Verse:26 Commentary Allah is the Ever-living, Free of all Need

كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَ‌بِّكَ ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَ‌امِ (Everyone who lives on it (the earth) has to perish, and your Lord's Countenance will remain, full of majesty, full of honour...55:26-27). The attached pronoun [ it ] refers to اَلاَرض al-ard [ the earth ] which has been explicitly mentioned antecedently in verse [ 10] وَالْأَرْ‌ضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ (And the earth is placed by Him for creatures). Furthermore, 'the earth' is one of those general things that can be referred to by a pronoun even if they are not mentioned explicitly as an antecedent. Verse [ 26] means that man and jinn that dwell on the earth are subject to decay and death. Jinn and man have specifically been singled out in this verse, because in this Surah these two species of Allah's creation are mainly addressed. This, however, does not necessarily imply that the heaven and the celestial beings are not perishable. In fact, on another occasion in the Qur'an Allah has stated in general terms: كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ (Everything is going to perish except His Face). (28:88) Verse:27 Commentary وَجْهُ رَ‌بِّكَ (...your Lord's Countenance ....55:27). The word wajh [ Face ], according to majority of the exegetes, stands for the 'Being of Allah'. The attached second person pronoun in rabb-i-ka [=your Lord ] refers to the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم . It is a great honour for him that he should be remembered by Allah in special ways when praising him, as for instance, ` abduhu (His servant). Here, Allah, the Lord of lords, declares His direct special relationship with the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and addresses him thus: rabb-i-ka [ your Lord ].

According to the well-known exegetes, the verse purports to convey that since everything [ including jinn and mankind ] dwelling on earth will be reduced to nothing, and the heavenly bodies all brought to naught, and the whole material universe made non-existent, still human reason demands that there should be a Being who should remain and who should never die. Such a Being is Allah Who created the whole universe and Who is the First and the Final Cause of all things. He alone will abide because He is Self-Subsisting, All-Sustaining, Independent and Besought of all.

The word fana' has two possible meanings: [ 1] everything is potentially subject to decay and death and is eventually destined to perish, having no capacity for permanence and immortality; and [ 2] all things will actually pass away on Doomsday.

Other exegetes have interpreted the phrases وَجْهُ رَ‌بِّكَ 'your Lord's Countenance' to mean 'your side', that is, out of all existent beings only those things will attain permanence that are on the side of Allah. This includes the Being of Allah and His Attributes. It also includes the actions and conditions of Allah's creation that remain firmly attached to Allah and is never separated from Him in any situation. In sum, the verse means: 'Everything that man, jinn and angels do for Allah's pleasure will remain under His care and protection and as such will attain permanence, never to perish.' This interpretation is supported by another verse: مَا عِندَكُمْ يَنفَدُ وَمَا عِندَ اللَّـهِ بَاقٍ (What is with you shall end and what is with Allah shall last....16:96). The phrase 'what is with you' refers to 'wealth and power, comfort and discomfort, love and hatred'. All these states and matters are transitory and must perish. The phrase 'what is with Allah' refers to 'man's actions and states which remain firmly attached to Allah and is never separated from Him in any situation are destined to last, never to perish. Allah, the Pure and Most Exalted, knows best!

ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَ‌امِ (...full of majesty, full of honour...55:27). In other words, the Lord is the Master of Greatness, Grandeur and Tremendousness. This is Allah's Majesty that overwhelms His creation and fills them with awe. The Lord is also the Master of Honour, signifying that those who benefit by the great favours Allah has bestowed upon them and walk in the path of truth and righteousness will be granted more favours by the Lord of Honour. Despite being the Lord of Greatness and Majesty, Allah is not like the worldly kings and rulers who would not pay attention to others or the indigent people. He grants their petition and invocation. The next verse [ to be analysed in the forthcoming paragraph ] bears testimony to this interpretation. The current phrase under discussion constitutes one of those special Attributes of Allah which if a suppliant were to invoke before calling upon Allah for help, protection, inspiration and a host of other things, the supplication will be readily granted as recorded in Tirmidhi, Nasa'i and Musnad of Ahmad. Ibn ` Amir, has transmitted that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: اَلِظُّوا بِیَا ذَا الجَلَال وَالاِکرَام (Persist [ in invoking Allah ] with '0 Lord of Majesty and Honour'." The imperative alizzu is derived from the infinitive ilzaz which means 'to continue firmly in some course of action'. [ Mazhari ] Verse:28 Commentary - - - Verse:29 Commentary يَسْأَلُهُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ (All those in the heavens and the earth beseech Him. Every day He is at some task...55:29). The verse signifies that all creatures stand in need of Allah, in all conditions and situations. They all seek His help willingly or unwillingly. The earthly creatures ask for their specific needs. In this world, they need sustenance, health and welfare, and comfort; and in the Hereafter, they need forgiveness, mercy and Paradise. The celestial creatures do not eat and drink, they do however need Allah's mercy and grace. Allah's grace, forgiveness and so on surround them all the time. The phrase کُلَّ یَومِ every day' is the adverb of time of the verb يَسْأَلُهُ 'beseech'.(1) The 'day' is not used in its popular sense, but in the sense of 'time' in general. All His creation, in different regions, in different languages implore for their needs all the time. Obviously, each member of the earthly and celestial beings has countless needs. Who else besides the Absolutely Powerful Being, the Lord of Majesty, is able to respond to their needs every moment of the time? Therefore, 'every day' is followed by the sentence هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ 'He is at some task', that is, His Attributes know no limit or count, and keep finding their manifestations in diverse ways all the time. He gives life to some and causes others to die. He elevates some and others He abases. Some He

(1) This is according to one construction of the sentence. Other exegetes have taken the phrase 'every day' as relating to 'He is at some task'. The translation of the verse given above is based on this latter construction, which is also adopted by Moulana Thanawi (رح) . (Muhammad Taqi Usmani). causes to become ill and others He cures. He alleviates the adversity of some; He causes the aggrieved ones to smile; He grants the requests of suppliants; He forgives the sins of the sinners and makes them deserving of Paradise; He gives power to some, and He snatches it away from others and abases them. In sum, every Attribute of Allah keeps finding its manifestation in diverse ways all the time Verse:30 Commentary - - - Verse:31 Commentary .

A Warning for Humans and Jinn

سَنَفْرُ‌غُ لَكُمْ أَيُّهَ الثَّقَلَانِ (Soon We are going to spare Ourselves for you [ to reckon your deeds ], 0 two heavy species! ...55:31) The word jam' thaqalan is the dual of thaqal which denotes 'burden or load'. Thus the word ath-haqalan [ the dual form ] denotes 'the two heavy or weighty things', and signifies 'the men' and 'the Jinn' as the context shows. In Arabic, the word thaqal refers to anything the weight or value of which is well-known. It is in this sense that the word has occurred in the following Prophetic Tradition: اِنِّی تَارِکُ فِیکُمُ الثَّقَلَین (Indeed I leave amongst you two weighty and valuable things... which will continue to guide you.) Some versions of the Tradition state that those two weighty and valuable things are: کِتَابُ اللہ وَ عِترَتِی "Allah's Book and my family" and others state: کِتَابُ اللہ وَ سُنَّتِی ' Allah's Book and my normative Sunnah [ practices ] ". The end result of both the versions amount to the same thing because ` itrah refers to both types of family, lineal or spiritual. Therefore, it refers to all the noble Companions ؓ . The end result of the Tradition is that after the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم there are two things that will serve to guide and set aright the Muslims: [ 1] the Book of Allah; and [ 2] the example of the blessed Companions in all their mutual dealings and transactions. The version that uses ` itrah instead of Sunnah means the teachings of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that reached the Muslims through the noble Companions ؓ .

Be that as it may, the word ثَّقَلینِ thaqalain in the Tradition refers to the two weighty and valuable things. From this point of view, Ath-thaqalan, in the current verse, refers to the two species of Allah's creation, Jinn and human beings, because they are the weightiest and most valuable beings [ possessed of soul ] dwelling on earth.

Then the verse says, 'Soon We are going to spare Ourselves for you' The verb سَنَفْرُ‌غُ sanafrughu is derived from فَرَاغ faragh, which means to be free from occupation. The antonym of faragh is شُغُل shughl [ to occupy ]. The word faragh informs us of two things: [ 1] that one was occupied with something; and [ 2] now he has become free from that occupation. This type of faragh is common in human beings. However, neither of these senses apply to Allah. He is above them. Surely, nothing will occupy Allah from attending to anything else, nor does He become free or unoccupied like human beings do. Therefore, the verb sanafrughu [ We are going to spare Ourselves to you ] is employed as a metaphor. This metaphorical use of the word is common in human speech. This expression is used to show the importance of some work: 'We are now free to attend to you, being fully focused on you'. Anyone who fully focuses attention on any work, idiomatically it is said that 'he has no other work or he has nothing else to do'. In a verse preceding this [ 29], it was mentioned that the earthly beings ask for their specific needs, such as sustenance, health and welfare, and comfort; and forgiveness, mercy and Paradise. The celestial beings need Allah's mercy, grace and forgiveness which surround them all the time. From this point of view, Allah is, every moment, in a state of characteristic manifestation of His Divinity and Divine Attributes. The verse sanafrughu [ We are going to spare Ourselves for you...] indicates that on the Day of Judgment all petitions, their acceptance and acting on them will come to an end. Of all the manifestations, there shall remain only one manifestation and that is taking account of deeds and passing judgment with absolute justice and equity. [ Ruh ] Verse:32 Commentary - - - Verse:33 Commentary يَا مَعْشَرَ‌ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَن تَنفُذُوا مِنْ أَقْطَارِ‌ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ فَانفُذُوا ۚ لَا تَنفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلْطَانٍ ﴿33﴾

(0 genera of Jinns and mankind, If you are able to penetrate beyond the realms of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate. You cannot penetrate except with an authority....55:33)

In the preceding verse jinn and mankind were addressed as Ath-thaqalan and warned that their deeds will be reviewed and every single one of them will attract reward or punishment. The current verse purports to say that no one will be able to hide from death, nor will anyone be able to escape from attendance or giving account of actions on the Day of Judgment. This verse does not use the expression ثَّقَلَانِ Thaqalan as in the preceding verse but explicitly uses the expression يَا مَعْشَرَ‌ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ ( O genera of Jinns and mankind) 'Jinn' is mentioned first followed by 'men' presumably because a high-power energy is required to pass through the confines of heaven and earth. Allah has given Jinns more power than human beings in such matters. The meaning of the verse is: '0 Company of Jinn and human beings, if you think that you will be able to find refuge and thus avert death by avoiding the angel of death or run away from the Plains of Gathering or the Plains of Reckoning, then try to cross the bounds of the heavens and the earth if you have the power and ability to do so.' This is no mean task. This requires high-powered energy. The combined forces of Jinns and mankind will not be able to harness the energy to go beyond the confines of the heavens and the earth. The purport of the verse is not to show the possibility or probability of passing beyond the zones of the heavens and the earth. The proposition is hypothetical. The purport of the verse is to demonstrate the utter powerlessness and inability of men and Jinns to achieve this feat.

If the purpose of 'penetrating through the heavens and the earth' mentioned in the verse is to escape death, then it refers to this world and means: It is not within the power of any man or Jinns to cross the bounds of the heavens and the earth and escape death. This is stated according to human thinking. Otherwise, no one is outside the power and the authority of Allah, even if he crosses the bounds of the heaven and the earth. And if the escape intended by 'penetrating through the heavens and the earth' stands for 'escaping accountability on the Day of Reckoning', the purport of the verse is to demonstrate its absolute impossibility. For according to other Qur'anic verses and Traditional narratives the heaven will crack open, on the Day of Judgment, and all the angels will border on the sides of the earth and the people will be hemmed in from all sides. The Jinn and human beings will experience the horrors of the Day of Resurrection and run in different directions. In whichever direction they run the angels will lay siege to the areas that Allah has fortified for the purpose of recapturing the escapees. [ Ruh[

This Verse does not point to Space Exploration by Rockets and Sputniks

In the present scientific age, experiments are being conducted in an effort to come out of the gravity of the earth and to explore the heavenly bodies by rockets, sputniks and other spacecrafts. Obviously, none of these experiments are conducted beyond the bounds of the heaven. In fact, they are far below the surface of the heaven, let alone crossing the heavenly confines. Thus this verse has no bearing on space travels and reported incidents of reaching some of the heavenly bodies. Some simple-minded people posit this verse as the basis of demonstrating the possibility of space travels, whereas these simpletons are merely displaying ignorance about the actual meaning of the Qur'an. Verse:34 Commentary - - - Verse:35 Commentary يُرْ‌سَلُ عَلَيْكُمَا شُوَاظٌ مِّن نَّارٍ‌ وَنُحَاسٌ فَلَا تَنتَصِرَ‌انِ (A flame of fire and a smoke will be loosed against you, and you will not [ be able ] to defend... 55:35) Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ and other leading authorities on Qur'anic exegesis have said that the word shuwaz with refers to 'flame or fire without smoke' and the word nuhas refers to 'smoke in which there is no flame'. This verse too addresses the two species of creation, the jinns and mankind. It addresses them and describes how fire and smoke will be unleashed against them. The verse could mean that after the reckoning is over, and the disbelievers are sent to the Hell, they will experience two different types of punishment. In some places there will be only fire and flame, with no smoke at all. In other places there will be only smoke and no flame or fire. Other Qur'anic exegetes regard this verse as a supplement to the preceding one, and assign the following meaning to it: O jinn and mankind, it is not within your power to cross the bounds of the heavens. If you do attempt to escape on the Day of Resurrection, then the angels [ including those guarding the Hellfire ] will bring you back by directing the flames of fire and smoke. The verb فَلَا تَنتَصِرَ‌انِ fala-tantasiran is derived from اِنتِصَار intisar which means 'to help someone to defend him against a calamity' and thus the words فَلَا تَنتَصِرَ‌انِ fala-tantasiran signify that the jinns and mankind will not be able to help each other against Divine punishment, try as they might. Verse:36 Commentary - - - Verse:37 Commentary - - - Verse:38 Commentary - - - Verse:39 Commentary The Horrors of the Day of Resurrection

فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَّا يُسْأَلُ عَن ذَنبِهِ إِنسٌ وَلَا جَانٌّ (On that day, neither a man will be questioned about his sin, nor a Jinn...55:39) One interpretation of this verse is that no one will be asked whether or not he had committed the sin, because it will have already been recorded by the angels in the ledger of deeds, and Allah has the Pre-Eternal knowledge of it. The question will be 'why' did they commit the sin? This is the interpretation of Ibn ` Abbas ؓ . Mujahid (رح) interprets it as follows: There will be no need for the angels of punishment to question the criminals whether or not they committed the sin. They will be known by their special marks [ See verse (41) below ] clearly showing on their faces. The angels will be able to recognize them by the their distinguishing marks and hurl them into the Hellfire according to the type of misdeeds they might have committed. A composite interpretation of the two explanations is as follows: This event will take place when people will have given account of their deeds, and judgment will have been passed against the criminals to go to Hell on the Day of Reckoning. They will not be questioned nor will any negotiation be held about their sins at that stage. Their characteristic signs will be seen on their faces, and accordingly they will be hurled into Hell.

Qatadah (رح) says that the verse refers to a stage after they will have been questioned about their sins, but they will have refused under oath. Then their mouths and tongues will be sealed, and their hands and feet will be asked to bear witness. At that stage no more questions will be asked from them. Ibn Kathir notes all three explanations. They are close to each other, and thus there is no conflict. Verse:40 Commentary - - - Verse:41 Commentary يُعْرَ‌فُ الْمُجْرِ‌مُونَ بِسِيمَاهُمْ فَيُؤْخَذُ بِالنَّوَاصِي وَالْأَقْدَامِ (The guilty ones will be recognized [ by the angels ] by their marks and will be seized by foreheads and feet...55:41). The word sima means 'a sign'. Hasan Basri (رح) says that the day when sentence will be passed against the guilty to go to Hell, the following will be their signs: They will be known by their dark faces and their blue eyes. Through grief their faces will turn pale. The angels will recognize the guilty by these signs and seize them.

The word نَّوَاصِي nawasi is the plural of نَاصِیۃُ nasiyah, and means 'forelock'. Some will be dragged by their forelocks, and others will be dragged by their feet. Or it could mean that sometimes they will be dragged by their forelocks and at other times they will be dragged by their feet. The third explanation could be that the angels of punishment will bend their foreheads down to their feet and tie the forelocks to the feet, and throw them into the Hellfire. Allah knows best! Verse:42 Commentary - - - Verse:43 Commentary - - - Verse:44 Commentary - - - Verse:45 Commentary - - -