49.Since one encounters the first phase of the Day of Judgment with death, it has been metaphorically called "the Hour" here (although, normally, it refers to the Day of Judgment) - Zamakhshari.

Alusi adds: As for the Day of Judgment being referred to as "the Hour" perhaps because it will be an hour compared to the everlasting life that will follow.

50. `Amr b. Qays al Mala'i has said: "As the believer rises from his grave he will encounter his deeds in the best of forms enshrouded in the best of fragrance. It will ask, ‘Do you know me?' He will reply, ‘No. Except that you have a beautiful form and emit a wonderful fragrance.' It will say, ‘That is how I was in the world. I am your good deeds. I rode upon you there. Today you can ride upon me. Then he recited (19: 85): The Day when We shall gather together Al Rahman's slaves, in groups." As for the unbeliever, someone, most ugly and stinking will welcome him. It will enquire, ‘Do you know me?' He will reply, ‘No. Except that Allah has given you a terrible face and a stinking smell.' It will say, ‘That is how I was in the world. I am your evil deeds. You rode upon me there. Today I'll ride upon you.' Then he recited, ‘They shall bear their burdens on their backs. Lo. Evil is that which they bear.'"

A similar statement has come from Suddi, except that he talks about the unbeliever alone, and the forms that his deeds will take (Ibn Jarir).

Suddi's statement is in Ibn Abi Hatim also (Ibn Kathir, Shawkani).

51. Ibn `Abbas has said that this applies primarily to the life of the unbeliever" (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi).

As for the believer, this life is a field of preparation for the life to come. Otherwise the Prophet has said:

الدُّنْيَا مَلْعُونَةٌ، مَلْعُونٌ مَا فِيهَا إِلا عَالِمٌ أَوْ مُتَعَلِّمٌ

"This world is accursed, and accursed is all that is within it, except for Allah's remembrance, a scholar, or a seeker of knowledge" (Qurtubi).

Tirmidhi declared the above hadith Hasan (Au.).

Another version says,

الدُّنْيَا مَلْعُونَةٌ، مَلْعُونٌ مَا فِيهَا إِلا عَالِمٌ أَوْ مُتَعَلِّمٌ، وَذِكْرُ اللَّهَ، وَمَا وَالاهُ

"This world is accursed, and accursed is all that is within it, except for Allah's remembrance, a scholar, or a seeker of knowledge, and remembrance of Allah and what comes near it.” (This is also a weak report: Au).

And "the remembrance of Allah" of the above hadith includes everything which leads to, aids in, or is an accessory to, Allah’s remembrance, such as, a search for sustenance (within the limits of the Shari`ah) and other such activities (Ma`arif).

52. Razi comments: All that one can think of as the "good things of life" are low of nature. They give pleasure only to the lowly. The wise and the godfearing are never bewitched by them. They realize the transitory nature of this life and the fleeting nature of the physical pleasures, and devote themselves to obtaining those attributes and qualities that raise their esteem in this world as well as in the next. For the former, the pleasures of this life are real. But to the latter they are a sport and pastime. Although, there is no difference in opinion among the people that the pleasures of this world are not "the good things of life," yet people's attitudes do not conform to their beliefs. For, on the one hand they have no difficulty in realizing that if the pleasures of the world could be "the good things of life," surely, in that event the animals fare better than the humankind. Among the animals there are some who have sex oftener than men, who eat more than men, who are physically more powerful than men, or things of that sort. On the other hand, no one amongst the men claims it as a big achievement that he had so much sex, or he can eat more than anyone else, and so forth. In fact, people are ashamed of these acts, and do not wish to discuss them in public. Consequently, they do not think much of those who indulge in the pleasures of life. On the contrary, they have lot of respect and regard for those who are noble of character, great of knowledge and ascetic of nature. Accordingly, when people criticize each other, it is for possessing the lowly things, habits and qualities, rather than the noble ones. (They say, for instance, that such a man is a glutton, another greedy, and so on. Or they compare them to animals). This establishes the fact that even in the view of those who are devoted to this world, the pleasures of this world are not the "good things of life." Yet, somehow, the people fail to realize the specious nature of these things. It is fear alone of the Standing before the Lord that opens the eyes to these realities (Razi, reworded).

53. Hakim has recorded (in his Mustadrak: H. bin Ibrahim) the following from `Ali (ibn Abi Talib) declaring it sahih of status: "Abu Jahl said to the Prophet, ‘We do not think you are lying. Rather, we deny what you have brought to us.'" And Ibn Ishaq has recorded in his "Life of the Prophet" that once Abu Jahl, Abu Sufyan and Akhnas b. Shurayq concealed themselves in the darkness of the Haram listening to the Prophet's recitation (in Prayers he used to offer there). When, with the dawn on the horizon, they repaired to their homes, they bumped into each other. They enquired each other as to what had brought them out so early in the morning. Each confessed, and everyone agreed that they should not repeat the lapse. However, each of them broke the promise twice more. The third time Akhnas b. Shurayq met Abu Jahl and enquired: "What do you think of what Muhammad has brought?" Abu Jahl replied: "Look. We and Banu `Abd Munaf competed for honor. They fed the pilgrims, we fed the pilgrims. They helped (the distressed), we helped. They gave, we gave - until the two of us were like the two pans of a scale (equally balanced). Now they say, ‘We have a prophet who receives revelations from the heavens.' But where are we going to get a prophet from? No, by God. We shall never believe in him." A similar statement is reported of Abu Jahl before the decisive battle of Badr (Ibn Kathir).

Another possible meaning is, ‘They do not deny you O Muhammad, rather they deny Us,' in the same vein as, when a slave is insulted, his master remarks, ‘They did not insult you man, they insulted me' (Zamakhshari).

Alusi adds: An objection has been raised. How could the Quraysh believe in the trustworthiness of the Prophet and at the same time deny the message he had brought? Then he answers that since, having forty years experience with him, they could not say that he was lying, they believed he was under some kind of spell or had committed an error in attributing to God what he presented as revelations.

Majid adds: "Curiously enough, one finds about exactly the same sentiments regarding the holy Prophet echoed and re echoed by some of the modern and most finished European scholars. Dr. Roberts, for example, while admiring his many noble qualities, and above all ‘his uprightness,' ‘his simplicity,' and ‘his unselfishness,' finds it difficult to defend him from being labeled ‘an impious impostor' because of his ‘fictitious revelations.'"

54. "And there is no altering the Words of Allah": I.e., there is no changing the Law of Allah viz., the believers shall be helped in this world and in the Hereafter, as He said, elsewhere (37: 171):

وَلَقَدْ سَبَقَتْ كَلِمَتُنَا لِعِبَادِنَا الْمُرْسَلِينَ (171) إِنَّهُمْ لَهُمُ الْمَنْصُورُونَ (172) وَإِنَّ جُنْدَنَا لَهُمُ الْغَالِبُونَ [الصافات : 171 - 173]

"Surely, Our Word has preceded for Our slave-Messengers that it is they who shall triumph and that it is Our forces that will overcome" (Zamakhshari, Qurtubi).

Allah also said (58: 21):

كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْلِبَنَّ أَنَا وَرُسُلِي [المجادلة : 21]

"Allah has written it (as a law), ‘Surely, I and My Messengers shall overcome.' Verily, Allah is Powerful, Mighty" (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

55. An implied meaning is that the Prophet was so covetous of their belief that if he could dig a tunnel in the earth or build a ladder to the heavens and bring them a sign, he would have done it (Zamakhshari).

56. I.e., Do not grieve over them much, O Prophet, and destroy your health, for these are bent upon their own destruction (Razi, Qurtubi).

57. The translation is based on the explanation of `Ali b. `Isa as in Razi.

58. As a body without soul soon begins to rot, stink and decompose, deserving to be buried as soon as possible, so too a soul without higher feelings begins to stink. The spiritually dead is physically dead too (Razi).

Mawdudi comments: "`Those who hear' refers to those whose consciences are alive, who have not atrophied their intellect and reason, and who have not closed their hearts to the truth out of irrational prejudice and mental inflexibility. In contrast to such people are those who are characterized as ‘dead' who blindly follow the old familiar beaten tracks, and can never deviate from the ways they have inherited, even when these ways are plainly at variance with the Truth.

59. But, if He does not send down a sign, it is out of mercy, since, if, after the appearance of a clear sign, they continue in their denial, they would be destroyed following the words of Allah (17: 59):

وَمَا مَنَعَنَا أَنْ نُرْسِلَ بِالْآيَاتِ إِلَّا أَنْ كَذَّبَ بِهَا الْأَوَّلُونَ وَآتَيْنَا ثَمُودَ النَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُوا بِهَا وَمَا نُرْسِلُ بِالْآيَاتِ إِلَّا تَخْوِيفًا [الإسراء : 59]

"And nothing prevented Us from sending the signs save that the people of old rejected them. We gave (the people of) Thamud the she camel (as a sign). But they acted wrongly with her. And We do not send a sign but as a warning (of impending destruction)" Ibn Kathir.

Majid quotes from the Gospels: "Cf., the NT: ‘A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonas' (Mt. 16: 4). ‘And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily, I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. And he left them (Mk. 8: 11)".

60. Mawdudi has placed the following note on two verses earlier, but it is equally applicable to this verse: "Had it been required that all people should be driven to the Truth, there would have been no need to send Prophets, ... The result could have been achieved by a single sign of God's creative will. God however did not want things to happen that way. He preferred the Truth to be set before people with its supporting arguments so that by a proper exercise of their rational Judgment, they should recognize it for what it was and thereafter freely choose to embrace it as their faith. By molding their lives in conformity with this Truth such people who believe in it should demonstrate their moral superiority over the devotees of falsehood. They should continually attract men of sound morals by the force of their arguments, by the loftiness of their ideals, by the excellence of their principles and by the purity of their lives. They should thus reach their goal the establishment of the hegemony of the true faith by the natural and gradual escalation of strife against falsehood... God has created man as a responsible being, bestowed upon him a degree of power which he may exercise, granted him the freedom to choose between obedience and disobedience to God, awarded him a certain length of life in order to demonstrate his worth, and determined that at an appointed hour He will judge him for either reward or punishment in the light of his deeds."

61. The definitive words "birds that wing their flight", instead of the simple (those that wing their flight), exclude the angels as communities (Razi).

Imam Razi also asks about the animals in the sea, as to why they have been excluded and then answers that they can be lumped together with either those on land or in the air, as they either crawl in water (as animals on land) or swim in it as the birds swim in the air.

62. Animals as Communities

Abu Hurayrah has said that the different species you see beasts, insects, birds or others are all communities which will be raised on the Day of Judgment and justice rendered between them. (Hakim has declared the narration sahih: Manar). And Abu Dharr narrates:

عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ - رضي الله عنه - قَالَ" رَأَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - صلى الله عليه وسلم - شَاتَيْنِ تَنْتَطِحَانِ فَقَالَ : يَا أَبَا ذَرٍّ ، هَلْ تَدْرِي فِيمَ تَنْتَطِحَانِ ؟ " قُلْتُ : لَا ، قَالَ : " لَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَدْرِي ، وَسَيَقْضِي بَيْنَهُمَا "

"The Prophet saw two goats locked in combat. The Prophet asked: ‘Do you know what they are quarrelling over?' I said, ‘No.' He said, ‘But Allah knows and He will render justice between them'" (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

Although the chain of narrators of the above hadith is weak, there is another sahih hadith which confirms the rendering of justice between animals on the Day of Judgment (Syed Ibrahim).

The above hadith is also Musnad of Ahmad (Ibn Kathir). Muslim and Tirmidhi have reports of roughly the same meaning (Manar).

In another hadith the Prophet said:

لَوْلاَ أَنَّ الْكِلاَبَ أَمَةٌ مِنَ الأُمَمِ أَكْرَهُ أَنْ أُفْنِيَهَا لأَمَرْتُ بِقَتْلِهَا

"If the dogs had not been one of the communities (ummah min al umam), I would have ordered them killed."

It is also reported of the Prophet that he said:

مَنْ قَتَلَ عُصْفُورًا عَبَثًا , عَجَّ إِلَى الله , عَزَّ وَجَلَّ , يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنْهُ يَقُولُ : يَا رَبِّ , إِنَّ فُلاَنًا قَتَلَنِى عَبَثًا , وَلَمْ يَقْتُلْنِى لِمَنْفَعَةٍ

"Whoever killed a bird without a good cause would have the bird raising its voice unto Allah on the Day of Judgment, ‘My Lord. So and so killed me for no cause, killing me for no benefit’” (Razi).

Rashid Rida adds: The gathering together of the communities of animals is strengthened by the verse which says (81: 5):

وَإِذَا الْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ [التكوير : 5]

"When the wild animals will be gathered together."

Communication between Animals

Alusi states the opinion of the Sufiya that the animals communicate with each other. (Therefore, they could be sent prophets of their own). Al Sha`rani has put forth several proofs such as the Prophet's words about his camel at the time of his arrival at Madinah: "Leave her alone, for she is under command," or, the talk of the ant that Sulayman overheard, or the organization of certain animals into communities, which they could not do without being able to communicate with each other.

To the above this writer would like to add the following.

First and foremost, animals are not as dumb as they appear. It is not only the dolphin that we have in mind. Other animals too suggest the presence of intelligence in them. Intuition explains only the daily repertoire. But several behavioral attitudes go unexplained. For instance, once when two men were trying to trap an eagle in a forest, and it managed to escape from the net, it came back, first to pluck off the eyes of one of them, and then a second time to pluck off the eyes of the other. Obviously, if the eagle was not knowledgeable enough to know that humans have a similar organ as its own eyes, and that, without it they would never be able to trap it again in a net, it would not have come straight for the eyes. Or, to give another example, a troupe of monkeys kidnapped a young girl working in a farm in Africa, and gang raped her. They could not have done that without having the ability to judge the sex of well clothed humans. Even if they had seen naked children, how could they be sure of a girl's sex? An attack of similar nature on a maid by a male monkey was reported in the Gulf. The above well reported cases, demonstrate that the animals know much more than what is presumed about them.

As for communication between them, there are sufficient grounds to believe that the animals communicate between themselves employing fairly well developed means of communications, bordering on the presence of a language. Certain termites for instance build nests up to 4 meter high, 2.5 meter wide 1 meter thick. The design of thousands of rooms, with arched entrances, in the upper, perhaps hundredth floor, matches with the design and location of the rooms in the first floor although the workers in both areas work independently. The whole structure in fact reveals a single mind behind its design. The nest might be dome shaped or conical, some even have chimneys. The interior has longitudinal and horizontal chambers. The outer walls are constructed from hard soil material, whereas the walls of the inner chambers - where the nurseries are located - are built from softer material. The long axis of the nest is always directed north south and the broad side faces east west. The orientation perhaps helps in ventilation. The building activity involves tens of thousands of workers, and it is hard to attribute their various, but well synchronized activities to their intuition alone, though it might be playing its part.

Or, to take the example of birds, they migrate in flocks. Some of them fly in a V formation, so that, when one of the birds falls behind, it catches up and joins one of the wings to maintain the symmetrical formation, although the flight takes place at night. Some kind of communication must be involved.

Indeed, it has been envisaged that the birds have different dialects. An article on "Animal Behavior" in the Macgraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology states: "One interesting aspect of birdsong is the occurrence of dialectal differences (regional variations) among population of a single species living in different areas. Several such changes that are known to occur between adjacent population of the South America rufous collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capansis) correlate with relatively major habitat changes. Very few dialectal changers occur over an enormous range of the Argentine papas, but in this case the habitat of the species also changes little. The habitat changes markedly in the Andes Mountains over short distances, however, as elevation rapidly increases, and, concurrently, many more dialectal changes occur there in birds' songs."

Some zoologists have noticed that certain primates sing together. For example, Siamang couples (a gibbon with habitats in the rain forests of Southeast Asia) repeatedly sing loud, long and well coordinated duets. Singing in duets obviously presumes prior communication.

A recent incident reported widely from Cameroon suggests the existence of not only communication but also consultation among the animals. It is reported that a local hunter of a village captured alive a young gorilla. The following night, a pack of 60 gorillas invaded the village looking for the missing infant. Shortly before midnight, the gorillas entered the village in a single file, ignoring gunshots fired by villagers to scare them away. But, unable to locate the baby-gorilla, they retired. The next night they came back, and this time they angrily beat on the doors and windows of the dwellings. Faced with the determination of the gorillas to recover the captive youngster, the village chief ordered the hunter to release his prey. Immediately, as the report says, "the assailants returned to the forest with shouts of joy, savoring their victory." It should be obvious that this kind of action by a pack of 60 gorillas would not have been possible without a joint plan of action preceded by consultations. The Qur'an has reported Sulayman as saying (27: 16): "We have been taught the language of the birds." It also states that he understood the talk of the ant about which the latest researches record chattering in clear tones.

Finally, recent miniaturized microphone-recordings have been able to record the ‘talk’ of the ants. See Surah Naml, note 25 for details (Au.).

Abu Salman Khattabi has reported Sufyan b. `Uyaynah as having said: "There is none among the humankind but someone who has a counterpart among the animals. There is someone among them who attacks like a tiger; another who runs like a wolf; a third barks like a dog; a fourth dances like a peacock. Then there is someone who resembles a swine: place before him the best of dishes and he turns away, but goes after a man’s vomit. There are some among them who will hear 50 lines of wisdom but will not retain one of them. But show him one bad example, and he will remember it and re enact it in every assembly." After reporting Sufyan, Khattabi advised: "Brother, you should know that around you are animals. Be on your guard then" (Razi, Qurtubi).

63. By the Book, the reference is to the Tablet preserved in Bayt al Ma'mur (Au.).

"We have omitted nothing from the Book": that is to say, in other words, Allah knows of every creation, whether it is in the land or in water. He arranges for their sustenance and their other needs, and He will gather them together. As He said (11: 6):

وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا كُلٌّ فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ [هود : 6]

"And there is not a crawling animal in the land but upon Allah is its sustenance. He knows its permanent or temporary place of habitat. Everything is in the Transparent Book" (Ibn Kathir and others).

Thanwi adds: It was not necessary to pen down everything since, Allah's knowledge being Eternal, everything was in His knowledge. He did that in order to impress on His creations that everything is well organized and that the system is perfectly designed to the tiniest detail.

64. After reporting that in view of the verse (35: 24): "And there has been a community but it had a warner," and, in view of the hadith about the horned goat and the un-horned goat, as well as various other supporting evidences, Alusi mentions that the Sufiya hold the belief that every animal community has had messengers sent to them, and that they are liable to questioning in the Hereafter. Alusi then expresses his own opinion to the effect that he would neither deny such an opinion (as Ibn al Munir has done, who wrongly attributed it to the corrupt skeptics), nor ratify it.

Animal Communities

Whether warners were sent to the community of animals or not, at least some of them do seem to lead a community life. Under the entry "Insects", the Macgraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology has the following to state about honeybees: "The degree of social organization in a Hymenoptera colony is most evident in the division of labor. In honeybee colonies the division of labor is achieved in an especially interesting manner. Tasks are assigned according to age. The first day after the bee's emergence as an adult, the first tasks of the female worker are to carry out wastes, to clean the cells, and to line them with a disinfectant secretion preparatory to deposition of the egg. About three days later, this young bee advances to brood nursing i.e., she provides the older larvae with honey and pollen. On the sixth day she also nurses the young larvae with specific larval food from pharyngeal glands. After about ten days more the bee becomes active in building, secreting wax and using it to make the comb. Soon afterward, she makes her first orientation flight outside the hive. About the twentieth day she begins serving as an entrance guard; finally she becomes a collector bee, remaining at this job until her death."

The colony (or community, if we wish to use that term) is headed by a queen. Her primary function is to lay eggs. She also decides the number of male and female bees her nest will have. All unfertilized eggs result in males. Fertilization occurs during the egg laying process. If the queen relaxes a ring around the sperm duct (where sperms are stored from mating), allowing the duct to open and the sperm to drop down, fertilization occurs. Such fertilized eggs hatch out females. It is the female bees which gather honey and attend to house keeping. They can be categorized as soldiers, outside workers, inside workers and nest builders. In contrast, the male drone lives a shorter life, just long enough to mate. Mating is his only function.

When the queen gets old and sterile, she is replaced by a younger one. And when the colony becomes too big, a young queen may march off with half of the worker bees. The swarm finds a new nesting place and builds new combs. To make the task easier, all the departing workers are provided with a measure of honey as the parting gift.

To take the termites: the termite society is also a highly organized and integrated unit with division of labor among its members differentiated by structure, function, and behavior into castes. Although at the time of hatching all the eggs are genetically alike, the young ones grow into definite castes. The major castes are the reproductive caste, the soldier and worker castes. The soldier and the worker castes are sterile. The soldier castes work on defence, one of their function is to stick their shell like heads against the entrance of the nests, in turns, in order prevent the entry of any unwanted guest. On the other hand, the worker castes attends to nest building, house keeping, nursing, etc.

Organization is also easily noticeable in many other animals. For instances the society of baboons is a pretty well organized one. Their troops live and move in an organized manner. When they move, the central position is taken up by the females carrying their infants with the young ones frolicking around. The senior males of the hierarchy also stay there closely guarding the females and controlling the sub adult males who stay at the periphery. Those at the periphery keep a tight look on predators and any impending danger, only snatching bits and pieces of food whenever they can. Spotting a danger, they issue warning calls. When the central hierarchy gets too old, it is replaced from the brash young males of the periphery. Some other functions are performed in turns.

In fact, some animals cross the boundaries of class and species to live in a kind of cosmopolitan society. It has been noticed for instance that huge spaces in the forests are completely devoid of any kind of animal. And then one suddenly comes across several herds or flocks of animals. Mixed flocks of antelopes, zebra, and other wild beasts seem to be living and moving together. The same has been noticed of several species of birds. When an animal dangerous to all is spotted, a bird or a baboon will issue a warning call, putting everyone, be they on the ground, or up in the trees, on the guard, scurrying to shelters and refuges.

These facts surely are a manifestation of the truth expressed in words: "They ask, ‘Why has no sign been sent down to him from his Lord?' Tell (them), ‘Surely, Allah is able to send down a (compelling) sign,' but most of them do know. And, (if they are looking for a sign) there is not an animal in the earth nor a bird that wings its flight, but they are communities like yourselves. We have omitted nothing from the Book" (Au.).

65. In view of the fact that whoever is deaf by birth is also dumb, two points may be made note of. First, the Qur'an has always mentioned deafness and dumbness together. Second, it has always mentioned deafness first and dumbness later. It was not the Prophet who knew that deafness leads to dumbness, but Allah (Au.).

66. The unbelievers are in several kinds of darknesses: disbelief, ignorance, prejudice, blind following of their predecessors, and of course, the real, tangible darkness of the hereafter (Alusi).

67. Explaining why people remain unguided, Mawdudi writes: "We notice that a great many people pass inattentively over the countless signs of God that are scattered all over the world, and ignore even those signs which are manifest in human beings as well as in animals. It is little wonder, then, that they derive no lesson from all these signs. There are many who study zoology, botany, biology, geology, astronomy, physiology, anatomy and other branches of medical science. Others study history, archaeology and sociology. During the course of such studies they come across signs of God which, if they cared to look at them in the correct perspective, might fill their hearts with faith. But since they comment their study with a bias, and are actuated only by the desire to acquire earthly advantages, they fail to discover the signs which could lead them to the Truth."