Tafsir of Surah Al-A'raf - Verse 53

The Idolators have no Excuse

Allah states that He has left no excuse for the idolators, for He has sent to them the Book that the Messenger came with, and which is explained in detail,

كِتَابٌ أُحْكِمَتْ ءايَـتُهُ ثُمَّ فُصِّلَتْ

((This is) a Book, the Ayat whereof are perfected (in every sphere of knowledge), and then explained in detail ) 11:1 Allah said next,

فَصَّلْنَـهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ

(We have explained in detail with knowledge) meaning, `We have perfect knowledge of what We explained in it'. Allah said in another Ayah,

أَنزَلَهُ بِعِلْمِهِ

(He has sent it down with His Knowledge,) 4:166 The meaning here is that after Allah mentioned the loss the idolators end up with in the Hereafter, He stated that He has indeed sent Prophets and revealed Books in this life, thus leaving no excuse for them. Allah also said;

وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولاً

(And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning).) 17:15 This is why Allah said here,

هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ تَأْوِيلَهُ

(Await they just for the final fulfillment of the event) in reference to what they were promised of torment, punishment, the Fire; or Paradise, according to Mujahid and several others.

يَوْمَ يَأْتِى تَأْوِيلُهُ

(On the Day the event is finally fulfilled,) on the Day of Resurrection, according to Ibn `Abbas,

يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ نَسُوهُ مِن قَبْلُ

(those who neglected it before will say) those who ignored it in this life and neglected abiding by its implications will say,

قَدْ جَآءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِالْحَقِّ فَهَل لَّنَا مِن شُفَعَآءَ فَيَشْفَعُواْ لَنَآ

("Verily, the Messengers of our Lord did come with the truth, now are there any intercessors for us that they might intercede on our behalf") so that we are saved from what we ended up in.

أَوْ نُرَدُّ

("Or could we be sent back"), to the first life,

فَنَعْمَلَ غَيْرَ الَّذِى كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ

("So that we might do (good) deeds other than those (evil) deeds which we used to do"). This part of the Ayah is similar to Allah's statement,

وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وُقِفُواْ عَلَى النَّارِ فَقَالُواْ يلَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلاَ نُكَذِّبَ بِـَايَـتِ رَبِّنَا وَنَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ - بَلْ بَدَا لَهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يُخْفُونَ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَوْ رُدُّواْ لَعَـدُواْ لِمَا نُهُواْ عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَـذِبُونَ

(If you could but see when they will be held over the (Hell) Fire! They will say: "Would that we were but sent back! Then we would not deny the Ayat of our Lord, and we would be of the believers!" Nay, it has become manifest to them what they had been concealing before. But if they were returned (to the world), they would certainly revert to that which they were forbidden. And indeed they are liars) 6:27-28 Allah said here,

قَدْ خَسِرُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ

(Verily, they have lost themselves and that which they used to fabricate has gone away from them.) meaning, they destroyed themselves by entering the Fire for eternity,

وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ

(And that which they used to fabricate has gone away from them.) What they used to worship instead of Allah abandoned them and will not intercede on their behalf, aid them or save them from their fate.

Said in the sixth verse (49) is: أَهَـٰؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمْتُمْ لَا يَنَالُهُمُ اللَّـهُ بِرَ‌حْمَةٍ ۚ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَا أَنتُمْ تَحْزَنُونَ ﴿49﴾ (Is it these for whom you swore that Allah would not reach them with mercy?" - "Enter the Paradise; there is no fear on you, nor shall you grieve).

Explaining this, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ says: When the questions and answers between the people of A` raf and the people of Paradise and Hell both will be over, that will be the time when the Lord of all the worlds will address the people of Hell and tell them about the people of A` raf that they swore that the people of A` raf will not be forgiven their sins and mercy will not be shown to them. Then, there comes an immediate declaration of His mercy when the people of A` raf will be told: Go and enter the Paradise. You should have no fear of what had happened in the past nor should you have any anxiety about the future. (Ibn Kathir)

The Quran warns mankind of the life after death. It tells of the reckoning of the Hereafter. But, man is not awakened. These intimations of the Quran are not merely ‘news,’ but the inevitable realities of the universe. However, they have not yet appeared as factual events. They are still hidden in the veil of the future. Unmindfully, man thinks that this is nothing but meaningless talk and ignores it, considering it unimportant. But these messages are on behalf of God who is all-knowing. Those who have not vitiated their nature and whose eyes are not covered by artificial veils will find the tenor of the Quran to be in consonance with the voice of their hearts. They will find that this is the very thing which their nature was already in search of. For them the Quran will become a treasure of life and Faith. The position of those who do not take the warnings of the Quran seriously will be entirely different. They will linger in this slumber until that event breaks upon them of which they are being warned. At that time, man will suddenly come to know that he has become completely helpless. The problems to which he gave importance and in which he was therefore embroiled will now appear to be baseless. The things on which he was relying will have ceased to be with him. The rosy hopes on which he was living will all prove to be false. The belief in the Hereafter appears to be an abstract idea. So, man does not become serious about it. But, in the life after death, when the Hereafter with all its terror will be thrust upon man, everyone will be compelled at that time to accept what he had not earlier been ready to accept. Man will then come to know that what he was being told earlier in the language of arguments was absolute fact and that, not being serious about it, he could not grasp its significance. When all those things on which he was relying in the world, leave man in the lurch, he will want to be sent back to earth, so that he may lead his life in a proper manner. But such an opportunity does not come to anyone twice.