وَ یَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ And they ask you عَنِ about الْجِبَالِ the mountains فَقُلْ so say یَنْسِفُهَا Will blast them رَبِّیْ my Lord نَسْفًاۙ (into) particles فَیَذَرُهَا Then He will leave it قَاعًا a level صَفْصَفًاۙ plain لَّا Not تَرٰی you will see فِیْهَا in it عِوَجًا any crookedness وَّ لَاۤ and not اَمْتًاؕ any curve یَوْمَىِٕذٍ On that Day یَّتَّبِعُوْنَ they will follow الدَّاعِیَ the caller لَا no عِوَجَ deviation لَهٗ ۚ from it وَ خَشَعَتِ And (will be) humbled الْاَصْوَاتُ the voices لِلرَّحْمٰنِ for the Most Gracious فَلَا so not تَسْمَعُ you will hear اِلَّا except هَمْسًا a faint sound یَوْمَىِٕذٍ (On) that Day لَّا not تَنْفَعُ will benefit الشَّفَاعَةُ the intercession اِلَّا except مَنْ (to) whom اَذِنَ has given permission لَهُ [to him] الرَّحْمٰنُ the Most Gracious وَ رَضِیَ and He has accepted لَهٗ for him قَوْلًا a word یَعْلَمُ He knows مَا what بَیْنَ (is) before them اَیْدِیْهِمْ (is) before them وَ مَا and what خَلْفَهُمْ (is) behind them وَ لَا while not یُحِیْطُوْنَ they encompass بِهٖ it عِلْمًا (in) knowledge وَ عَنَتِ And (will be) humbled الْوُجُوْهُ the faces لِلْحَیِّ before the Ever-Living الْقَیُّوْمِ ؕ the Self-Subsisting وَ قَدْ And verily خَابَ will have failed مَنْ (he) who حَمَلَ carried ظُلْمًا wrongdoing
(20:105) They ask you concerning the mountains: "Where will they go?" Say: "My Lord will scatter them like dust,
(20:106) and leave the earth a levelled plain
(20:107) in which you shall find no crookedness or curvature.83
(20:108) On that Day people shall follow straight on to the call of the summoner, no one daring to show any haughtiness. Their voices shall be hushed before the Most Compassionate Lord, so that you will hear nothing but a whispering murmur.84
(20:109) On that Day intercession shall not avail save of him whom the Most Compassionate Lord permits, and whose word of intercession is pleasing to Him.85
(20:110) He knows all that is ahead of them and all that is behind them, while the others do not know.86
(20:111) All faces shall be humbled before the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting Lord, and he who bears the burden of iniquity will have failed;
83. The shape the earth will assume on the Last Day is identified in several places in the Qur’an. For example, in al-Inshiqaq it is said: ‘When the earth is ‘flattened out’ (al-Inshiqaq 84: 3). In al-Infitar: ‘When the oceans are burst forth’ (al-Infitar 82: 3), which presumably means that the ocean-beds will be cleft and all their water will be absorbed by the recesses of the earth. In al-Takwir: ‘When the oceans boil over with swell’ (al-Takwir 81: 6). The present verse states: ‘They ask you concerning the mountains: Say: “‘My Lord will uproot them and scatter them like dust, and leave the earth a levelled plain in which you shall find no crookedness or curvature’’ (74 Ha 20: 105-7). If we consider these verses together the image of the Last Day that is conjured up is one where the earth would be reshaped, the oceans filled up, the mountains razed, the unevenness that we see today removed, and the forests cleared away, reducing the earth to a levelled plain. This change will occur as hinted at in the verse: ‘The Day when the heavens and the earth will be altogether changed. . .’ Ibrahim 14: 48).
It will be on this levelled earth that the Grand Assembly of the Hereafter, in which everyone will be called to account, will be held. Thereafter the earth will be subjected to another change, which will give it its final and everlasting ‘shape: ‘They will say: ‘‘Praise be to Allah, Who has truly fulfilled His promise to us, and has given us this land in heritage. We may dwell in the Garden as we will. What an excellent reward for the righteous!’’ (al-Zumar 39: 74).
We thus know that the whole earth will be changed into Paradise, to be inhabited by the pious and righteous servants of God. The whole earth will then become one country; the mountains, oceans, rivers and deserts which presently divide the earth into numerous countries and states will cease to exist, for these geographical divisions have created discord among mankind. It is worth noting that among the Companions and Successors, Ibn ‘Abbas and Qatadah also subscribe to the view that Paradise will be on this earth. (See al-Alusi, vol. 27, p. 27 — Ed.) They interpret the following verse: ‘Near the Lote-tree beyond which none may pass. Near it is the Garden of Abode’ (al-Najm 53: 14-15), to mean that the Garden [i.e. Paradise] will be that part of the earth which at present is the abode of the souls of martyrs. (See al-Qurtubi’s comments on the verse al-Zumar 39: 73 in his Commentary. See also al-Alusi, vol. 27, pp. 50-1 — Ed.)
84. The word used here — hams — signifies a low, faint sound such as a whisper, or of the movement of steps, or of speaking in a subdued voice, or the movement of camels. (Q.v., Ibn Manzur, Lisan al-‘Arab—Ed.) The verse, thus, says that on the Last Day everyone will be seized by a great awe, and, hence, nothing will remain except the sound caused by peoples’ steps or whispers of conversation in subdued voices.
85. This verse may be translated in two ways. One follows our text above. An alternative is: ‘No intercession will be of any avail on the Day unless the Most Compassionate Lord grants it to be made in favor of someone and is pleased to hear the word [of intercession].’ The words of the verse are encompassing and legitimately cover both renderings. For, indeed, the Last Day will be so awesome that no one will dare utter a single word let alone intercede on anyone else’s behalf. Only those who enjoy God’s permission to speak will be able to intercede and to say a good word for those for whom they have been permitted to intercede.
Both these points are emphasized at several different places in the Qur’an and in quite unambiguous terms. For example, there is: “Who is there who might intercede with Him save with His leave?’ (al-Baqarah 2: 255). The same idea is stated elsewhere: ‘That Day the Spirit and the angels will stand forth in ranks and none shall speak except any who is permitted by the Merciful, and he will say what is right’ (al-Naba’ 78: 38). At the same time the Qur’an also says: ‘They offer no intercession except for those with whose intercession He is pleased and who stand in awe out of fear for Him’ (al-Anbiya’ 21: 28). Likewise, it is said: ‘How numerous are the angels in the heavens! Their intercession will avail nothing until Allah permits it and in favor of whomsoever He wills and is pleased’ (al-Najm 53: 26).
86. This explains the reasons for placing restrictions on intercession. Regardless of whether someone is an angel, or a Messenger, or a saint, nobody knows — indeed nobody — the full record of another person’s deeds, of those activities which kept them preoccupied during their lives. No one fully knows what is truly creditable about a person or what makes him blameworthy. God, however, has full knowledge of the past record as well as the present state of all beings. He knows precisely the extent of the goodness of those who are good.
Likewise, He knows the wickedness of those who are wicked. Only He knows whether someone deserves to be pardoned, and if so whether fully or in part.
Neither angels nor Prophets nor any saints can be given a free hand to intercede on behalf of those whom they might like to. It is well known that even if an ordinary government officer begins to intercede on behalf of, or make recommendations in favor of, his relatives and friends his department would be ruined. How very catastrophic, then, would it be if the Lord of the heavens and the earth were to decide about people on grounds of intercession of others.
For the record of those on whose behalf they intercede are not available to them. It is also well known that even when conscientious government officers are approached with a request that they forgive or provide favors to someone working under them, they too do not accept the pleas of those intercessors unreservedly. In fact, they are more likely to point out the weaknesses or incompetence of the persons concerned, and express their inability to concede to such requests.
When we remember these facts relating to our worldly life, it is abundantly clear how very sound, reasonable and just the principle concerning intercession mentioned here is. The door to intercession with God, however, is not completely closed. Those who were kind to others in this world will also have the opportunity to act with the same kindness in the Next World.
However, before such persons actually intercede on behalf of others they will be required to seek God’s permission to do so, and will only be able to intercede in favor of those for whom God’s permission has been granted.
Moreover, even those who are granted such permission will only be able to say, in the words of the Qur’an, that which is right (see al-Naba’ 78: 38). No one will be able to make any intercession which is utterly unjustified. It will not be possible, for instance, for someone who has done wrong to hundreds of people in the world to find some saint attempting to obtain his release by pleading with God on the grounds that the culprit was his favorite.