Verse:94 Commentary - - - Verse:95 Commentary وَحَرَ‌امٌ عَلَىٰ قَرْ‌يَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَاهَا أَنَّهُمْ لَا يَرْ‌جِعُونَ (It is banned for (the people of) a town We destroyed that they come back - 21:95.) Commentators have given two different meanings to this verse. One, that the town and its people which Allah Ta` ala has destroyed cannot come back to life. The second explanation is that it is binding on the town which Allah has destroyed that it shall not return to this world. (Qurtubl) Thus the meaning of the verse is that the door of repentance is closed after death, and it is no more possible for someone to return to this world and atone for his sins by performing righteous deeds. The final court will take place on the Day of Judgment. Verse:96 Commentary حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فُتِحَتْ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ وَهُم مِّن كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَنسِلُونَ (Until when the Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog) are released, while they run down from every height - 21:96.) In the previous verse it was said that those who died in a state of unbelief will never return to this world. The phrase "until the Ya'juj and Ma'juj appear", really means that such people will never return, because the appearance of Ya'juj and Ma'juj will be a sign of near approach of the Dooms Day.

It is reported in Sahih of Muslim through Sayyidna Hudhaifah ؓ that he and some other Sahabah ؓ ، were in the midst of a discussion when the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came to them and enquired as to what were they deliberating. They replied that they were discussing about the Qiyamah (Dooms Day). Thereupon he said that Qiyamah will occur only after ten signs have become manifest, and the appearance of Ya'juj and Ma'juj will be one of them.

Here the word فُتِحَت (released) is used for Ya'juj Ma'juj which means to let loose, which suggests that until the appointed time they will remain under restraint and confined behind some barrier from which they will be released when Doomsday is near. It is evident from the Holy Qur'an that this restraint is the wall made by Dhulqarnain which will disappear near the Qiyamah. Ya'juj and Ma' juj and Dhulqarnain have been described in fair detail in Surah Al-Kahf, to which the reader may refer.

مِّن كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَنسِلُونَ (while they run down from every height - 21:96) The word حَدَبٍ 'means an elevated place which may be a mountain or just a lump in the ground. We have also seen in Surah Al-Kahf that the place where Ya' juj and Ma'juj have been confined is somewhere beyond the northern mountains. So when they will come out, they will be seen rushing down the mountain sides in their hordes. Verse:97 Commentary - - - Verse:98 Commentary إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ حَصَبُ جَهَنَّمَ (Surely, you and whatever you worship other than Allah are the fuel of Jahannam - 21:98) Here a question may arise as to the application of this verse to the case of Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) ، Sayyidna ` Uzair (علیہ السلام) and angels who were also worshipped by some people. According to account given by Qurtubi in his Tafsir, this issue was adequately resolved by Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ who wondered that there is a verse in the Qur'an about which people have reservations, yet they do not question him about it. He went on to say that this may be due to the fact that either the people have found a convincing answer to their doubts or that they are totally indifferent and do not consider the matter important enough for any kind of investigation. When people asked him which particular verse he had in mind, he recited the verse إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ and went on to say that when this verse was revealed, it made the unbelievers of Quraish very angry because they felt that it offended their gods. So they approached Ibn al-Ziba` ra (A scholar of the scriptures) and complained to him about it. He said that if he were present there, he would have given them a reply which would have confounded all of them. Pressed further he said that he would have asked them what they thought about Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) and about Sayyidna ` Uzair (علیہ السلام) ، who were worshipped by the Christians and the Jews respectively (meaning whether they too مَعَاذَ اللہ would be sent to Hell). The unbelievers of Quraish were delighted to hear this and were sure that Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم would have no answer to their question. Verse:99 Commentary - - - Verse:100 Commentary - - - Verse:101 Commentary At that point Allah Ta` ala revealed the verse : إِنَّ الَّذِينَ سَبَقَتْ لَهُم مِّنَّا الْحُسْنَىٰ أُولَـٰئِكَ عَنْهَا مُبْعَدُونَ (Surely, those for whom the good (news) from Us has come earlier shall be kept far away from it. - 21:101) that is those for whom Our grace and good result is ensured will be kept away from Hell. And for the same Ibn al-Ziba` ra، Allah Ta` ala has revealed this Qur' anic verse a. وَلَمَّا ضُرِ‌بَ ابْنُ مَرْ‌يَمَ مَثَلًا إِذَا قَوْمُكَ مِنْهُ يَصِدُّونَ (43:57) that is when Ibn al-Ziba` ra put forward the example of Sayyidah Maryam (علیہا السلام) ، the people of his clan, Quraish, were overtaken by joy. Verse:102 Commentary - - - Verse:103 Commentary لَا يَحْزُنُهُمُ الْفَزَعُ الْأَكْبَرُ‌ (They will not be grieved by the Biggest Panic - 21:103). Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has said that (the Biggest Panic) refers to the second call of the Horn ( صُور ), when all the dead will assemble to give an account of their actions in the world. Some others have said that الْفَزَعُ الْأَكْبَرُ‌ (the Biggest Panic) is the first call of the Horn. Ibn Al-` Arabi has said that the Horn will be blown thrice: The first call will be نَفخَہُ الفَزَع which will put everyone into utter confusion, and is referred to here as الْفَزَعُ الْأَكْبَرُ‌ (the Biggest Panic). The second call will be نَفخہُ الصِّعق when everyone will die. The third call will be نَفخَہُ البَعث when all the dead will be resurrected. This version derives support from a hadith of Abu Hurairah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ which has been quoted in Musnad Abu Ya` la and Baihaqi, ` Abd Ibn Humaid, Abu al-Sheikh, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari etc. (Mazhari). Verse:104 Commentary يَوْمَ نَطْوِي السَّمَاءَ كَطَيِّ السِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ (The Day when We roll up the sky like a scroll rolls up the writings. - 21:104.) According to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ the word سِّجِلِّ means a sheet of a book. ` Ali Ibn Abi Talhah, 'Aufi', Mujahid, Qatadah, Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir have all adopted the same meaning of the word. The word کُتُب in the verse is used for المَکتُوب that is something written. So the meaning of the verse is that the sky will be rolled up like a scroll with its writings. (Ibn Kathir)

Sahih al-Bukhari contains a story on the authority of Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar ؓ that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that on the Day of Judgment Allah Ta` ala would roll up all the seven skies and the seven worlds along with all the created things thereon in His hand, and all of them together would be no more than a grain of rye in His hand. (Ibn Kathir) Verse:105 Commentary وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُورِ‌ مِن بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ‌ أَنَّ الْأَرْ‌ضَ يَرِ‌ثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ (And We have written in Zabur (Psalms) after the Dhikr (the Torah) that the land will be inherited by My righteous slaves. - 21:105) The word لزَّبُورِ‌(zabur) is the plural of زُبُرّ (zuburr), which means book. It is also the name of the book which was revealed to Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) . Opinions differ as to the meaning of the word in the present context. According to a version attributed to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ the word ذِکر in the verse refers to Torah, and زبور to all other books revealed after Torah i.e. Zabur (Psalms), Injil (Evangel) and Qur'an. (Ibn Jarir) The same explanation is adopted by Dahhak. However, Ibn Zaid has explained that ذِکر refers to لَوحِ مَحفُوظ (the Preserved Tablet) and زبور relates to all the books which were revealed to the prophets. Zajjaj has also adopted this explanation. (Ruh ul-Ma ani)

الْأَرْ‌ضَ (the word 'land' in - 21:105) All commentators agree that the word in this verse refers to the land of Paradise. Ibn Jarir has reported this explanation from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ . The same explanation is also adopted by Mujahid, Ibn Jubair, Ikrimah, Suddi and Ab Al-` Aaliyah. Imam Razi has said that another verse of the Holy Qur'an supports this explanation. The verse is وَأَوْرَ‌ثَنَا الْأَرْ‌ضَ نَتَبَوَّأُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ حَيْثُ نَشَاءُ (And has bequeathed upon us the earth for us to make our dwelling wheresoever we will in Paradise - 39:74) The words used in the verse that the pious will inherit the أَرْ‌ضَ also lend credence to the view that the word أَرْ‌ضَ means land of Paradise, because the land of the earth can be inherited by all, whether believers or non-believers. Also the phrase that the pious will inherit the land (أَرْ‌ضَ ) follows the mention of Qiyamah, and it is well known that after the Qiymah there will be no land of the earth but only the land of the Paradise. Another version of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ says that the word أَرْ‌ضَ means just land, and includes both the land of the earth as well as of Paradise. It is quite obvious that the land of the Paradise will be inherited by the pious people. As for the land of the world also it is stated in the Holy Qur'an at several places that there will be a time when the entire land of the world will belong to the pious believers. One of such verse is: إِنَّ الْأَرْ‌ضَ لِلَّـهِ يُورِ‌ثُهَا مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ۖ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ (Surely, the land belongs to Allah. He lets whomsoever He wills, from among His slaves, inherit it. And the end-result is in favour of the God-fearing. - 7:128).

In another verse it is said: وَعَدَ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ (Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good deeds that He will certainly make them (His) vicegerents in the land. - 24:55).

Yet another verse says: إِنَّا لَنَنصُرُ‌ رُ‌سُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْأَشْهَادُ (Surely, We shall help Our Messengers and those who have believed in the present life, and upon the day when the witnesses arise. - 40:51).

The history has already witnessed the control of the pious believers over the better part of the world, and it will again come under their control during the time of Sayyidna Mahdi ؓ . (Ruh ul-Ma` ani Ibn Kathir) Verse:106 Commentary - - - Verse:107 Commentary Commentary

وَمَا أَرْ‌سَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَ‌حْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ (And We have not. sent you but as mercy for all the worlds. - 21:107) عَالَمِينَ is plural of عَالَم which means 'world' and includes all creatures including humans, animals, plants, Jinns etc. In order to properly understand the meaning of the verse one should also understand that the true essence of the entire universe is the invocation of Allah Ta` ala and His worship. When this essence departs from this world and no one is left to worship Allah, everything in it will perish. In other words that is the day when Qiyamah would occur. When it is understood that the invocation and worship of Allah Ta` ala is the essence of all living things, then the reason for describing the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم as mercy to the Worlds becomes obvious because it is his teachings and the purity of his personal life alone which keep alive the worship of Allah Ta` ala until Qiyamah. That is why he declared "I am the blessing sent by Allah اَنَا رَحمَۃُ مُھدَاۃُ (Ibn ` Asakir quoting Abu Hurairah). Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar , has reported that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said اَنَا رَحمَۃُ مُھدَاۃُ بِرَفعِ قَومِ وَخفضِ آخرِینَ that is "I am the blessing sent by Allah so that I lift up the people (who obey Allah) and humble the other people (who disobey Allah). (Ibn Kathir)

It, therefore, follows that performing jihad against the unbelievers in order to lessen shirk and kufr (unbelief) and in the hope of reclaiming those who transgress the Divine Commands of Allah Ta` ala is an act of mercy. Verse:108 Commentary - - - Verse:109 Commentary - - - Verse:110 Commentary - - - Verse:111 Commentary - - - Verse:112 Commentary - - -