Surah 36. Ya-Sin

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Verses [Section]: 1-12[1], 13-32 [2], 33-50 [3], 51-67 [4], 68-83 [5]

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Quran Text of Verse 51-67وَ نُفِخَAnd will be blownفِی[in]الصُّوْرِthe trumpetفَاِذَاand behold!هُمْTheyمِّنَfromالْاَجْدَاثِthe gravesاِلٰیtoرَبِّهِمْtheir Lordیَنْسِلُوْنَ [they] will hasten قَالُوْاThey [will] sayیٰوَیْلَنَاO woe to us!مَنْۢWhoبَعَثَنَاhas raised usمِنْfromمَّرْقَدِنَا ؔٚۘour sleeping placeهٰذَاThis (is)مَاwhatوَعَدَ(had) promisedالرَّحْمٰنُthe Most Graciousوَ صَدَقَand told (the) truthالْمُرْسَلُوْنَ the Messengers اِنْNotكَانَتْit will beاِلَّاbutصَیْحَةًa shoutوَّاحِدَةًsingleفَاِذَاso behold!هُمْTheyجَمِیْعٌallلَّدَیْنَاbefore Usمُحْضَرُوْنَ (will be) brought فَالْیَوْمَSo this Dayلَاnotتُظْلَمُwill be wrongedنَفْسٌa soulشَیْـًٔا(in) anythingوَّ لَاand notتُجْزَوْنَyou will be recompensedاِلَّاexceptمَا(for) whatكُنْتُمْyou used (to)تَعْمَلُوْنَ do 36. Ya-Sin Page 444اِنَّIndeedاَصْحٰبَ(the) companionsالْجَنَّةِ(of) Paradiseالْیَوْمَthis Dayفِیْ[in]شُغُلٍwill be occupiedفٰكِهُوْنَۚ(in) amusement هُمْTheyوَ اَزْوَاجُهُمْand their spousesفِیْinظِلٰلٍshadesعَلَیonالْاَرَآىِٕكِ[the] couchesمُتَّكِـُٔوْنَ reclining لَهُمْFor themفِیْهَاthereinفَاكِهَةٌ(are) fruitsوَّ لَهُمْand for themمَّا(is) whateverیَدَّعُوْنَۚۖthey call for سَلٰمٌ ۫PeaceقَوْلًاA wordمِّنْfromرَّبٍّa Lordرَّحِیْمٍ Most Merciful وَ امْتَازُواBut stand apartالْیَوْمَthis DayاَیُّهَاO criminalsالْمُجْرِمُوْنَ O criminals اَلَمْDid notاَعْهَدْI enjoinاِلَیْكُمْupon youیٰبَنِیْۤO Children of AdamاٰدَمَO Children of AdamاَنْThatلَّا(do) notتَعْبُدُواworshipالشَّیْطٰنَ ۚthe Shaitaanاِنَّهٗindeed, heلَكُمْ(is) for youعَدُوٌّan enemyمُّبِیْنٌۙclear وَّ اَنِAnd thatاعْبُدُوْنِیْ ؔؕyou worship MeهٰذَاThisصِرَاطٌ(is) a Pathمُّسْتَقِیْمٌ straight وَ لَقَدْAnd indeedاَضَلَّhe led astrayمِنْكُمْfrom youجِبِلًّاa multitudeكَثِیْرًا ؕgreatاَفَلَمْThen did notتَكُوْنُوْاyouتَعْقِلُوْنَ use reason هٰذِهٖThis (is)جَهَنَّمُ(the) Hellالَّتِیْwhichكُنْتُمْyou wereتُوْعَدُوْنَ promised اِصْلَوْهَاBurn thereinالْیَوْمَthis Dayبِمَاbecauseكُنْتُمْyou used (to)تَكْفُرُوْنَ disbelieve اَلْیَوْمَThis DayنَخْتِمُWe will sealعَلٰۤی[on]اَفْوَاهِهِمْtheir mouthsوَ تُكَلِّمُنَاۤand will speak to Usاَیْدِیْهِمْtheir handsوَ تَشْهَدُand will bear witnessاَرْجُلُهُمْtheir feetبِمَاabout whatكَانُوْاthey used (to)یَكْسِبُوْنَ earn وَ لَوْAnd ifنَشَآءُWe willedلَطَمَسْنَاWe (would have) surely obliteratedعَلٰۤی[over]اَعْیُنِهِمْtheir eyesفَاسْتَبَقُواthen they (would) raceالصِّرَاطَ(to find) the pathفَاَنّٰیthen howیُبْصِرُوْنَ (could) they see وَ لَوْAnd ifنَشَآءُWe willedلَمَسَخْنٰهُمْsurely We (would have) transformed themعَلٰیinمَكَانَتِهِمْtheir placesفَمَاthen notاسْتَطَاعُوْاthey would have been ableمُضِیًّاto proceedوَّ لَاand notیَرْجِعُوْنَ۠return

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Translation of Verse 51-67

(36:51) Then the Trumpet shall be blown and lo! they will come out of their graves and be on the move towards their Lord,⁴⁷

(36:52) (nervously) exclaiming. “Alas for us! Who roused us out of our sleeping-place?”⁴⁸ “This is what the Merciful One had promised, and what (His) Messengers had said was true.”⁴⁹

(36:53) Then there will simply be one single Blast, and all will have gathered before Us.

(36:54) Today⁵⁰ no one shall suffer the least injustice, and you shall not be recompensed except according to your deeds.

(36:55) Indeed, the people of Paradise will be busy enjoying themselves:⁵¹

(36:56) they and their spouses shall be reclining on their couches in shady groves;

(36:57) therein there will be all kinds of fruits to eat, and they shall have all that they desire.

(36:58) “Peace” shall be the word conveyed to them from their Merciful Lord.

(36:59) “Criminals, separate yourselves from others today!⁵²

(36:60) Children of Adam, did I not command you not to serve Satan � he is to you an open enemy

(36:61) and serve Me alone: this is the Straight Way?⁵³

(36:62) Still, he misguided a whole throng of you. Did you have no sense?⁵⁴

(36:63) Now this is the Hell of which you were warned.

(36:64) Burn in it on account of your disbelieving.

(36:65) Today We shall put a seal on their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us and their feet shall bear witness to what they had been doing.⁵⁵

(36:66) If We so willed, We would have put out their eyes, then they would rush to see the Way, but how would they be able to see?

(36:67) If We so willed, We would have transformed them where they were so that they would not go forward or backward.⁵⁶

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Commentary

47. For a detailed note on-the Trumpet, see Towards Understanding the Qur’an,Ta Ha 20: n. 78, Vol. V, pp. 223-224. It is narrated by Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace be on him) said: “Israfil has his lips on the Trumpet and his gaze is fixed on the Throne, and he is waiting for God’s command to blow it. It will be blown three times. By the first blow of the: Trumpet (called nafkhat al-faza’) (the trumpet of terror) all the creatures." of the heavens and the earth will be struck with terror. The second blow (called nafkhat al-sa‘q) (the trumpet of lightning) will cause everyone to: fall down dead. Therefore, when no one remains alive, except the One True God, the earth will be transformed. It will be spread flat and smooth without there being any crease or wrinkle in it. Then, God will issue a command whereupon everyone will rise at the spot where he had fallen dead. This blowing of the Trumpet will be called nafkhat al-qiyam li Rabb al-‘alamin (the trumpet to make all rise and stand before the Lord of the Universe). This is supported by several allusions in the Qur’an. (See, for example, Towards Understanding the Qur’an, Ibrahim 14: nn. 56-57, Vol. IV, pp. 276-277; Ta Ha 20: nn. 82-83, Vol. V, pp. 225-226.)

48. People will not realize that they had died and been resurrected after a very long time. Rather, they will be under the impression that they had been asleep and that thereafter they had been woken by some terrible incident and were hastily rushing along. (For further explanation, see Towards Understanding the Qur'an, Ibrahim 14: n. 18, Vol. IV, p. 259; Ta Ha 20: n. 78, Vol. V, pp.223-224.)

49. Here it has not been explicitly stated who will articulate this response. It is likely that this truth will dawn on the unbelievers where after they will engage in a soliloquy, reproaching themselves: “This is what the Merciful One had promised and what [His] Messengers had said was true”. It is also possible that the believers will remove the unbelievers’ misunderstanding and inform them that they have not risen from sleep but have been raised to life after having been dead. Yet another possibility is that this response will be conveyed by the overall conditions obtaining on the Last Day, or that God’s angels will explain the truth of the matter to the people concerned.

50. This is how God will address the unbelievers, polytheists, and the evil ones when they appear before Him on the Day of Judgement.

51. Note that true believers will not be detained in the Grand Assembly of the Last Day, but will rather be admitted to Paradise after a light interrogation. Alternatively, they might be spared interrogation altogether, for their record will be clean. Regardless, they will not have to wait for long. In the Assembly itself, God will point all this out to the unbelievers who used to make fun of the believers, for the latter will enjoy the delights of Paradise while the former will be subjected to rigorous interrogation.

52. This can be understood in two different ways. (i) That this will be a command to the criminals on the Day of Resurrection asking them to separate themselves from upright believers. During the course of worldly life, these evil-doers might have lived together with the believers. It is even possible that they belonged to the same family, social fraternity or political entity. All this will, however, come to an end in the Hereafter where all affinity between the two groups will be sundered. (ii) The criminals will be ordered to separate themselves from one another. In the Hereafter their integral solidarity as a cohesive party of unbelievers is — sundered; the ties that had kept them bound together will be dissolved.

As a result, each person will be made to account for himself purely in his individual capacity.

53. Here again the word ‘ibadah has been employed to mean obedience.

We have elucidated this point at several places in our work. (See Towards Understanding the Qur'an, al-Nisa’ 4: n. 145, Vol. II, p. 86; al-An‘am 6: nn. 87 and 107, Vol. Il, pp. 270 and 278-279, al-Tawbah 9: n. 31, Vol. IIL, p. 204; Ibrahim 14: n. 32, Vol. IV, pp. 266-267; al-Kahf 18: n. 50, Vol. V, p. 113 and Saba’ 34: n. 63, see p. 197 above.) While explaining this verse in his al- Tafsir al-Kabir, Razi points out that “do not serve Satan” means “do not obey Satan”. It is not only forbidden to prostrate before him; it is equally forbidden to obey him. Hence, obedience to someone amounts to serving him. After making this point, Razi asks: “If ‘ibadah means obedience, then what is meant by the command ‘to obey Allah, and His Messenger and those in authority among you’? Does it mean that we are required to serve and worship the Messenger and those in authority among us? Razi responds to this by saying that obedience to the Messenger and to those in authority among the Muslims amounts to serving and obeying God if the order to obey is in accord with God’s command. Obedience to them, however, will be reckoned as serving and worshipping them [rather than God] when people obey thein in matters where obeying them has no sanction. He adds: “The angels prostrated before Adam at God’s command, [and since it was in compliance with God’s command], this was an act of worshipping none other than God. Obedience of rulers will become service and worship of those rulers if one obeys them in a matter which does not enjoy God’s sanction”. R4zi continues: “If someone were to come to you and ask you to carry out a command, consider whether this command conforms to God’s command or not. If it does not conform to God’s command, then his companion is Satan. In such a case, if one obeys him one is guilty of worshipping that person and his Satan. Likewise, if a person’s self-prompts him to do something he should consider whether God’s Law permits that act or not. If that act is not permitted, then his self itself is Satan or Satan’s companion. In case he follows the prompting of his own self, one is guilty of worshipping one’s self”. Razi further points out that there are various degrees of worshipping Satan.

At times one does something in which all of one’s limbs including one’s tongue as well as one’s heart work in union. In other cases, while one’s limbs take part in the task, one’s heart and tongue do not participate in it. Likewise, sometimes one commits a sin while one’s heart is not happy with it and the tongue seeks God’s forgiveness for that act, the person concerned confessing that the act is an evil. In such a case, the person concerned is guilty of worshipping Satan only with his limbs. There are, however, other people who commit a misdeed and whereby their heart is quite satisfied and their tongue too expresses happiness. Such people are Satan’s worshippers, internally as well as externally. (Razi, al-Tafsir al-Kabir, comments on verses 60-61.)

54. The unbelievers are told that had they been devoid of reason and understanding, they could have put this forward as an extenuating reason for their choosing Satan, their enemy, rather than God as the object of their worship. The fact, however, is that God has endowed human beings with reason of which they make good use in all their worldly affairs. Not only that, God warned them through his Messengers, with regard to Satan. If they fall victim to the deceptions of their enemy, Satan, then they cannot acquit themselves of their responsibility in committing this folly.

55. This command will be issued as regards those supercilious culprits who simply refuse to own their guilt, deny the testimony of the witnesses, and contest the veracity of their scroll of deeds. It is at this point that God will call a halt to their protestations, and will ask them to witness the tale of their misdeeds as narrated by their own limbs. Mention is made here only of the testimony given by the hands and feet of these culprits.

At other places, however, it is stated that their eyes, ears, tongues and skins will bear testimony to their misdeeds. The following verses are illustrative: “They should not disregard the Day when their own tongues, their hands and their feet will testify against their misdeeds” (al-Nar 24:24), and “When they reach there, their ears, their eyes and their skin will testify to what they did” (Ha’ Mim al-Sajdah 41:20).

One is, however, faced with a difficulty in this regard. For, on the one hand, God declares that He will seal their mouths while at another place it is asserted that their tongues will testify against them. So, how does one reconcile these two statements? In our opinion, the sealing of their mouths means depriving them of the faculty of speech. In other words, it will no longer be possible for them to speak as they like. As for the testimony by the tongues, it means that they themselves will relate their misdeeds. Their tongues will elaborate upon how they were put to misuse by these wrong-doers in uttering blasphemy and lies and in fomenting mischief.

56. After depicting a scene of the Hereafter, the unbelievers are reminded of how they dismissed the Afterlife as something quite remote from reality. Yet they should observe with open eyes that in fact in this life too they are quite helpless beings under the control of the All-Mighty God. True, they are able to see everything around them with their eyes, but a simple command from God can make them instantly blind. Likewise, their legs which enable them to move about freely can be paralyzed by God’s command, thus rendering them incapable of even walking a step.

As long as people enjoy the physical faculties granted to them by God, they remain deluded by an overly inflated egotism. As soon as they lose ‘any of these faculties, they realize the true extent of their helplessness.