83. According to the Quran, the earth will take a new shape in the Hereafter:
The earth will be spread. (Surah Al-Inshiqaq, Ayat 3).
The bottoms of the oceans will be split (and the whole water will sink down in the earth). (Surah Al-Infitar, Ayat 3).
The oceans will be filled up. (Surah At-Takweer, Ayat 6).
The mountains will be reduced to fine dust and scattered away and there will be left no curve or crease in the earth. (Surah Taaha, Ayats 105-107).
On that day the earth will be totally changed. (Surah Ibrahim, Ayat 48).
And it will be turned into a garden and given to the pious people to dwell therein forever. (Surah Az-Zumur, Ayat 74).
This shows that ultimately this earth will be turned into Paradise which will be inherited by the pious and righteous servants of Allah. The whole earth will become one country, and there will be no mountains, oceans, rivers and deserts which today divide it into countless countries and homelands and divide mankind as well into as many tribes, races and classes. Ibn Abbas and Qatadah have the same view that Paradise will be established on this very earth.
84. The original Arabic word hams is used for the sound of footsteps, the sound of whispering and other low sounds. What it implies here is that the people will be so awestricken on that Day that there will be no sound other than that of footsteps and whispering.
85. This also has another interpretation: On that Day intercession will not be effective except in the case of the one for whom the Merciful may allow it and be pleased to hear it for him. Both these interpretations are supported by the following:
Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His own permission? (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 255).
On that Day when the spirit and the angels will stand with folded hands, they will not be able to say anything except what the Merciful will permit, and they will say the right thing. (Surah An-Naba, Ayat 38). They do not intercede for anyone except for whom the Merciful may be pleased to listen to, and they are always fearful of Him. (Surah Al-Anbia, Ayat 28).
There are many angels in the heavens whose intercession avails nothing at all except when it is made after getting permission from Allah, and for the one for whom He wills to hear and approves of it. (Surah An-Najam, Ayat 26).
86. Here the reasons for the restrictions on intercession have been stated. On the one hand, no angel, no prophet, no saint, nor anyone else knows, nor can know, the full details about the records of others. On the other hand, Allah has full knowledge of all the deeds and misdeeds of everyone and He knows who deserves pardon or punishment, and how much. If, therefore, there had been full freedom for intercession, the whole purpose of the creation of man would have become meaningless. According to this verse, the door against intercession has not been entirely closed. The righteous people will be allowed to show their sympathy for other human beings as they did in the world, but they will have to get permission for this beforehand and even then make only a right sort of recommendation.
87. From this, it is clear that in the Hereafter the case of every individual will be decided on merits. If a man had been guilty of iniquity and injustice in regard to the rights of God or the rights of man or even his own rights, he shall be dealt with accordingly. On the other hand, those, who are both believers and workers of righteous deeds, shall have no fear that they would be deprived of their rights or punished even though they were innocent.
88. This means that the Quran is full of such high themes, wise teachings and admonitions as are contained in the preceding portion of this Surah as well as in the other Surahs of the Book.
89. That is, the Arabic Quran might awaken them from their heedlessness and they might recollect the forgotten lessons and feel that they are going astray and might realize the consequences thereof.
90. Such sentences as this are usually found in the Quran at the end of a discourse so that it may end with the praise of Allah. It is plain from the context that the discourse ends with “the Sovereign.”
91. At the end of the discourse, the angel cautions the Prophet (peace be upon him) by Allah’s command to guard against a thing that had been noticed during the revelation, for it was not considered appropriate to do so during its recital. It is obvious from the wording of the caution that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was trying to learn the revealed discourse and was repeating it during its recital by the angel. Naturally this might have diverted his attention over and over again from listening to and grasping the revelation. Therefore it was felt necessary that he should be taught the right method of the receipt of the message of revelation and be asked not to try to commit it to memory during the revelation.
This sentence shows that this portion of Surah TaaHa is one of the earliest revelations, for we learn from the other early Surahs that the Prophet (peace be upon him) tried to commit to memory the Quranic revelation and Allah cautioned him against it. For instance in (Surah Al-Qiamah, Ayats 16-19), he was told: Do not move your tongue over and over again in order to learn the revelation, for it is Our responsibility to cause you to remember it by heart and recite it. Therefore when it is being recited to you, listen to it carefully. Then it is also Our responsibility to make its meanings clear to you.
Again in (Surah Al-Aala, Ayat 6), he was assured: We will teach you how to recite it and you will not forget it. It appears that afterwards when the Prophet (peace be upon him) had learnt how to receive the messages of revelation, this did not occur. That is why there is no such caution in the Surahs of the later period.
92. From here begins a new discourse, which probably was revealed some time after the preceding discourse see (E.N. 90), and it was incorporated in this Surah by the command of Allah because both deal with the same theme. The following are the similarities between the two:
(1) Both the discourses remind mankind of the forgotten lesson, the admonition, which Allah had taught man on the occasion of his creation.
(2) Both teach that it is Satan who seduces man to forget that lesson. He succeeded in this by causing his first parents to forget it. Since then he has been forgetting it over and over again and, therefore, has been cautioned against this.
(3) Both warn man that his ultimate success or failure depends upon his attitude towards this admonition.
(4) Both warn mankind to discriminate between an inadvertent error and an intentional rebellion and their consequences. If man (like Prophet Adam and his offspring and the magicians of Pharaoh) realizes that he has been seduced by Satan, his eternal enemy, and then repents of his error, he is forgiven. But there is no forgiveness for intentional rebellion as was the case with Satan, Pharaoh and the Samiri.
93. The story of Prophet Adam has already been stated in (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayats 30-39); (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayats 11- 27, 189); (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayats 28-42); (Surah Al-Isra, Ayats 61-65) and (Surah Al-Kahf, Ayats 51-52). But at every place only that part of the story which was relevant to the context has been cited. Therefore, in order to understand the entire story well, one should read it in all the Surahs along with the relevant E.N's.
94. This means that he disobeyed the command because he lacked the firmness of purpose and not because of intentional rebellion. He did not say: I don't care for Allah. If it is His command, let it be. I will do whatever I like. Who is Allah to intervene in my private affairs?
On the contrary, he disobeyed because he forgot Allah’s command, and did not show firmness of purpose and determination against the temptations presented by Satan. This is shown by his subsequent repentance.