Teachings and Commentary 13-18
After warning them of the consequences of disbelief in this world, a very concise
description of the conditions of the Day of Judgment is given in the next six verses.
Two points must be remembered in this regard:
· Firstly, human beings are incapable of understanding exactly or even imagining
something that they have not seen. Consequently, their languages do not have appropriate
vocabulary to describe those things. The facts described to us about the Day of
Judgment, life Hereafter or Allaah SWT use such of the words of our “deficient”
language that are closest to the reality and that can help us develop the right
perception according to our limited capabilities. The objective is to deliver the
right understanding, not the precise description.
· Secondly, at this stage, people were being introduced to these concepts and thus
were being given a high level overview of the events of the Last Day. More details
were provided in subsequent revelations.
13 Then, when the trumpet is blown with a single blast, 14 and the
earth and the mountains are lifted up and crushed to powder with a single crushing,
15 on that Day shall the Occurrence occur. 16 And the heaven will
split asunder, for that Day it will be friable/fragile; 17 while the angels
will be cowering on its sides and eight of them will bear that Day the Throne of
your Lord above them. 18 That is the Day when you shall be presented for
accountability – none of your secrets shall remain hidden.
In this paragraph, the Last Day has been called “Al-Waaqi‘ah”, indicating that its
occurrence is already predestined and predetermined. It is only a matter of time.
As soon as its predetermined time arrives, it will suddenly happen without any warning.
Makkah was surrounded by mountains. Makkans considered the mountains invincible.
It was very difficult for them to understand how they could be destroyed. They are
being told that it is very easy for Allaah and the mountains will be powdered at
the very first stage of destruction.
Similarly, the sky that also seems to be invincible will be splitting up, falling
apart and collapsing like something frail and loose.
Arabs thought that angels are Allaah’s daughters and worshipped them to gain their
favour so that they can intercede for their worshippers. The angels, except for
the eight assigned to the Throne, will themselves be cowering on the sides, fearful
of what will be happening. It is useless to expect any help from them.
As far as matters such as the Throne of Allaah and the angels carrying it are concerned,
they fall in the category of Mutashaabihaat (approximate hints about matters that
are beyond human understanding) . We have been commanded just to believe in them
without making any effort to understand them or define them exactly in human terms.
These matters can neither be taken literally nor commented upon. Any explanation,
opinion or description will be conjecture, speculation, serious error and misguidance.
All we know is that Allaah SWT is not subject to any human concept of shape, physique,
direction or location. He is infinite and is totally above and beyond such concepts
or limitations. Mention of His Throne tells us in human terms about His absolute
and complete authority and control over the whole universe and everything whatsoever
in it. We will find out the exact nature of such matters only in the Hereafter.
The intent of these verses is to give people some idea about the conditions of the
Day when people will be presented for accountability and judgment.
Many people commit crimes or behave improperly only because they think that no one
will find out and, thus, they will never be caught or held accountable. On the Day
of Judgment, everything they ever did, regardless of how secretly they did it, will
be in their record of deeds for which they will be held openly accountable.
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