38. This can have two meanings:

(1) There is no room in me for more men.

(2) Bring all other culprits who may be there.

According to the first meaning the scene depicted would be that Hell has been so stuffed up with culprits that it cannot hold any more; so much so that when it was asked: Are you full? It cried out, alarmed: Are there still more culprits to come? According to the second meaning, the scene depicted before the mind is that the wrath of Hell is so flared up against the culprits that it is constantly demanding more and more of them to be cast into it so that no culprit escapes un-punished.

Here, the question arises: What is the nature of Allah Almighty’s addressing Hell and its reply? Is it only something metaphoric, or is Hell actually a living and intelligent being which may be spoken to and it may respond and give replies? In this regard nothing can, in fact, be said with certainty. Maybe the meaning is metaphoric and only for the purpose of depicting the actual scene of the state of Hell it may have been described in the form of the question and answer, just as one may ask a motor car: Why don’t you move forward? And it may say: There is no fuel in me. But this also is quite possible that this conversation is based on reality. Therefore, it is not correct to assume about the things which are lifeless and mute for us in the world that they would be lifeless and mute for Allah as well. The Creator can have communication with any of His creatures and each of His creatures can respond to Him, no matter how incomprehensible its language may be to us.

39. That is, as soon as the judgment will be passed about a person from the court of Allah that he is righteous and worthy of Paradise, he will immediately find Paradise in front of him. He will not have to travel a distance on foot or by a conveyance to reach to it. There will be no interval between the pronouncement of the judgment and his entry into the Paradise. From this it can be judged how different the concept of space and time is between this world and the Hereafter. The concept of space and time that we are familiar in this world will become meaningless there.

40. The word awwab is very extensive in meaning. It implies the person who might have adopted the way of obedience and Allah’s goodwill instead of the way of disobedience, who gives up everything that is disapproved by Allah and adopts everything that is approved by him, who gets alarmed as soon as he swerves a little from the path of worship and obedience, and repents and returns to the path of worship and obedience, who remembers Allah much and turns to Him in all matters of life.

41. The word hafeez means the one who guards. This implies the person who takes care of the bounds and duties enjoined by Allah, who guards the trusts imposed by Allah and avoids the things forbidden by him, who keeps watch over his time, energies and activities to see that none of these is being misemployed or misused, who offers repentance, remains steadfast and keeps it strong and intact, who examines himself over and over again to see that he is not disobeying his Lord anywhere in word or deed.

42. That is, although he could not see the Merciful God and could not perceive Him by his senses in any way, yet he feared His disobedience. His heart was more dominated by the fear of the unseen Merciful God than the fear of other perceptible powers and visible and mighty beings, and in spite of knowing that He is All-Merciful, he did not become a sinner, trusting His Mercy, but feared His displeasure in whatever he said and did. Thus, this verse points to two of the believer’s important and basic characteristics: First, that he fears God although he cannot see and perceive Him; second, that he does not persist in sin in spite of his full awareness of God’s quality of mercy. These very two characteristics make him worthy of honor in the sight of Allah. Besides, there is another subtle point also in it, which Imam Razi has pointed out. In Arabic, there are two words for fear, khauf and khashiyyat, which have a difference in their shade of meaning. The word khauf is generally used for the fear that a man feels in his heart on account of his sense of weakness as against someone’s superior power and strength, and the word khashiyyat is used for the dread and awe with which a man is filled and inspired because of somebody’s glory and grandeur and greatness. Here, the word khashiyyat has been used instead of khauf, which is meant to point out that a believer does not fear Allah only on account of the fear of His punishment, but it is the sense of Allah’s glory and greatness that keeps him awe inspired at all times.

43. The word munib in the original is derived from inabat, which means to turn to one direction and to turn to the same again and again, just like the needle of the compass that points to the magnetic north persistently, however one may try to turn it away from that direction. Therefore, qalb-i-munib would mean such a heart as has turned away from every other direction and turned towards One Allah alone and then kept on turning towards Him again and again throughout life. The same sense has been conveyed by the devoted heart. This shows that in the sight of Allah the man of real worth is he who remains attached and devoted to Allah alone not merely verbally but also truly and sincerely.

44. If the word salam in udkhuluha bi-salamin is taken in the meaning of peace and security, it would mean: Enter this Paradise safe and secure from every kind of grief, sorrow, anxiety and affiliation; and if it is taken in the meaning of salam itself, it would mean: Enter this Paradise you are welcomed here with the greeting of peace by Allah and his angels.

In these verses Allah has mentioned the qualities because of which a person makes himself worthy of Paradise, and they are:

(1) Taqwa (piety),

(2) Turning towards Allah.

(3) Watching over and guarding his relationship with Allah.

(4) Fearing Allah although he has not seen Him, and has full faith in His quality of mercy.

(5) Coming into His presence with a devoted and captivated heart, i.e. remaining constant on the way of devotion and dedication till death.

45. That is, they will certainly get whatever they desire, but in addition We will also give them that which they have never conceived and, therefore, could not desire.

46. That is, they were not only powerful and strong in their own land but had also made incursions into other lands and brought under their sway far off lands as well.

47. That is, could their power and might save them when the time appointed by Allah came for their seizure? And could they find shelter and refuge anywhere? Now, on what trust do you hope that you will get refuge somewhere in the world when you have rebelled against Allah?

48. In other words, either one should have so much of native intelligence that one may think right of his own accord, or if not so, he should be so free from prejudice and neglect that he may listen with attention when another person tries to make one understand the truth.

49. For explanation, see (E.Ns 11 to 15 of the commentary of Surah HaMim As-Sajdah).

50. That is, the fact of the matter is that We have made this entire universe in six days and We did not become weary at the end so that We might be powerless to reconstruct it Now, if these ignorant people mock you when they hear the news of the life-after-death from you and call you a madman, have patience at it, listen to whatever nonsense they utter with a cool mind, and continue to preach the truth that you have been appointed to spread.

In this verse, there is a subtle taunt on the Jews and the Christians as well, whereas in the Bible the story has been fabricated that God made the earth and the heavens in six days and rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2). Although the Christian priests are now feeling shy of it and have changed rested into “ceased from working” in their translation of the Bible, yet in King James authorized version of the Bible, the words “and He rested on the seventh day” are still there, and the same words are also found in the translation that the Jews have published from Philadelphia in 1954. In the Arabic translation also the words are: fastraha ft! yaum as-sebi.

51. This is the means by which man gets the power and energy to continue his struggle to raise the word of the truth and to call the people towards righteousness throughout life with full determination even though he may have to pass through heart-breaking and soul-destroying conditions and his efforts may seem to be bearing no fruit. Praising and glorifying the Lord implies the Prayer here, and wherever in the Quran the praise and glorification has been associated with specific times, it implies the Prayer. The Prayer before sunrise is the Fajr Prayer, and the Prayers before sunset are the Asr and the Zuhr Prayers. The Prayers in the night are the Maghrib and the Isha Prayers, and the third, the Tahajjud Prayer, is also included in the glorification of the night. (For explanation, see (E.N. 111 of TaHa); (E.Ns 23, 24 of Surah Ar-Room). As for the glorification that has been commanded after being free from prostrations, it may imply the after-Prayer devotions as well as the offering of the voluntary prayers at the end of the prescribed obligatory Prayers. Umar, Ali, Hasan bin Ali, Abu Hurairah, Ibn Abbas, Shabi, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Hasan Basri, Qatadah, Ibrahim Nakhai and Auzai say that it implies the two rakats after the Maghrib Prayer. Abdullah bin Amr bin Aas, and according to a tradition, Abdullah bin Abbas also, held the opinion that it implies the after-Prayer devotions, and Ibn Zaid says that the object of this command is that voluntary Prayers should also be offered after the prescribed obligatory Prayers.

According to a tradition reported in Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Abu Hurairah, once the poor emigrants from Makkah came before the Prophet (peace be upon him), and said: O Messenger of Allah, the rich people have attained high ranks for themselves. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked: What has happened? They said: They offer the Prayers as we offer, and they observe the fasts as we observe; but they practice charity, which we cannot, and they set the slaves free which we cannot. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Should I tell you a thing which if you practiced, you would surpass all others, except those who practiced the same that you practiced? It is this that you should pronounce Subhan-Allah, Al-Hamdu-lillah and Allahu-Akbar, 33 times each after every Prayer. After some time, the same people came and said: Our rich brothers also have heard this and they too have started practicing, it. Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: This is Allah’s bounty and He bestows it on whomever He wills. According to a tradition these devotional words have to be repeated ten times each instead of 33 times each. Zaid bin Thabit has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed his companions that they should pronounce Subhan-Allah and AlHamdu-lillah 33 times each and Allahu-Akbar 34 times after every Prayer. Afterwards, an Ansar companion submitted: I have seen in a vision that somebody was telling me that it would be better if I pronounced these three devotional words 25 times each and then Lailaha illAllah 25 times. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: Well, you may do likewise. (Ahmad, Nasai, Darimi).

Abu Saeed Khudri says: I have heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) pronounce the following words when he would return after the Prayers were over: Subhana Rabbika Rabbil-izzati anima yasifun wasalam-un alal-mursalin, walhamdu lillahi Rabb-il alamin. (Jassas Ahkam al-Quran).

Besides these, several other forms of the after-Prayer devotional pronouncements also have been reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him). Those who wish to act on this instruction of the Quran may select the one they find suitable from Mishkat. Bab adh-dhik-as-Salat, commit it to memory and practice it. Nothing can be better than what the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself has taught in this regard. But what one should bear in mind is that the real object of the devotional pronouncements is not to utter these words only as a matter of course but to refresh and fix their meaning in the mind. Therefore, the meaning of whatever devotions one pronounces should be understood well and then practiced with full consciousness of the meaning.

52. That is, wherever a dead person would be lying, or wherever his death had occurred is the world, the cry of the caller shall reach him there, which will urge him to rise and go before his Lord to render his account. This cry will be such that everybody who rises from death anywhere on the surface of the earth will feel as though the caller had called him from a nearby place. Simultaneously will this cry be heard everywhere on the globe equally clearly. From this also one can judge how different will be the concepts of space and time in the next world from what they are in this world, and what forces will be working there in accordance with the new laws.

53. The words yasmaun-as-saihata bil haqqi can have two meanings:

(1) That all the people will be hearing the cry of the right command.

(2) That they will be hearing the cry rightly.

In the first case the sentence will mean that the people will be hearing the same right command with their ears, which they were not inclined to accept in the world, which they had persistently refused to believe, and mocked the Prophets who had brought it. In the second case it will mean that they will certainly hear this cry, and they will realize that it is no fancy but indeed the cry of Resurrection; they will be left with no doubt that the Day of Resurrection of which they had been forewarned had arrived and the cry that was being raised was of the same.

54. This is the answer to the saying of the disbelievers that has been reproduced in verse 3 above. They said: How can it be that when we are dead and become dust, we shall be raised back to life once again. This resurrection is far removed from reason. In reply it has been said: This gathering together, i.e. raising back to life and gathering all the people of the former and latter times together, is very easy for Us. It is not at all difficult for Us to know as to where the dust of one particular person lies and where of the other. We shall also face no difficulty in knowing as to which are the particles of one and which of the other among the scattered particles of the dust. Gathering together all these particles separately and remaking each and every man’s body once again and then creating in that body the same very personality which had lived in it before, is not a task that may require any hard labor from Us, but all this can be accomplished immediately at one signal from Us. All those human beings who have been born in the world since the time of Adam till Resurrection can be brought together by one command of Ours. If your petty mind thinks it is far off, it may think so, but it is not beyond the power of the Creator of the Universe.

55. In this sentence there is consolation for the Prophet (peace be upon him) as well as a threat for the disbelievers. Addressing the Prophet (peace be upon him) it has been said: Do not care at all about what these foolish people utter about you. We are hearing everything and it is for Us to deal with it. The disbelievers are being warned to the effect: The taunting remarks that you are passing against Our Prophet will cost you dearly. We are hearing everything that you utter and you will have to suffer for its consequences.

56. This does not mean that the Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted to compel the people into believing and Allah stopped him from this. But, in fact, although the Prophet (peace be upon him) has been addressed, the disbelievers are being warned, as if to say: Our Prophet has not been sent as a dictator over you. He is not there to compel you to become believers even if you did not wish to believe. His only responsibility is that he should recite the Quran and make the truth plain to the one who would take the warning. Now, if you do not accept his invitation, We will deal with you, not he.