1. Opening the discourse with this sentence by itself signifies that this is an answer to the objections that were being raised in the disbelievers’ conferences against Resurrection. This was the time when the people of Makkah had just begun to hear the invitation to Islam from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In it what seemed most astonishing and remote from reason to them was that the entire system of the earth and heavens would one day be overturned and then another world would be set up in which all the dead, of the former and the latter generations, would be resurrected. Bewildered they would ask: This is just impossible! Where will this earth, these oceans, these mountains, this moon and sun go? How will the centuries-old dead bodies rise up to life? How can one in his senses believe that there will be another life after death and there will be gardens of Paradise and the fire of Hell? Such were the misgivings that were being expressed at that time everywhere in Makkah. It was against this background that it was said: When the inevitable event happens, there shall be no one to belie it.

In this verse the word waqiah (event) has been used for Resurrection, which nearly means the same thing as the English word inevitable, signifying thereby that it is something that must come to pass. Then, its happening has been described by the word waqiah, which is used for the sudden occurrence of a disaster. Laisa li-waqati-ha kadhibat-un can have two meanings:

(1) That it will not be possible that its occurrence be averted, or stopped, or turned back; or, in other words, there will be no power to make it appear as an unreal event.

(2) That there will be no living being to tell the lie that the event has not taken place.

2. Literally: That which causes something or somebody to rise and to fall. Its one meaning can be that it will upset every order and it will turn things upside-down. Another meaning can also be that it will exalt the lowly and bring low the high and mighty; that is, on its advent the decision as to who is noble and who is ignoble among the people will be made on quite a different basis. Those who posed as honorable people in the world would become contemptible and those who were considered contemptible would become honorable.

3. That is, it will not be a local earthquake that may occur in a restricted area, but it will shake the whole earth to its depths all of a sudden, and it will experience a tremendous jolt and tremors all through.

4. Although the address apparently is directed to the people to whom this discourse was being recited, or who may read it or hear it read now, in fact the entire mankind is its addressee. All human beings who have been born since the first day of creation and will be born till the Day of Resurrection will ultimately he divided into three classes.

5. The word maintanah in ashab-al-maimanah, in the original, may have been derived from yamin, which means the right hand, and also from yumn, which means good omen. If it is taken to be derived from yamin, then ashab-almaimanah would mean: Those of the right hand. This, however, does not imply its lexical meaning, but it signifies the people of exalted rank and position. The Arabs regarded the right hand as a symbol of strength and eminence and honor, and therefore would seat a person whom they wished to do honor, on the right hand, in the assemblies. And if it is taken as derived from yumn, ashabal- maimanah would mean fortunate and blessed people.

6. The word mashamah in ashab-al-mashamah, in the original, is from shum which means misfortune, ill-luck and bad omen. In Arabic the left hand also is called shuma. The Arabs regarded shimal (the left hand) and shum (bad omen) as synonyms, the left hand being a symbol of weakness and indignity. If a bird flew left on the commencement of a journey, they would take it as a bad omen; if they made a person sit on their left, it meant they regarded him as a weak man. Therefore, ashab-almashamah implies ill-omened people, or those who would suffer disgrace and ignominy, and would be made to stand on the left side in the court of Allah.

7. Sabiqoon (the foremost) implies the people who excelled others in virtue and love of the truth and in good works and responded to the call of Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) before others. They were also in the forefront in their response to the call for jihad, for spending their wealth for the sake of the needy and for public services, or for inviting others to virtue and truth. In short, they are ever ready for spreading the good and wiping out evil and making sacrifices and exerting themselves whenever there was need for it. On this very basis, in the Hereafter too, they will be placed in the forefront.

Thus, mankind, so to say, will be ranged in Allah’s court like this: On the right hand, there will be the righteous, on the left the wicked, and in the forefront (nearest in divine presence) the Sabiqoon (the foremost in faith and good deeds). According to a Hadith reported by Aishah the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked the people: Do you know who, on the Day of Resurrection, will he the first to be accommodated under the divine shade? The people said Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) only had the best knowledge. Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: Those who were such that when the truth was presented before them, they accepted it forthwith; when a right was asked of them, they discharged it gracefully; and their decision in respect of others was the same as in respect of their own selves. (Musnad Ahmad).

8. The commentators have differed as to who are implied by the former And the latter people.

One group of them has expressed the view that the former people were the communities that passed away since the time of the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) till the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the people of the latter day are those who will have lived in the world since the advent of the Prophet (peace be upon him) till the Day of Resurrection. Accordingly the verse would mean: The number of the Sabiqoon (the foremost in faith and good deeds) among the people who passed away during the thousands of years before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would be greater, and the number of those who would attain to the rank of the Sabiqoon among those people who have been born since the advent of the Prophet (peace be upon him), or will be born till the Day of Resurrection, will be less.

The second group says that the former and the latter in this verse imply the former and the latter people of the Holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) own ummah itself. That is, in his ummah the people belonging to the earliest period were the former among whom the number of the Sabiqoon will be greater, and the people of the later periods are the latter among whom the number of the Sabiqoon will be smaller.

The third group holds the view that this implies the former and the latter people of every Prophet’s own ummah. That is, there will be numerous Sabiqoon among the earliest followers of every Prophet, but among his later followers their number will decrease. The words of the verse bear all the three meanings, and possibly all three ate implied, for there is no contradiction between them. Besides, they give another meaning also and that too is correct: Every early period of a Prophet’s following the proportion of the Sabiqoon in human population would be greater and in the later period less, for the number of the workers of good and right does not increase at the rate of increase of the human populations. They may be more numerous as against the Sabiqoon of the earliest period. But on the whole their number as against the world population goes on becoming less and less.

9. This implies boys who will ever remain boys and stay young. Ali and Hasan Basri say that these will be those children who died before reaching their maturity; therefore, they will neither have any good works to their credit for which they may be rewarded, nor any evil deeds for which they may be punished, But obviously, this could imply those people who would not deserve Paradise. For, as for the true believers, about them Allah has guaranteed in the Quran that their children will be joined with them in Paradise (Surah At-Toor, Ayat 21). This is also supported by the Hadith, which Abu Daud, Tayalisi, Tabarani and Bazzar have related on the authority of Anas and Samurah bin Jundub, according to which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the children of the polytheists will be attendants of the people of Paradise. (For further explanation, see (E.N. 26 of Surah As-Saaffat) and (E.N. 19 of Surah At-toor).

10. For explanation, see (E.N. 27 of Surah As-Saaffat); (E.N. 22 of Surah Muhammad) and( E.N. 18 of Surah At-Toor).

11. For explanation,( see E.N. 17 of Surah At-toor).

12. For explanation, see (E.Ns 28, 29 of Surah As-Saaffat); (E.N. 42, of Surah Ad-Dukhan) and (E.N. 51 of Surah Ar- Rahman).

13. This is one of the major blessings of Paradise, which has been mentioned at several places in the Quran, viz. that in Paradise human ears will remain secure against idle and frivolous talk, lying, backbiting slander, invective, boasting and bragging, taunts and mockery, satire and sarcasm. It will not be a society of foul-mouthed, indecent people who will throw mud at each other, but a society of noble and civilized people free of such frivolities. A person who has been blessed with some decency of manner and sense by Allah can very well feel what an agony it is in worldly life, a hope of deliverance from which has been given to man in Paradise.

14. Some commentators and translators have taken the words, illa qilan salam-an salama, to mean that in Paradise one will hear only the greeting of Peace, peace on every side; the correct view, however, is that it implies healthy and wholesome speech, i.e. such speech as may be free of the vices and blemishes, faults and evils, that have been mentioned in the preceding sentence. Here the word salam has been used nearly in the same sense as the English word sane.

15. That is, lote-trees without thorns on them. This will be a superior kind of the lote-tree to be only found in Paradise, and its fruit likewise will be much superior to that found in the world.

16. The word fakiha of the text means: This fruit will neither be seasonal that its supply may fail when the season is over, nor its production will cease as it happens in a garden after its fruits has been picked. But in Paradise every kind of fruit will remain available in abundance in every season and will continue to be produced and supplied no matter how much of it is consumed. And la mamnuah means that there will be no prohibition or hindrance in obtaining fruit as it is in the gardens of the world, nor will it be out of reach because of thorns or height.

17. This signifies the virtuous women of the world, who will enter Paradise on the basis of their faith and good works. Allah will make them young no matter how aged they might have died in the world; will make them beautiful whether or not they were beautiful in the world; and will make them virgins whether they died virgins in the world or after bearing children. If their husbands also entered Paradise with them, they would be joined with them. Otherwise, Allah will wed them to another dweller in Paradise. This very explanation of this verse has been reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) in several Ahadith. According to Shama ile Tirmidhi, an old woman requested the Prophet (peace be upon him) to pray for her admission to Paradise. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: No old woman will enter Paradise. Hearing this the woman went back crying. Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to the people: Tell her that she will not enter Paradise as an old woman, for Allah says: We shall create them anew and make them virgins. Ibn Abi Hatim has related, on the authority of Salamah bin Yazid, that he heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) explain this verse, thus: This implies the women of the world; whether they died virgins or married. Tabarani contains a lengthy tradition related from Umm Salamah according to which she asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) the meaning of the several references in the Quran to the women of Paradise. In answer, he explained this very verse and said: These are the women who died as aged and decayed women, with sticky eyes and gray hair; after this old age Allah will again make them young and virgins. Umm Salamah asked: If a woman had several husbands in the world, one after the other, to whom will she belong in Paradise? The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: She will he asked to make her own choice, and she will choose the one who had the best moral character. She will say: O my Lord, make me his wife, for he was the best in his conduct and dealings with me. O Umm Salamah, good moral conduct has carried off all the good of this world and the Hereafter. (For further explanation, see (E.N. 51 of Surah Ar-Rahman).

18. The word uruban is used for the best feminine qualities of the woman in Arabic. This signifies a woman who is graceful and elegant, well-mannered and eloquent, and brimful of feminine feelings, who loves her husband with all her heart, and whose husband also loves her with all his heart.

19. This can have two meanings:

(1) That they will be of equal age with their husbands.

(2) That they will be of equal age among themselves; i.e. all the women in Paradise will be of the same age and will eternally stay young.

Both of these meanings may be correct at one and the same time, i.e. these women may be of equal age among themselves and their husbands also may be made of equal age with them. According to a Hadith: When the dwellers of Paradise enter it, their bodies will be without hair, their mustaches will be just appearing, but will yet he beardless, they will be handsome and fair-complexioned, with sturdy bodies and collyrium stained eyes; they will all be 33 years of age. (Musnad Ahmad: Marwiyat Abi Hurairah). Almost the same theme has been related in Tirmidhi by Muadh bin Jabal and Abu Saeed Khudri also.