Tafsir of Surah An-Naml - Verse 86

Gathering the Wrongdoers on the Day of Resurrection

Allah tells us about the Day of Resurrection when the wrongdoers who disbelieved in the signs and Messengers of Allah will be gathered before Allah, so that He will ask them about what they did in this world, rebuking, scolding and belittling them.

وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُ مِن كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ فَوْجاً

(And the Day when We shall gather out of every nation, a Fawj) means, from every people and generation a group

مِّمَّن يُكَذِّبُ بِـَايَـتِنَا

(of those who denied Our Ayat). This is like the Ayat:

احْشُرُواْ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ وَأَزْوَجَهُمْ

("Assemble those who did wrong, together with their companions (from the devils).") (37:22)

وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ

(And when the souls are joined with their bodies) (81:7).

فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ

(and they shall be driven,) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "They will be pushed." `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said: "They will be driven."

حَتَّى إِذَا جَآءُوا

(Till, when they come,) and stand before Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, in the place of reckoning,

قَالَ أَكَذَّبْتُم بِـَايَـتِى وَلَمْ تُحِيطُواْ بِهَا عِلْماًكُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

(He will say: "Did you deny My Ayat whereas you comprehended them not by knowledge, or what was it that you used to do") meaning they will be asked about their beliefs and their deeds. Since they are among the doomed and, as Allah says:

فَلاَ صَدَّقَ وَلاَ صَلَّى - وَلَـكِن كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى

(He neither believed nor performed Salah! But on the contrary, he denied and turned away!) (75:31-32) Then the proof will be established against them and they will have no excuse whatsoever, as Allah says:

هَـذَا يَوْمُ لاَ يَنطِقُونَ - وَلاَ يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ

(That will be a Day when they shall not speak. And they will not be permitted to put forth any excuse) (77:35-36). Similarly, Allah says here:

وَوَقَعَ الْقَوْلُ عَلَيْهِم بِمَا ظَلَمُواْ فَهُمْ لاَ يَنطِقُونَ

(And the Word will be fulfilled against them, because they have done wrong, and they will be unable to speak.) They will be stunned and speechless, unable to give any answer. This is because they wronged themselves in the world, and now they have returned to the One Who sees the unseen and the seen, from Whom nothing can be hidden. Then Allah points out His complete power, immense authority and greatness, all dictating that He is to be obeyed and that His commands must be followed, and that the message of inescapable truth brought by His Prophets must be believed in. Allah says:

أَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ أَنَّا جَعَلْنَا الَّيْلَ لِيَسْكُنُواْ فِيهِ

(See they not that We have made the night for them to rest therein,) Due to the darkness of the night they halt their activities and calm themselves down, to recover from the exhausting efforts of the day.

وَالنَّهَـارَ مُبْصِـراً

(and the day sight-giving) meaning filled with light, so that they can work and earn a living, and travel and engage in business, and do other things that they need to do.

إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لآيَـتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ

(Verily, in this are Ayat for the people who believe.)

Commentary

(and they will be kept under control - 27:83), The word used here is derived from Waz', which means to stop. The sense here is that the people in front will be stopped, so that those left behind could catch up. Some have taken the word Waz' in the sense of 'pushing'. Hence, it would mean that they would be pushed while being brought to their stand.

وَلَمْ تُحِيطُوا بِهَا عِلْمًا (while you did not comprehend them with knowledge - 27:84). There is an allusion in this verse that falsifying the message of Allah Ta` ala is by itself a great sin, especially when one falsifies it without giving any consideration or thought, then the crime is doubled. This has brought to light that if an issue or subject is duly considered and thought over, and yet one could not get to the truth, in that situation the intensity of the crime is reduced. Nevertheless, the denial of the existence of Allah and His Oneness would not save any one from infidelity and adoption of the wrong path, and would thus lead to perpetual torment. It is because they are such self-evident matters that any mistake of judgment is not allowed in them.

At the time when Almighty God takes the decision that the present history of the earth should be brought to an end, some extraordinary signs will appear to usher in the last phase. Among these signs will be the appearance of a communicator (dabbah). This will be the bell announcing the end of the examination period and not its beginning. Mass communications, particuarly the internet and multimedia, are probably what is meant by dabbah here. When all the people gather on the Day of Judgement, they will be divided into groups. The believers will be ranged on one side and those who denied the truth on the other. Then those who denied the truth will be asked what academic or rational arguments made them deny the Truth. At that time their silence will prove their denial was based on stubbornness and bias, though they advanced false arguments to show that they were right. At that time, it will be clear to them that over and above the verbal message of the preacher , even the alternation of day and night was non-verbally and tacitly conveying to them the words of Truth. Sleep during the night stood for death and waking up in the morning stood for resurrection. In spite of these extraordinary arrangements for the proclamation of the Truth, they were unable to discover it.