Ruku 470 ع

69:26; 84:11; 90:20.

Commentary:

اصحاب الشمال is another name for اصحاب المشئمة—those on the left hand.

22:20; 44:49; 55:45.

Commentary:

The disbelievers in the heat of their passions indulged in all sorts of evil activities. That heat will take the form of hot water and scorching heat.

77:32.

Important Words:

یحموم (black smoke) is derived from حم. They say حم الشحمة i.e. he melted the fat. یحموم means, smoke or black smoke or intensely black smoke; a black mountain; the canopy that is extended over the inmates of Hell (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The disbelievers fed fat on the hard-earned money of others, and in the pride and conceit of their wealth, prestige, and influence, arrogantly spurned the Divine Message. This and the next verse show that the root cause of all sins is inordinate desire for wealth and the comforts and pleasures of life which prompts one to exploit other people and to deny accountability for one’s actions in afterlife. For مترفین see 23:65 and 17:17.

17:50; 23:83; 37:17; 56:48.

Commentary:

Denial of the Resurrection and afterlife whether by word of mouth or conduct is at the root of all sin and crime in the world. This is why, next to belief in the existence of God the greatest stress has been laid in the Quran on life after death. There can be no real and effective check on sin, or incentive to good works, without a true and real belief in life after death.

37:18.

37:63; 44:44-45.

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that disbelievers indulged in all sorts of iniquitous activities; they, as it were, drained life to the dregs. Therefore, as a punishment, their bellies will be filled with fire and they will drink of the hot water which instead of quenching will increase their thirst.

Important Words:

الھیم (thirsty camels) is the plural of الأھیم which is derived from ھام which means, he went at random, not knowing where he was going, he became thirsty. الھیام means, (a) severe thirst; (b) dropsy; or a kind of disease from which camels suffer from insatiable thirst; (c) insanity caused by extreme love. رجل ھیمان means, a thirsty man. رجل ھائم means, a confused and perplexed man. الھیم means, thirsty camels, sandy plains which suck all water (Aqrab).

37:68.

Commentary:

This and the preceding three verses describe the punishment that will be meted out to the guilty in the afterlife, in a language which befits the enormity of their sins or crimes in the present life. They devoured what other people had earned with the sweat of their brows. They suffered from an insatiable lust for wealth, amassing it by fair means or foul, and being proud of their riches rejected the Divine Message. As punishment for their sins, they will be given the tree of Zaqqum to eat, which will burn their inside, and they will have scalding water to quench their thirst, and like diseased camels their thirst will remain unsatisfied.

Commentary:

نزلھم (their entertainment) means, their provision and food. The expression seems to have been used ironically.

Commentary:

With this verse begins a series of arguments in support of life after death. The first argument in the present verse is taken from the very subtle and wonderful phenomenon of man’s birth, starting with a drop of semen and developing into a full-fledged human being,—the crown of all creation—having been equipped with all moral and spiritual powers in order that he might assimilate and demonstrate in himself Divine attributes.

75:38.

52:36.

71:5.

Commentary:

The end of all physical life is death. This is the eternal law of God from which there is no escape. Death frees the human soul from the fetters and shackles of its physical habitat and enables it to start its journey on the road to spiritual development which knows no end.

76:29.

Commentary:

The disintegration of man’s physical tabernacle does not mean the end of his life. Death is only a change of state or form. After its flight from the body the human soul is given another body, which, it is not possible for man to conceive. The verse may also imply a warning to disbelievers that they should not remain lulled into a false state of complacency that they would continue to enjoy power, prestige and prosperity. The time was fast approaching when all their power would be broken and their glory would depart and another people—the Muslims—would take their place, and they could not conceive of this great change in their present prosperous condition. The fulfilment of this prophecy will constitute an argument in support of life after death.

Commentary:

The verse reinforces the argument begun in the above-mentioned verses. It, in effect, says to disbelievers that they know that God created man from a mere sperm drop and endowed him with wonderful powers and attributes to grow and develop, and yet they dare deny that the Great Creator could give him life again after his death. Does not this fact merit their reflection?

Commentary:

After referring to the birth of man from very insignificant beginning, the Surah, from the present verse, proceeds to give a brief account of things upon which man’s life on earth depends, which in fact, is a preparation for the eternal and everlasting life after death. There are three principal things upon which man’s life in this world depends—food, water and fire. The first thing is food to which this verse refers.

Important Words:

تفکھون (you would keep lamenting) is derived from فکه which means, he was or became cheerful, happy or free from straitness; jocose or was given to jesting and to laughing. تفکه منه means, he wondered at it; he repented, grieved, lamented or regretted (Lane & Aqrab).

حطاماً (broken pieces) is derived from حطم. They say حطمه i.e. he broke it into pieces, he crushed it. حطام means, what is broken in pieces of dry things; fragments of eggs. حطام الدنیا means, the perishable goods of this world (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Next to food, water is the most important thing upon which human life depends for its sustenance.

Commentary:

The sun makes the saltish and bitter water of oceans rise in the form of vapours which being buffeted by cold winds are turned into a cloud, and then fall as rain upon the dry and parched fields, and the seed which had lain buried deep in the ground sprouts and the sun causes it to grow into a smiling, flourishing crop. Who created the seas, the oceans, the wind and the warmth? It is all the work of the Great Creator and Sustainer, and yet ungrateful man has the hardihood to deny His beneficence; he refuses to believe that his life has a purpose to achieve, for which he will be given a new life after he has departed from this world.

36:81.

Commentary:

Fire plays a most important part in the life of man. Much of his physical comfort depends upon it. It is a thing of very great utility, also of des-truction if improperly used. In this mechanistic age, life is inconceivable without the use of fire. No industry, trade or travel is possible without it. Spiritually speaking, there is latent in man a spiritual fire in whose flames, if kept under control, all his evil passions and desires are consumed; it kindles in him a yearning of the soul to establish a true and real connection with its Creator.

Important Words:

المقوین (wayfarers of the desert) is derived from قوی. They say قوی الرجل i.e. the man became extremely hungry. أقویmeans, he alighted at a desolate place. اقوت الدار means, the house became empty of dwellers. أقوی القوم means, the provisions of the people were exhausted. القواء means, waste, barren land, ruin; hunger. مقوین means, needy and hungry people; wayfarers of a desert or those who alight at a desolate place. بات القواء او القوی means, he spent the night hungry or in a desert (Aqrab).

69:53; 87:2.