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Welcome Friends: Ahlan wa sahlan!
Remember how we found it ‘interesting’ (in our last Reading) that the concept of people ARGUING without manifest proof, appears four times in the Qur’an…. (يجادل في آيات الله… and that all four instances are in this Chapter?
Well, dear Reader, what we failed to note then, is that this Chapter, from its very beginning, had placed this issue foremost!
See verses 1-4, where this Chapter began by highlighting the Compilation and God’s Attributes in comparison to Deniers’ arguments! No wonder then that this issue was stressed upon in this Chapter.
What an eloquent Qur’an; May God help us open our eyes and take note!
Their commentaries can only be read in verse by verse view.
COMMENTS:
We ended our last Reading as the Man of Faith referred all matters to God, assuring his denying people that there will come a time when they shall be in remembrance of his advice. Then he committed his affairs unto God[i].
1. Today’s Reading (Verses 45- 46) take us to the ‘Time’ which the Faithful Man was warning them of: the Hereafter.
In Verse 45 we find him simply being ‘saved/ preserved’ (Ali/ Asad) from the injuries of their schemes, while they, in contrast are being ‘encompassed’ by dire suffering.
Verse 46 shows us the ‘dire suffering’ of all ‘Who Referred themselves to Pharaoh’… his “Aaal آل-” his people, his family, his hosts...from the very first to the very last of them.
We mentioned this meaning on April 9th when we spoke about the word ‘Ta’weel –تأويل ’ from the root verb ‘awala,’ which denotes both the first and the last; the beginning and end. We said it was the culmination of things in reference to their beginnings, and that the verb ‘aala, ya’oolu - آل- يؤول’ denoted something or someone returning to the FIRST point of reference.
Let us think hard when we refer ourselves to someone or something in life, and make sure that we deserve a worthy ‘reference’ on Judgment Day!
Why not embrace the reference which the Qur’an gave this wonderful man: ‘rajjul Mu’min’… literally ‘active Believing person?’ (A female would be ‘rajlaa/ rajula Mu’minah.’) I like that reference.
May we all be worthy of such a title… Amen!
2. Now, dear Reader, let us pay closer attention to Verse 46 as it gives us information as to what SEEMS to occur to people such as Pharaoh after they leave this existence. (I stress ‘seems’ because our interpretation can only remain relative to our perception. Such future information is ‘gheyb’ to us; part of the ‘Unseen’ which we can try to understand despite our limits.)
From what most of us understand (which I’ve put between brackets), it seems that Pharaoh and his people, who were first ‘surrounded’ by suffering (at their time of death), shall be ‘displayed/ exposed’ to the Fire morning and evening (after that; ‘when’ exactly, is not mentioned) until the establishment of the Hour (of Judgment). Upon the establishment of the Hour, they shall be made to enter the most severe of Suffering.
This verse is understood to refer to a ‘stage’ which exists between Death and Judgment, where people are ‘shown’ the consequence they have earned without actually experiencing such consequences physically (yet).
Now, although today’s verse is particular to the Deniers, such a ‘stage’ DOES seem universal, as we can see in HQ 69:18, where everyone is exposed, and nothing ‘in hiding’…. can remain thus hidden لا تخفى منكم خافية…..
Dear Reader:
It is important to realize that this topic is of great interest among most ‘Muslims’ who traditionally believe that this ‘stage’ takes place between Death and Resurrection, and is why they have dubbed it ‘the suffering of the grave’ عذاب القبر—….
Such persons, however, would be very surprised to know that there is no Qur’anic evidence to support such a belief.
Actually, even Ali and Asad seem to steer away from this ‘commonly-held belief’ without giving the topic unwarranted space (Ali says that ‘they will be brought in front of the fire’ at all times, while Asad says that ‘they had been made to contemplate the fire morning and evening,’ suggesting that this scene is related to life, and to the warnings of prophets and believers).
But we must give it some space here, because our mission is attempting to understand the Qur’an ‘as revealed,’ not ‘as explained,’ therefore:
I shall mention other ‘traditional’ views, such as this famous saying:[ii] ‘When one of you dies, his Resurrection has already occurred and he beholds what he has (earned) of good deeds and bad[iii].’ And another saying by a group (of scholars): “They speak of Resurrection: Indeed each person’s Resurrection is his death.” As narrated by Ttabari: “The Resurrection of each Self is its Death.”
As for us, dear Reader, here at IQRATHE CHALLENGE:
We already spoke of this on Oct 12th with regard to the Man of Faith in the Chapter of ‘Yaasseen,’ where we noted how, right after his speech to his people, he finds himself in Paradise wishing they could know about his beautiful reward! We marveled then at how seamless his transition was from earthly life to Paradise, where the stage in which they killed him seemed irrelevant to him! We then said that ‘even Death does not seem to exist for such a person, who is driven by pure Love: Love of God, and love for the wayward people of his own community.’
But this man was a Believer, and was killed in cold blood, simply for speaking up.
Q. Our question is, what is this ‘stage’ after Death, for other people?
A. Firstly, as far as Qur’anic research has shown to date, although this stage does take place ‘after’ Death, it is not related to ‘the grave’ at all. Oftentimes, what we find mentioned is a stage after Resurrection (see HQ 7:39-51, 57:12-15). There is no mention of the ‘Qabr/ grave,’ other than simply being where a dead body is placed temporarily (see all instances in Qur’an for root-verb: (قبر, while graveyards ‘maqaabir’ are considered places we ‘visit.’
Aside:
The English word ‘macabre’ is commonly believed to have its origin in the French ‘danse Macabré’ or ‘dance of Death’ (1376).
See its Etymology, dear Reader, and marvel at so-called ‘scholars’ who fail to mention its Arabic origin!
Maqabré and ‘maqaabri’ مقابري are one and the same word, both in sound and meaning.
For other similarly ‘ignored’ English words of Arabic origin, put ‘Etymology’ in ‘Search this Site.’
Secondly, today’s verse and other similar verses about so being ‘displayed/ exposed,’ are all about the Deniers, warning them to take heed before it’s too late (see HQ 42:45, 46:20, 46:34).
Thirdly, another verse which mentions a similar concept is HQ 71:25, where Noah’s denying people are ‘drowned’ and consecutively ‘entered into fire’….
all of which lead us to conclude the following:
The concept we call ‘Time’ is relative.
To each of us, ‘time’ is related to our personal existence. Scientists have called our concept of time: ‘space-time.’ Read about it. Note how everything is ‘curved,’ and how ‘Time’ is relative to each entity’s sphere of existence. This has been proven by sending atomic clocks out of the earth’s orbit, where upon their return, they were found to have gone slower than clocks on earth.
Can we even IMAGINE our ‘spiritual’ existence after Death, and the ‘limit’ (وقت[iv]) when the Hour shall be upon us?
Yes, dear Reader: What we call ‘time’ in English is called ‘waqt’ in Arabic, defined in our 1,000 year old Lexicon as ‘limit.’
This could be related either to ‘time’ or to ‘space,’ which is why we have the words ‘waqt,’ ‘mawqoot,’ ‘meeqaat,’ ‘mawaaqeet’ which help us define the SPAN of time or distance; the ‘meeqaat’ for performing Pilgrimage is also the distance from where your Pilgrimage begins).
When we realize that time is relative, we can better understand the Qur’an when it tells us that:
-And that the very word ‘yawm’ refers to an ‘event’ rather than a literal ‘day,’ as we mentioned on April 9th.
-Also, why much of what takes place in the Hereafter, is mentioned in the PAST tense.
‘Past- Present-Future.’ These are the names WE have designated to something which is RELATIVE to our existence on this earth!
3. Back to our verses, which warn the Deniers to take heed before it’s too late: In Verses 47- 48 we are shown a scene in the Fire, where we find people arguing: Those who are ‘weak’ (the followers) together with the ‘Arrogant’ (the followed), sharing the same fate and each attempting to shirk their responsibility.
We encountered a similar verse in HQ 14:21.
PAGE 473 Arabic Qur’an.
4. Then, in Verses 49- 50 they all plead with the Keepers of Hell, asking for their suffering to be lightened. The Keepers respond with a valid question, asking them whether or not they had received their own Messengers with clear evidence, to which they reply that indeed they have. The final part of the verse emphasizes the futility of their calls.
5. In Verses 50- 51 the tone changes, as we hear God’s ‘voice’ asserting that He shall succor/ make successful His Messengers AND Those Who attained Faith, both in the immediate/ lowly Life AND on the ‘day’ when the Witnesses أشهاد arise.
Then that ‘day’ is described as one where the excuses of the ‘wrong-doers’ shall not avail them, as they are deprived of all that is good (and banished from God's Favor), for them is a dire abode.
The verb ‘shahada’ has two nouns: ‘shaahed’ and ‘shaheed.’
Arab commentators have said that شهداء‘shuhadaa’ is the plural of ‘shaheed,’ while ‘ash-haad’ is the plural of ‘shaahed’ (and as we can see, ‘shaahideen/ shaahidoon’ is also the plural of ‘shaahed’).
Anyway, mentioned only twice in the Qur’an, it must refer to something distinct from all others. Perhaps this word refers to ‘angelic’ witnesses.
I hope I’ll be able to get more information on that grammatical distinction.
Enough said!
Our next Reading is from HQ 40:53-68.
Peace unto all!
[i] His prayer ‘UfawwiDdu amree ilal Lah’ أفوض أمري إلى الله is only mentioned this once in the Qur’an. Another, more common expression is ‘tawakkaltu alal Lah’ توكلت على الله (I place my trust in God) which does appear 7 times in the Qur’an as an intention/ ‘prayer,’ with 61 derivations of its verb. God tells us that He is ‘ni’mal wakeel’ نعم الوكيل- the Best Trustee!
[ii] which some have attributed to Prophet Muhammad, peace upon him, while others disagree.
[iii] "إذا مات أحدكم فقد قامت قيامته يرى ما له من خير وشر"
أخرجه أبو نعيم في ((الحلية)) (6/267-268)، وابن عساكر في ((تاريخه)) (37/214)، وأورده الديلمي في ((مسند الفردوس)) (1/285/1117). وقال العجلونـي في ((كشف الخفاء)) (1/151 ط- دار الكتب العلمية): ((وأخرجه العسكري عن أنسٍ وقال الإمام أبو جعفر الطبري في ((تفسيره)) (29/174): ((وكانت جماعةٌ تقول: قيامة كلِّ نفسٍ موتها. ذكرُ مَن قال ذلك: حدثنا أبو كُريبٍ قال ثنا وكيعٌ عن سفيانَ ومسعرٍ عن زيادِ بنِ علاقةَ عن المغيرةِ بنِ شُعبةَ قال: يقولون القيامة القيامة، وإنما قيامة أحدهم موته)). قلت: رجال إسناد هذا السند، رجال الصحيح)).
[iv] (وقت) يدلُّ على حَدِّ شيءٍ وكُنْهه في زمان وغيرِه. منه الوقْت: الزَّمان المعلوم. والموقوت: الشَّيء المحدود. [و] المِيقاتُ: المصير للوَقْت. وقَتَ له كذا ووَقَّته، أي حدَّدَه. قال الله عزَّ وجلّ: {إنَّ الصَّلاَةَ كانَتْ عَلَى المُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَاباً مَوْقُوتاً} [النساء 103].
