the light of qur'an,sura 'infitar,quran,tafsir

sura infitar
(the cleaving asunder)
no.82 (verses 13-19)

13. "surely the righteous shall be in bliss,"
14. "and surely the wicked shall be in blazing fire,"
15. "which they shall enter on the day of reckoning,"
16. "and never shall they be absent therefrom",
17. "and what makes you know what the day of reckoning is?"
18. "again, what makes you know what the day of reckoning is?"
19. "the day on which no soul shall have aught for (another) soul, and the
command that day shall be (wholly) allah's."

commentary:
on that day, no one does anything for anyone.
concluding the previous discussion about recording the deeds of
men by the angels, the following verses speak about the account of man
on the day of judgement and the end of the righteous and the wicked.
it says:

"sure1y the righteous shall be in bliss",

* * * *
"and surely the wicked shall be in blazing fire".

the term /abrar/ is the plural form of /bar/ and /barr/in the sense
of `a pious person' and the term /berr/, which means any piety, here
means both `pious beliefs', `good intentions' and `good deeds'.

the term / na'im / is singular and means `a good thing, a blessing'
and, here, it means `heaven, bliss, eternal gardens'. the term is
mentioned in an indefinite form, in arabic texts, to show its greatness
and vastness of which no one knows, but allah. the arabic special
grammatical form of the term, which is used here, is for emphasis and
denotes to the resistance and perpetuity of this great blessing.

the term / fujjar/ is the plural form of / fajir/ which is originally
based on the term /fajr/ meaning `to open wide' and the phrase
/tulu`-i-fajr / is used for `day-break' as if the curtain of the gloom of the
dark night is torn wide open by the dawn; and the term / fujur /
`wickedness' is used for the actions of those who tear away the curtain of
piety and follow the path of sin and corruption.

the term /jahim/ is derived from the term /jahm/ which means `to
light a fire', and then / jahim / is `a burning-fire ' which, in the qur'an,
generally means `hell'.

and by the sura saying `that the righteous are in bliss and the
wicked are in blazing fire' it may mean that even now they are in bliss
and blazing fire, and in this world, too, heavenly blessings and hellish
punishments encompass them, as sura `ankabut, no.29, verse 54
says: "...but, of a surety, hell will encompass the rejecters of faith".

some scholars have said that these ideas are for an avoidable
future and in arabic literature things which are sure to happen in the
future are said in present tense and sometimes the past tense of the
verb is used. (the first interpretation is more appropriate with the
appearance of the verse, but the second one seems better.)

the next verse further describes more about the destiny of the
wicked. it says:

"which they shall enter on the day of reckoning".

if the previous verse means that they are now in the blazing fire,
this verse may mean that they will have more blazing fire stronger than
this, on the day of reckoning. they will feel the perfect practicality of
its heat, then.

the term/ yaslaun/ is based on /saly/ which is cited with the
meaning of `entering the fire and suffering its roasting burning pain', and
since in arabic texts the verb is in the form of future tense, it denotes to
continuity and being in the constant company of it.

* * * *

and, again, for more emphasis, it says:

"and never shall they be absent therefrom".

many of the commentators have considered this verse as an
evidence for the continuity and eternity of the wicked's punishment.
then they have concluded that `the wicked', mentioned in these verses,
are `the unbelievers', because eternity and continuity of the fire is only
for the unbelievers. therefore, the wicked are those who do not care
for piety, because of lack of faith in the hereafter and rejecting the day
of judgement, not because of the force of base desires all the while
having faith.

this verse is stated in the present tense, which is an emphasis on
what was said before: that these kinds of people are not far from the
blazing fire; their life, itself, is a hell and their graves, according to some
islamic traditions, is a ditch of fire. thus, the hell of this world, the hell
of the partition and the hell of the next world all are now prepared for
them.

by the way, this verse depicts that the blazing fire of hell never
fades, and they will never escape it even for a moment.

* * * *

then to illustrate the importance of that day, it says:

"and what makes you know what the day of reckoning is?"

* * * *
"again, what makes you know what the day of reckoning is?"

when the prophet (p.b.u.h.), with his vast and profound
knowledge about the hereafter and the extraordinary insight he had
about the creator and the resurrection, about the great and terrible
events of that day and its considerable horror governing there, was not
well acquainted with the hereafter, the situation of others is obvious.

this statement denotes to the fact that the horrible events of the
hereafter are so great and vast that it cannot be described with our
present vocubulary. as we, the dwellers on earth, do not know well
about heaven and its abundant blessings, we cannot grasp the full
concept of the punishment in hell, and in general, of the final
judgement, as well. the question is repeated twice to emphasize this
difficulty.

* * * *

in the next verse, a simple but, complete and meaningful answer
to the above question is suggested which points to one of the qualities
of that day. the answer is suggested by a negative proportion:" the day
on which no soul shall have aught for (another) soul; and the command
that day shall be (wholly) allah's." surely, everything in this world, too,
is with allah, but, we all depend on one another in proximity, human
law and institutions may hold large masses of mankind in their grip.
here, there are, apparently, worldly rulers, owners, and powerful
members with whom some superficial persons, sometimes, consider the
source of independant power. but, this period will be all over. then
the ownership is totally his own and is so perfected that their wills will
be in complete consonant with allah's universal will, the absolute
command, on everything and more evident than ever, thenceforward
will be wholly with allah.

this is the same fact that is mentioned in many other verses, of
the qur'an, such as sura mo'min, no. 40, verse 16 which says:
"...whose will be the dominion that day? that of allah, the one, the
irresistible!" .

as a matter of fact, everyone, on that day, is so occupied with
himself that if he had any power, he would not pay attention to anyone
else; as sura ` abasa, no. 80, verse 37 confronts it: " each one of
them, that day, will have concern enough to occupy him".

a tradition from imam baqir (p.u.b.h.) says: "the command that
day and today is wholly allah's, ... but on the day of judgement all the
rulers and owners will be removed and there will be no sovereignty except
allah's." 1

a question may arise such as:` does that state contrast with the
intercession of prophets, saints, and angels ? '.

the answer simply is this: many verses of the qur'an verify that
intercession is also done by his leave for those who are allowed, " and
they offer no intercession except for those who are acceptable..."(sura
anbiya', no. 21, verse 28).

* * * *

supplication:

o lord! on that horrible day, everyone hopes for your
generosity and, today, we rely on you.

o lord! we seek your grace in this world and the next
world: please do not deprive us.

o lord! the absolute command is yours: save us from
polytheism and relying on others.

1majma`-al-bayan, vol. 10, p.450.

the end

sura infitar
(the cleaving asunder)