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Tafsir of Surah Al-Mu'minun - Verse 104

Surah 23
Verse 104
118 verses
104

تَلۡفَحُ وُجُوهَهُمُ ٱلنَّارُ وَهُمۡ فِیهَا كَـٰلِحُونَ

The Fire will sear their faces, and they therein will have taut smiles.

Scholarly Interpretations(3)

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You are reading a tafsir for the group of verses 23:101 to 23:104

The sounding of the Trumpet and the weighing of Deeds in the Scales.

Allah says that when the Trumpet is blown for the Resurrection, and the people rise from their graves,

فَلاَ أَنسَـبَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلاَ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ

(there will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another.) meaning that lineage will be of no avail on that Day, and a father will not ask about his son or care about him. Allah says:

وَلاَ يَسْـَلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيماً يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ

(And no friend will ask a friend (about his condition), though they shall be made to see one another) 70:10-11. meaning, no relative will ask about another relative, even if he can see him and even if he is carrying a heavy burden. Even if he was the dearest of people to him in this world, he will not care about him or take even the slightest part of his burden from him. Allah says:

يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ الْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ - وَأُمِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ - وَصَـحِبَتِهُ وَبَنِيهِ

(That Day shall a man flee from his brother. And from his mother and his father. And from his wife and his children.) 80:34-36 Ibn Mas`ud said, "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will gather the first and the last, then a voice will call out, `Whoever is owed something by another, let him come forth and take it.' And a man will rejoice if he is owed something or had been mistreated by his father or child or wife, even if it is little. " This is confirmed in the Book of Allah, where Allah says:

فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِى الصُّورِ فَلاَ أَنسَـبَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلاَ يَتَسَآءَلُونَ

(Then, when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another.) This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim.

فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَزِينُهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

(Then, those whose Scales are heavy, these! they are the successful.) means, the one whose good deeds outweigh his bad deeds, even by one. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas.

فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

(they are the successful.) means, those who have attained victory and been saved from Hell and admitted to Paradise. Ibn `Abbas said, "These are the ones who have attained what they wanted and been saved from an evil from which there is no escape."

وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَزِينُهُ

(And those whose Scales are light,) means, their evil deeds outweigh their good deeds.

فَأُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُواْ أَنفُسَهُم

(they are those who lose themselves,) means, they are doomed and have ended up with the worst deal. Allah says:

فِى جَهَنَّمَ خَـلِدُونَ

(in Hell will they abide. ) meaning, they will stay there forever and will never leave.

تَلْفَحُ وُجُوهَهُمُ النَّارُ

(The Fire will burn their faces,) This is like the Ayah:

وَتَغْشَى وُجُوهَهُمْ النَّارُ

(and fire will cover their faces) 14:50. and:

لَوْ يَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ حِينَ لاَ يَكُفُّونَ عَن وُجُوهِهِمُ النَّارَ وَلاَ عَن ظُهُورِهِمْ

(If only those who disbelieved knew (the time) when they will not be able to ward off the Fire from their faces, nor from their backs) 21:39.

وَهُمْ فِيهَا كَـلِحُونَ

(and therein they will grin, with displaced lips.) `Ali bin Abi Talhah narrated from Ibn `Abbas, "Frowning."

You are reading a tafsir for the group of verses 23:104 to 23:107

وَهُمْ فِيهَا كَالِحُونَ And they will be disfigured therein - 23:104). The word is used for a person whose lips do not meet and leave his teeth fully exposed, which looks very ugly. It is said that the upper lip of a person consigned to Hell will be drawn up and his lower lip will be drawn down so that his teeth will remain visible at all times.

You are reading a tafsir for the group of verses 23:99 to 23:104

As soon as man dies, he is separated from the present world and reaches a point of no-return. Now, he realises that the life Hereafter, which he had hitherto ignored, was in fact the real target in life. The possessions of the pre-death period were for the purpose of earning credit towards the life Hereafter and not as ends in themselves. So, after death, he will immediately want to be sent back to this world. But this will not be possible, because in accordance with the creation plan of God, every man is given only one chance. In the present world man relies on his friends and relatives, but on Judgement Day he will be all alone. There, only his good deeds will be of avail. Nothing else will save him.