Tafsir of Surah Al-Jathiya - Verse 22

The Life and the Death of the Believers and the Disbelievers are not Equal

Allah the Exalted states here that the believers and the disbelievers are never equal. Allah said in another Ayah,

لاَ يَسْتَوِى أَصْحَـبُ النَّارِ وَأَصْحَـبُ الْجَنَّةِ أَصْحَـبُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمُ الْفَآئِزُونَ

(Not equal are the dwellers of the Fire and the dwellers of the Paradise. It is the dwellers of Paradise that will be successful.) (59:20) Allah said here,

أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ اجْتَرَحُواْ السَّيِّئَـتِ

(Or do those who earn evil deeds think) those who commit and practice evil,

أَن نَّجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ سَوَآءً مَّحْيَـهُمْ وَمَمَـتُهُمْ

(that We shall hold them equal with those who believe and do righteous good deeds, in their life and their death) treat them equally in the present life of the world and in the Hereafter

سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ

(Worst is the judgement that they make.) `worst is the thought that they have about Us and about Our justice, thinking that We will ever make the pious and the wicked equal in the Hereafter or this life.' At--Tabarani recorded that Shu`bah said that `Amr bin Murrah narrated that Abu Ad-Duha said that Masruq said that Tamim Ad-Dari once stood in voluntary prayer through the night until the morning only reciting this Ayah,

أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ اجْتَرَحُواْ السَّيِّئَـتِ أَن نَّجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ

(Or do those who earn evil deeds think that We shall hold them equal with those who believe and do righteous good deeds) Allah said in reply:

سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ

(Worst is the judgement that they make.) Allah said,

وَخَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ

(And Allah has created the heavens and the earth with truth,) meaning, in justice,

وَلِتُجْزَى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُونَ

(in order that each person may be recompensed what he has earned, and they will not be wronged.) Allah the Exalted said,

أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَـهَهُ هَوَاهُ

(Have you seen him who takes his own lust as his god), who abides by his lust, and whatever his lust portrays as good he implements it, and whatever his lust portrays as evil, he abandons it! Allah's statement,

وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ

(And Allah left him astray with knowledge, ) has two meanings. One of them is that Allah knew that this person deserves to be misguided, so He left him astray. The second meaning is that Allah led this person astray after knowledge reached him and the proof was established before him. The second meaning includes the first meaning, but not the opposite. Allah said,

وَخَتَمَ عَلَى سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ غِشَـوَةً

(and sealed his hearing and his heart, and put a cover on his sight.) so he does not hear what benefits him, understands not what would lead him to the guidance and sees not the evidence with which he can be enlightened. This is why Allah said,

فَمَن يَهْدِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ اللَّهِ أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ

(Who then will guide him after Allah Will you not then remember) Allah said in a similar Ayah,

مَن يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَلاَ هَادِيَ لَهُ وَيَذَرُهُمْ فِى طُغْيَـنِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ

(Whomsoever Allah sends astray, none can guide him; and He lets them wander blindly in their transgressions.) (7:186).

Commentary

The Hereafter: Divine Requital is Rationally Necessary

Of the two verses mentioned, the first one argues rationally that Divine reward and punishment are necessary. Every person is a witness to the fact that no one receives his full measure of reward or punishment for the good or bad deeds he does in this world. Generally, the unbelievers and evil-doers wallow in wealth and lead a life of luxury. The obedient servants of Allah, on the other hand, live in poverty, hardship and misery. In the first place, the crimes of the wicked criminals are often not detected. Even if they are detected, more often than not, they are not apprehended. If they are apprehended, they swear oaths - lawfully or unlawfully, truthfully or falsely - and try to find loopholes to escape punishment. In this way, one in a million might be punished and that too not fully. As a result, the rebels, who follow their selfish and base desires, move about in high spirits and without any hindrance, enjoying full powers in this world. The believers, on the other hand, who follow the Shari'ah strictly, do not touch many kinds of wealth and give up many pleasures because they treat them as unlawful. They only adopt the lawful ways of gaining anything in order to avoid calamities and afflictions. Thus they are deprived of many a comfort and pleasure in this world. Since this is the state of affairs where people are not rewarded or punished in this world in commensurate with their actions, it follows necessarily that there must be another world - the Hereafter and life after death - where people will be recompensed fully for their deeds. Otherwise, it would be absurd to refer to stealing, robbery, adultery, fornication, murder and so on as crimes, in this world. These people often lead a very successful life in this world. A thief or a robber acquires so much of wealth in a night that a university graduate might not be able to acquire it in years of employment and hard work. If there is no such world as the Hereafter and accountability, then the thief or the robber would be thought to be better than the respectable university graduate. No reasonable person would ever accept this position. If it be pointed out that every government in the world has legislated severe punishments for criminals, then we would respond that experience shows that only the foolish criminals get caught. The clever habitual criminals always find loopholes, and ways and means of escaping punishment. For instance, the escape-door of bribery is always open for them and that is sufficient for them.

In short, the need for the Day of Requital may be denied only when it is conceded that there is no such thing as good and bad; or that whatever one acquires, by fair means or foul, it is absolutely rewardable. But no one accepts this position. Similarly it is absurd to believe that there is distinction between good and evil, but the consequences are equal, rather the criminal should have a more comfortable life than the righteous and innocent ones. There could be no greater degree of wrong than this. It is to this absurd judgment that the Qur'an refers in سَوَاءً مَّحْيَاهُمْ وَمَمَاتُهُمْ...so as their life and death becomes equal? Evil is what they judge... 45:21) ". It is a very unreasonable and unjustifiable position that evil-doers should be placed on the same pedestal as the righteous persons. Since the reward and punishment in this world are not given in full measure, then it necessarily follows that there should be life after death in the Hereafter where reward and punishment will be paid in full measure. Thus the second verse in the set complements the same subject –وَلِتُجْزَىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ ...and so that everybody is recompensed for what he (or she) earned. And they will not be wronged. - 45:22). In other words, the Day of Requital is necessary in order to wipe out wrong and injustice. As for the question, why the people are not requited or recompensed for the good or bad deeds in this world, we would respond that this is not in keeping with the Divine wisdom of creation: He made this world the ` domain of deeds and test-n-trial', not the ` domain of requital'. Allah knows best!

One who thinks that it is all the same whether a man leads a virtuous life or a life of evil—since either way he ultimately has to die and perish—is nurturing an extremely erroneous idea. This way of thinking runs counter to the consciousness of justice which is found in the very nature of every man right from his birth. Moreover, this amounts to denying the meaningfulness of the universe, which is immanent in it to the ultimate degree. The fact is that man’s inherent nature and the vast universe around him both completely nullify the concept by which life is treated as being so purposeless as not to lead to any significant outcome.