Tafsir of Surah Az-Zukhruf - Verse 80

The Punishment of the Doomed

The description of the state of the blessed is followed by a description of the state of the doomed.

إِنَّ الْمُجْرِمِينَ فِى عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ خَـلِدُونَ لاَ يُفَتَّرُ عَنْهُمْ

(Verily, the criminals will be in the torment of Hell to abide therein forever. It will not be lightened for them,) meaning, not even for one moment.

وَهُمْ فِيهِ مُبْلِسُونَ

(and they will be plunged into destruction with deep regrets, sorrows and in despair therein,) means, they will despair of any goodness.

وَمَا ظَلَمْنَـهُمْ وَلَـكِن كَانُواْ هُمُ الظَّـلِمِينَ

(We wronged them not, but they were the wrongdoers.) means, by their committing wrong actions after proof had been established against them and Messengers had been sent to them, but they rejected them and rebelled, so they are to be punished accordingly. And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) servants.

وَنَادَوْاْ يمَـلِكُ

(And they will cry: "O Malik...") who is the keeper of Hell. Al-Bukhari said, "Hajjaj bin Minhal told us, Sufyan bin `Uyaynah told us, from `Amr bin `Ata, ' from Safwan bin Ya`la that his father, may Allah be pleased with him, said, `I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reciting on the Minbar:

وَنَادَوْاْ يمَـلِكُ لِيَقْضِ عَلَيْنَا رَبُّكَ

(And they will cry: "O Malik! Let your Lord make an end of us.") meaning, `let Him destroy our souls and give us some respite from our predicament.' But it will be as Allah says:

لاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْهِمْ فَيَمُوتُواْ وَلاَ يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمْ مِّنْ عَذَابِهَا

(Neither will it have a complete killing effect on them so that they die nor shall its torment be lightened for them) (35:36).

وَيَتَجَنَّبُهَا الاٌّشْقَى - الَّذِى يَصْلَى النَّارَ الْكُبْرَى - ثُمَّ لاَ يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلاَ يَحْيَا

(But it will be avoided by the wretched, who will enter the great Fire. There he will neither die (to be in rest) nor live (a good living).) (87:11-13). When they ask to be allowed to die, Malik will answer them:

قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ مَّـكِثُونَ

He will say: Verily, you shall abide forever. meaning, you will have no way out from it and no refuge. Then the reason why they are doomed will be given, which is their stubborn resistance to the truth. Allah says:

لَقَدْ جِئْنَـكُم بِالْحَقِّ

(Indeed We have brought the truth to you, ) meaning, `We have explained it to you clearly and in detail.'

وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَكُمْ لِلْحَقِّ كَـرِهُونَ

(but most of you have a hatred for the truth.) means, `but your nature could not accept it and did not seek it; on the contrary, you followed and venerated falsehood, and you stood in the way of truth and refused it, and despised its followers.' So they will blame themselves and will feel regret at the time when regret will not be of any benefit to them. Then Allah says:

أَمْ أَبْرَمُواْ أَمْراً فَإِنَّا مُبْرِمُونَ

(Or have they plotted some plan Then We too are planning.) Mujahid said, "They wanted to plot some evil, but We are also planning." What Mujahid said is like the Ayah:

وَمَكَرُواْ مَكْراً وَمَكَرْنَا مَكْراً وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ

(So they plotted a plot, and We planned a plan, while they perceived not.) (27:50). The idolators were trying their utmost to find ways of refuting the truth with falsehood, but Allah planned it so that the consequences of that would backfire on them. He said in refutation:

أَمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّا لاَ نَسْمَعُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَهُم

(Or do they think that We hear not their secrets and their private counsel) meaning, what they say secretly and openly.

بَلَى وَرُسُلُنَا لَدَيْهِمْ يَكْتُبُونَ

(Yes (We do) and Our messengers are by them, to record.) means, `We know what they are doing, and the angels are also recording their deeds, major and minor.'

قُلْ إِن كَانَ لِلرَّحْمَـنِ وَلَدٌ فَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْعَـبِدِينَ

سُبْحَـنَ رَبّ السَّمَـوتِ وَالاْرْضِ رَبّ الْعَرْشِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ- فَذَرْهُمْ يَخُوضُواْ وَيَلْعَبُواْ حَتَّى يُلَـقُواْ يَوْمَهُمُ الَّذِى يُوعَدُونَ- وَهُوَ الَّذِى فِى السَّمآء إِلَـهٌ وَفِى الاْرْضِ إِلَـهٌ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُ-

Commentary

The only real friendship is that which is in the sake of Allah

الْأَخِلَّاءُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقِينَ (Friends, on that day, will become enemies to one another, except the God-fearing 43:67). This verse tells us plainly that the friendly relations in which we take so much pride in this world, and for which we don't even care about halal (permitted) and Haram (unlawful), will be of no use on the Day of judgment, rather they will turn into enmity. In this connection, Hafiz Ibn Kathir has reproduced a discourse of Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ narrated by ` Abdur Razzaq in his Musannaf and by Ibn Abi Hatim regarding two Muslim friends and two Non-Muslim friends. One of the Muslim friends died and when he was given the glad tidings of Paradise, he recollected his friend and supplicated in his favour: "0 Allah! That friend of mine used to advise me to obey You and to obey the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، he used to direct me towards virtues and to prevent me from vices, and kept on reminding me that one day I would have to meet You. So 0 Allah! Do not misguide him after me, so that he may also see the scenes of Paradise as You have shown to me, and be pleased with him, as you have been with me." In reply, it will be said to him, "Do not worry, if you know what reward I have stored for your friend, you will weep less and laugh more." Later, when the friend will also have died, both the souls will get together and Allah Ta` ala will direct them that each one of them should praise the other. Thereupon, each one of them will say about the other that he is the best brother, best companion and the best friend.

As against this, when one of the Non-Muslim friends will die, and he will be told that he will go to Hell, he will recollect his friend and will supplicate thus "0 Allah! That friend of mine used to insist upon me to disobey You and your messenger, used to direct me towards vices and used to prevent me from virtues and used to tell me that I would never meet You. So 0 Allah! Do not give him guidance after me, so that he may also see the scenes of Hell, as You have shown to me, and be displeased with him just as You have been displeased with me." Later, when the other friend will also have died, both their souls will be get together, and they will be directed to praise the other. Then each one of them will say about the other, "He is the worst brother, worst companion and worst friend. (Ibn Kathir p. 134, v.4)

Therefore the best friendship, in respect of this world as well as the Hereafter, is the one that is for the sake of Allah. Many are the merits stated in 'ahadith' for those two Muslims who love each other purely for the sake of Allah. One of these merits is that they will be in the shade of the "'Arsh" (Throne) of Allah. And 'love for the sake of Allah' means to love someone because he is a true follower of the religion prescribed by Allah. As such, it includes sincere love for teachers of religious subjects, spiritual guides, reformers, religious scholars and devotees of Allah, as well as for all the Muslims.

Hope always alleviates feelings of distress. Man’s afflictions are many, but if, as he undergoes them, he entertains the hope that his troubles will some day come to an end, that very thought infuses him with the courage to bear with things. But the scourge of Hell will be so grievous that there will be no hope of relief from it. The appeal made by the people in Hell to the angels will be an expression of their helplessness; otherwise anyone making such an appeal must know that God’s decision was final and that it could not be evaded. The descent of anybody into Hell will be entirely as a consequence of his own shortcomings. God gave man a high degree of understanding and opened up for him the paths of Truth. But man knowingly and deliberately ignored the Truth. His arrogance so increased that he became bent upon the elimination of the preacher of Truth. In view of this, how could he escape being subjected to eternal punishment?