Tafsir of Surah Ar-Rahman - Verse 33

A Warning for Humans and Jinn

Ibn Jurayj said that the Ayah,

سَنَفْرُغُ لَكُمْ

(We shall attend to you,) means, `We shall judge you,' while Al-Bukhari said that it means, "We shall recompense you. Surely, nothing will busy Allah from attending to anything else." This type of speech pattern is common in the Arabic language. For example, one would say, "I will attend to you," even when one is not busy with anything else. Allah's saying;

أَيُّهَا الثَّقَلاَنِ

(O you Thaqalan!) refers to the humans and the Jinns, as in the Hadith;

«يَسْمَعُهَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا الثَّقَلَيْن»

(Everyone will be able to hear it, except the Thaqalayn.) In another narration that explains it, the Prophet said,

«إِلَّا الْإِنْسَ وَالْجِن»

(...except mankind and the Jinns.) Allah said,

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

(Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny), then,

يمَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنسِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَن تَنفُذُواْ مِنْ أَقْطَـرِ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ فَانفُذُواْ لاَ تَنفُذُونَ إِلاَّ بِسُلْطَـنٍ

(O assembly of Jinn and men! If you are able to pass beyond the zones of the heavens and the earth, then pass beyond (them)! But you will never be able to pass them, except with authority (from Allah)!) meaning, `you will never be able to escape Allah's orders and decrees, because it encompasses you. You will never be able to avoid or avert His rule and judgement over you, you are surrounded by it wherever you may be.' This is also about the Gathering when the angels, comprising seven lines in every direction, will surround the creatures. None of the creatures will be able to escape on that Day,

إِلاَّ بِسُلْطَـنٍ

(except with authority) meaning, except with the commandment from Allah,

يَقُولُ الإِنسَـنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَيْنَ الْمَفَرُّ - كَلاَّ لاَ وَزَرَ - إِلَى رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْمُسْتَقَرُّ

(On that Day man will say: "Where (is the refuge) to flee" No! There is no refuge! Unto your Lord will be the place of rest that Day.)(75:10-12),

وَالَّذِينَ كَسَبُواْ السَّيِّئَاتِ جَزَآءُ سَيِّئَةٍ بِمِثْلِهَا وَتَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ مَّا لَهُمْ مِّنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ عَاصِمٍ كَأَنَّمَا أُغْشِيَتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ قِطَعًا مِّنَ الَّيْلِ مُظْلِماً أُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَـبُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـلِدُونَ

(And those who earned evil deeds, the recompense of an evil deed is the like thereof, and humiliating disgrace will cover them. No defender will they have from Allah. Their faces will be covered as it were with pieces from the darkness of night. They are the dwellers of Fire, they will abide therein forever.)(10:27) Allah's statement,

يُرْسَلُ عَلَيْكُمَا شُوَاظٌ مِّن نَّارٍ وَنُحَاسٌ فَلاَ تَنتَصِرَانِ

(There will be sent against you both, Shuwaz of fire and Nuhas, and you will not be able to defend yourselves.) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas that Shuwaz is the flame of fire. Abu Salih said, "It is the flame above the fire below the smoke." Ad-Dahhak said,

شُوَاظٌ مِّن نَّارٍ

(Shuwaz of fire) "A flood of fire." Allah said;

وَنُحَاسٌ

(and Nuhas) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas; "The smoke of the fire." Similar was reported from Abu Salih, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Abu Sinan. Ibn Jarir said that the Arabs used to call the smoke of the fire, Nuhas and Nihas. But he said that the scholars of Qur'anic recitation said that in this Ayah, the word recited is Nuhas. Mujahid said, "Molten brass poured over their heads." Qatadah held the same view. Ad-Dahhak said,"Nuhas is liquid copper." The Ayah means, `if you, mankind and the Jinns, try to escape on the Day of Resurrection, then the angels, including those among them who guard Hellfire, will bring you back by directing smoke of fire and molten brass on you.' Allah's statement,

فَلاَ تَنتَصِرَانِفَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

(and you will not be able to defend yourselves. Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny)

فَإِذَا انشَقَّتِ السَّمَآءُ فَكَانَتْ وَرْدَةً كَالدِّهَانِ فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

يَا مَعْشَرَ‌ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَن تَنفُذُوا مِنْ أَقْطَارِ‌ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ فَانفُذُوا ۚ لَا تَنفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلْطَانٍ ﴿33﴾

(0 genera of Jinns and mankind, If you are able to penetrate beyond the realms of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate. You cannot penetrate except with an authority....55:33)

In the preceding verse jinn and mankind were addressed as Ath-thaqalan and warned that their deeds will be reviewed and every single one of them will attract reward or punishment. The current verse purports to say that no one will be able to hide from death, nor will anyone be able to escape from attendance or giving account of actions on the Day of Judgment. This verse does not use the expression ثَّقَلَانِ Thaqalan as in the preceding verse but explicitly uses the expression يَا مَعْشَرَ‌ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ ( O genera of Jinns and mankind) 'Jinn' is mentioned first followed by 'men' presumably because a high-power energy is required to pass through the confines of heaven and earth. Allah has given Jinns more power than human beings in such matters. The meaning of the verse is: '0 Company of Jinn and human beings, if you think that you will be able to find refuge and thus avert death by avoiding the angel of death or run away from the Plains of Gathering or the Plains of Reckoning, then try to cross the bounds of the heavens and the earth if you have the power and ability to do so.' This is no mean task. This requires high-powered energy. The combined forces of Jinns and mankind will not be able to harness the energy to go beyond the confines of the heavens and the earth. The purport of the verse is not to show the possibility or probability of passing beyond the zones of the heavens and the earth. The proposition is hypothetical. The purport of the verse is to demonstrate the utter powerlessness and inability of men and Jinns to achieve this feat.

If the purpose of 'penetrating through the heavens and the earth' mentioned in the verse is to escape death, then it refers to this world and means: It is not within the power of any man or Jinns to cross the bounds of the heavens and the earth and escape death. This is stated according to human thinking. Otherwise, no one is outside the power and the authority of Allah, even if he crosses the bounds of the heaven and the earth. And if the escape intended by 'penetrating through the heavens and the earth' stands for 'escaping accountability on the Day of Reckoning', the purport of the verse is to demonstrate its absolute impossibility. For according to other Qur'anic verses and Traditional narratives the heaven will crack open, on the Day of Judgment, and all the angels will border on the sides of the earth and the people will be hemmed in from all sides. The Jinn and human beings will experience the horrors of the Day of Resurrection and run in different directions. In whichever direction they run the angels will lay siege to the areas that Allah has fortified for the purpose of recapturing the escapees. [ Ruh[

This Verse does not point to Space Exploration by Rockets and Sputniks

In the present scientific age, experiments are being conducted in an effort to come out of the gravity of the earth and to explore the heavenly bodies by rockets, sputniks and other spacecrafts. Obviously, none of these experiments are conducted beyond the bounds of the heaven. In fact, they are far below the surface of the heaven, let alone crossing the heavenly confines. Thus this verse has no bearing on space travels and reported incidents of reaching some of the heavenly bodies. Some simple-minded people posit this verse as the basis of demonstrating the possibility of space travels, whereas these simpletons are merely displaying ignorance about the actual meaning of the Qur'an.

The present world is a place of trial. So long as the period of testing lasts, everybody has the opportunity to be as arrogant as he pleases. But, in spite of this complete freedom, no jinn or human being has the power to go beyond the limits of the universe. This fact itself is enough to prove that man is completely in the grip of God. On the expiry of the test period, when He starts seizing hold of people, it will not be possible for anybody to save himself.