deluder³² who deluded you concerning Allah.

(57:15) Therefore, today no ransom shall be accepted from you, nor from those who adopted disbelief. Your refuge is the Fire: it is your best friend (now),³³ and an evil destination.’

(57:16) Has the time not arrived for those who have believed that their hearts should be humbled³⁴ at the remembrance of Allah, and for what has come down of the Truth?³⁵ And not be like those who were given the Book earlier, and the term prolonged over them, and so their hearts hardened,³⁶ and most of them are ungodly.

(57:17) Know that Allah quickens the earth after its death.³⁷ We have indeed made the revelation clear for you, that haply you will ponder.

(57:18) Surely, those men who give freely in charity, and those women who give freely in charity, and have lent Allah a goodly loan, it shall be multiplied for them, and for them is an honorable reward.

(57:19) And those who believed in Allah and His Messengers, they... they are the siddiqun;³⁸ and witnesses³⁹ in the sight of their Lord: for them are their reward and their Light.⁴⁰ As for those who disbelieved and laid the lie against Our revelations, they are the companions of the Blazing Fire.

Commentary

20. What is a goodly loan? Qurtubi answers that it is one which is given out for no other reason but to please Allah, not accompanied by taunting, nor that which is the worst part of wealth, but rather, that which is best part of wealth, yet considering the much that is given as the least of no worth, at a time when the donor has good hope of further life, i.e., not at the death-bed. Qushayri added, (as in Qurtubi), that it should be from a cheerful heart, and out of lawfully earned money.

Quotation from Qurtubi ends here.

Razi and Alusi have something similar to state.

According to `Umar ibn al-Khattab, the allusion is to spending in the way of Allah. And an interesting incident is reported in connection with this verse. It says,

When this ayah came down, Abu Dahdah al-Ansari went up to the Prophet and said, “Messenger of Allah. Does Allah seek a loan from us?” He said, “Yes, O Abu Dahdah.” He said, “Extend your hand, Messenger of Allah.” When he did, he placed his hand in his and said, “I have loaned out my orchard to my Lord.” He had an orchard that had six hundred date-palm trees. Umm Dahdah and her children lived in it.

Abu Dahdah then returned to his orchard and called out: “O Umm Dahdah!” She said, “Welcome.” He said, “Come out. I have loaned it out to my Lord.” (According to another version, she said, “Your deal has profited you, O Abu Dahdah”). She took her children and belongings out and left the place. The Prophet remarked, “How many a (tree with) heavy bunches (of) sweet (fruits) is not there for Abu Dahdah in Paradise?!” (Ibn Kathir)

Other reports add that Abu Dahdah had two orchards, one of which – and the better of the two - he gave off as a loan to Allah (Au.).

21. The epithet “karim” lends the meaning that the rewards will not only be quantitatively different, but also qualitatively so (Alusi).

22. Many commentators point out that the relationship between ‘the Light in front and on their right side,’ and ‘the giving of the Records to the believers from their front into their right hands,’ may not be missed.

23. `Awfi, Dahhak and others have reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, “While the people are in complete darkness in the Field of Resurrection, Allah will send a Light. When the believers see the Light, they will begin to move towards it. The Light will be the sole guide to Paradise. When the hypocrites see the believers moving towards the Light, they will try to follow them. But Allah will take away the light from them. It is at that point that they will say, ‘Wait for us that we may borrow light from your Light; for we were with you in the world.’ The believers will reply, ‘Return to where you came from, and find your Light there.’” (The report is also in Ibn Marduwayh and Bayhaqi: Shawkani). Abu Umamah also explained in the same terms, saying: “There will be a point of time on the Day of Judgment when it will be so dark that neither a believer nor unbeliever will be able to see his palm: until Allah sends Light to the believers (of all time, throughout history: Alusi) in proportion to their deeds” and Dahhak added that when the Light of the hypocrites is taken away, the believers will cry out:

“O, our Lord. Complete for us our Light” (Ibn Kathir).

Imam Razi does not rule out the effect of good deeds on the amount of Light that people will receive on the Judgment Day. But he adds that considering the fact that the Light of Knowledge is in truth the Light of sight; we can conclude that the quantity and quality of Light on the Day of Judgment will be in proportion to the Light of Knowledge obtained in this life.

Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir report Qatadah as narrating a hadith in reference to this ayah, (but which could not be traced in hadith works: Au.). It runs as follows:

The Prophet said, “Of the believers there will be some whose Light will shine through from Madinah to Aden or San`a, or less than that; while there will be a believer whose Light will not shine beyond where he can place his foot.”

Ibn Mas`ud further elaborated, as in Ibn Abi Hatim. The report is as follows,

Ibn Mas`ud said in reference to ‘their Light running before them’: “They will be given their Light in accordance with their deeds, so that they will pass over the Bridge in a manner that there will be some whose Light will be like a mountain, another whose Light will be like a palm tree. The least of them in Light will be one whose Light will be on his toe: it will blink to light up and then go off, light up and go off.” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, Alusi).

The report is in Hakim also who declared it trustworthy (Shawkani).

A long report in Muslim confirms that (as pointed out by Ibn Hajr) the removal of the Light of the hypocrites will take place on the Bridge (Au.).

Another report of Ibn abi Hatim, (reconfirmed by a similar report in Hakim: Sami) is as follows:

The Prophet said, “I will be the first to be allowed to prostrate myself on the Day of Standing, and the first to raise his head. I will see in front of me, behind me, and left and right side of me, and know my followers from among other nations.” A man asked, “Messenger of Allah, how will you recognize your followers from among other nations?” He answered, “I will recognize them from the marks of ablution; this will be no other nation’s mark. I will know them from the fact that they will be given their Records by their right hands. I will know them from the marks on their faces. And I will know them from their Lights that will be shining in front of them.” (Ibn Kathir, Alusi).

Imam Razi writes: True Light is the Light of Allah.

24. Mujahid, Qatadah, Ibn Zayd and others said that the wall will be the dividing one between Paradise and Hell; the same as mentioned in Surah al-A`raf. (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

25. It is said that the door mentioned here will be an entrance to Paradise (Zamakhshari). That is, perhaps one of the doors to Paradise, which will have seven others from various other sides; or, alternatively, the main entrance to the side that has Paradise, of which there will be eight doors. Allah knows best. Except for Thanwi in passing, other commentators have not dealt with this subject (Au.).

26. Aware of the fact that Paradise will be in the highest hemisphere of all that exists, and Hell in the lowest, we must conclude, in the light of this passage, that the great physical distance will in no manner come in the way of realizing the closeness as portrayed here (Razi).

27. The hypocrites will resort to calling the believers from behind them because the believers will be rushing away fast with the help of their own lights, leaving the hypocrites far behind them in darkness. (Zamakhshari).

In short, those who were unbelievers out and out, will be pushed into Hellfire right from the start. The believers in Prophets, during their periods, however weak in their faith, and hypocrites (carrying a potpourri of faith and unfaith: Au.) will remain. They will be asked to proceed to the Bridge and given Light. But the hypocrites will be denied. As the distance between them and the believers increases, they will begin to appeal to the believers (Shabbir).

28. That is, you led yourselves into worldly pleasures, sins and lust (Ibn Kathir from the Salaf), which led you to adopt hypocrisy. (Kashshaf).

29. That is, you delayed repenting (Ibn Kathir), in the hope that the rise of Islam will soon come to an end, especially when the Prophet is dead, when you could go back to the olden golden days. (Au.).

30. A hadith should be remembered in this context. Ibn Mas’ud said,

The Prophet drew a square (on the ground); then a central line within the square extending it out of the square. Then, he extended several lines from the one within the square, and said, “This is son of Adam, and the term allotted to him, surrounding him from all sides. The central line is man. The lines extending out are those from which if he manages to escape from one, another bites him. And the external line is his hopes.” (Qurtubi).

31. That is, death. (Kashshaf).

32. That is, Satan.

33. This is how Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir explain the word “mawlakum” as meaning “most deserving,” and the whole passage meaning, “That is (the Fire) is most deserving of you.” The word ‘mawla’ has been used in the sense of ‘awla’ by the poets also.

But Zamakhshari, Razi and Alusi would like to differ. They point out that Sharif al-Murtada had clung to this meaning of this verse, to help him cling to his Shi’ism; but not on strong grounds because, although the possibility is there, the two words “mawla” and “awla” are not interchangeable in many cases. Therefore, the possibility of the meaning of “mawlakum” as: “your protector”, “your ally”, “your helper”, “your friend”, or “your destination,” etc., all in ironic sense, is greater.

34. In known history, this ayah became the cause of two renowned person’s repentance: `Abdullah ibn Mubarak and Fudayl b. `Iyad.

Ibn Mubarak said that once while he was in an orchard with friends, with a mandolin in hand, when the instrument spoke out, “Has not the time come..?” He responded with a yes, broke the mandolin, repented and changed his life.

About Fudayl b. `Iyad it is reported that he was in love with a slave-girl. One night he was scaling a wall in order to meet her in secret when he heard somebody reciting: “Has not the time come..?” He traced back his footsteps saying, “Yes, by Allah, the time has come,” and took to asceticism (Qurtubi).

Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir write: We have a report in this context. It says that the Prophet said,

“The first thing to be removed from the people would be humbleness before Allah.”

It is said that this ayah was recited before a few people from Yamamah in the presence of Abu Bakr. The people of Yamamah began to cry profusely. Abu Bakr remarked, “This is how we were before the hearts hardened” (Zamakhshari, Alusi).

35. That is, the Qur’an. (Kashshaf).

Muslim has recorded Ibn Mas`ud as saying,

“It was not but four years between our entrance into Islam and revelation of this ayah by which Allah reproached us: “Has the time not arrived for those who have believed that their hearts should be humbled..?” (Zamakhshari, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, Shawkani).

36. Allah said about them elsewhere,

But, because of their (frequent) breach of the compact We cursed them and hardened their hearts. They displace the words from their context, and have forgotten much of what they were reminded with.” (Ibn Kathir).

Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi and Ibn Kathir offer the following from Ibn Mas`ud, who said,

When a long time had passed over the Children of Israel and their hearts hardened, they fabricated a Book (taking material) from before them and after them which their base desires approved and which their tongues repeated. They said, “We shall present this liturgy to the Children of Israel. Then, if someone believes in it, we shall spare him; but kill him who refuses.” One of their men would place Allah’s Book in a horn, and hang the horn between his breasts. So that, when he was asked, “Do you believe in this?” (i.e., the fabricated scripture). He would reply, “I believe in it,” nodding at the horn between his breasts. “Why should I not believe in this Book?” Therefore, Ibn Mas`ud ended by saying, “The best of their today’s community are those who are on the faith of the man with the horn.”

Alusi writes that anyone who feels hardness in his heart should hasten to Allah’s remembrance and recitation of His Book, so that he may return to his original state.

Thanwi adds that the ayah leads us to believe that seeking a humbling fear of Allah (khushu`) is obligatory, and that the lack of it is obtained because of long spells of heedlessness (ghaflah). This is best understood by the spiritual masters who have a remarkable understanding of their own state as well of others.

37. Using His Power and Wisdom, Allah has now given life to the dead hearts of the ignorant Arabs, bestowing upon them amazing qualities (Shabbir).

Thus, there is hope for every dead soul to come alive if it will turn to Allah with goodly repentance (Au.).

38. Who are the “siddiqun”? Opinions vary. In general terms any one is a “siddiq” who believes in Allah’s Oneness and in the Messengership of a Messenger without harboring any doubt whatsoever, for any moment. Thus, the People of the Fire-pit were siddiqun, and so was the Believer in Fir`awn’s court, and others. From among this Ummah, it is said that they were eight: Abu Bakr, `Ali, Zayd, `Uthman, Talha, Zubayr, Sa`d, later joined by `Umar ibn al-Khattab (Qurtubi).

But of course the above list is not comprehensive (Au.).

A “siddiq” however, occupies a greater rank in comparison to a martyr. The Sahihayn have a report confirming this. The Prophet said,

“The dwellers of Paradise will be able to see the people of the regions above them as you see a shining star about to set in the horizon, either in the east or west. That would be because of the differences in status between them.” They inquired, “Messenger of Allah. Those must be dwellings of the Prophets that others would not be able to attain?” He answered, “Nay. By Him in whose hand is my life, they will be men who believed in Allah and testified to the truth of the Messengers.” (Ibn Kathir).

39. Opinions vary. Some of the ancient scholars thought that the reference is to those who bear the testimony of Allah’s Oneness, others that it is those who would bear witness in favor of Prophets and Messengers when they are denied by their nations on the Day of Judgment; yet others believe the reference is to martyrs (Qurtubi and others).

To be sure, the word “shahid” covers various categories of men. In its most general sense, most believers would be included. A hadith of Muslim says,

The Prophet asked, “Who do you think are the martyrs among you?” They answered, “Messenger of Allah, he who was killed in Allah’s path is a martyr.” He said, “If that is so, then martyrs of my Ummah are few.” They asked, “Then who?” He replied, “He who is killed in Allah’s path is a martyr, he who died in Allah’s path is a martyr, he who died in plague is a martyr, he who died because of stomach problem is a martyr.” (Razi).

40. Ibn Jarir reports Ibn `Abbas and Dahhak as of opinion that there are two sentences involved in the verse: “And those who believed in Allah and His Messengers, they... they are the truthful ones; and witnesses in the sight of their Lord: for them are their reward and their Light.” The first sentence is: “And those who believed in Allah and His Messengers, they... they are the truthful ones,” while the rest is another sentence, i.e.: “And witnesses in the sight of their Lord: for them are their reward and their Light.”