Verses 17–40

40:29These verses begin by describing the Day of Judgment, which was briefly pointed out in the verse: Nay! They will soon know (78:4). The verses then describe the fate of the transgressors and the rewards of the Godwary, and the chapter ends with an admonition as a conclusion of the discussion.

إِنَّ يَوْمَ ٱلْفَصْلِ كَانَ مِيقَـٰتًا ۝١٧

78:17 Indeed (inna) the Day of Judgement (al-faṣl) is (kāna) the tryst (mīqātan),

Majmaʿ al-bayān says:

Mīqāt means “a deadline or due date that is set for something.” It is derived from waqt (time), just as mīʿād (time or place of promise) is derived from waʿd (promise), and miqdār (measured amount) is derived from qadr (measure).

The chapter began by informing the audience about the occurrence of the great news (78:2), and warning them by saying: Nay! They will soon know (78:4). Then the chapter provided a series of arguments for its occurrence in the verses: Have We not made the earth a resting place… (78:6-16). The current verse begins describing that great news. It is called a day of faṣl (separation, distinction, differentiation) in the sense that God’s judgment on that day will separate the people. Each person will receive what they deserve by the virtue of their deeds. It is an appointed time (mīqāt) for the final judgment between the people. The verb kāna (was) is used in the past tense to indicate the inevitability and certainty of that day in God’s primordial knowledge, as proven by the arguments in the previous verses. For the same reason, the verse is emphasized by the word inna (indeed, truly).

The meaning is: “It was in God’s knowledge, when He created the heavens and the earth and ordained the governing order of the universe, that the day of decisive judgment will be an end point for this world.” That is, God knew eternally that this world of creation will be incomplete unless it ends with a day of judgment, when all disputes will be settled.

يَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِى ٱلصُّورِ فَتَأْتُونَ أَفْوَاجًا ۝١٨

40:3078:18 the day the Trumpet will be blown, and you will come in groups (afwājan),

We have repeatedly discussed the meaning of blowing into the Trumpet.¹ According to al-Rāghib, afwāj is the plural of fawj, which means “a group that is moving fast.” The verse reverts to the second person that was employed to reiterate the previous warning in the verse: Nay! They will soon know (78:4). Apparently this verse relates to the verse: The day We shall summon every group of people with their record. (17:71).

وَفُتِحَتِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ فَكَانَتْ أَبْوَٰبًا ۝١٩

78:19 and the heaven will be opened and become gates,

This would connect the world of humans to the world of angels. Two suggested interpretations are:

(1) There is an omission in the verse. The implied meaning is: “It becomes possessed with gates” [where the word dhāt (possessing, having) is omitted].

(2) There will be paths that emerge in the heaven.

Comment: Both interpretations involve unwarranted impositions on the verse. The reader should reflect on this.

وَسُيِّرَتِ ٱلْجِبَالُ فَكَانَتْ سَرَابًا ۝٢٠

78:20 and the mountains will be set moving and become a mirage

(sarāban).

Sarāb (mirage) is an illusory pool of glittering water that appears to exist at a distance in a desert. It is used metaphorically for anything that is imagined to have some truth while it does not in reality. Apparently it is meant in its metaphorical sense in this verse.

Setting the mountains in motion and demolishing them will naturally result in their total disintegration and the loss of their form. This is mentioned in several places in the Qur’an, where it describes “the quake of the Hour” [22:1] and its aftermath, such as: and the mountains move with an awful motion (52:10); and the earth and the mountains are lifted and levelled with a single leveling (69:14); and the mountains will be like dunes of running sand (73:14); and the mountains will be like carded wool (101:5); and the mountains are ground to powder (56:5); and when the mountains are scattered [like dust] (77:10). Based on these verses, setting the mountains in motion and pounding them will make them shatter, scatter, turn into running sand, and become like carded wool. However, this process is not congruent with the mountains turning into mirage, in the sense of appearing to be a pool of water that reflects light. This sense of mirage is not relevant here.

40:31What is relevant is that the movement of the mountains will result in their annihilation. That is, they will lose their identity and existence as mountains. The mountains which appear to be stationary structures with a firm reality will transform—through being set in motion—into a mirage, meaning an empty label that is devoid of any reality. This can be compared to what God says concerning the nations that He obliterated and uprooted: So We turned them into folktales (34:19); so We made them follow one another [to extinction] and We turned them into folktales (23:44). Similarly, He says with regard to the false gods: These are but names which you have coined—you and your fathers (53:23).

Therefore, the current verse is similar to the verse: And you see the mountains, which you suppose to be stationary, while they drift like passing clouds (27:88), based on the assumption that this verse [27:88] is also about “the quake of the Hour.”

إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ كَانَتْ مِرْصَادًا ۝٢١

78:21 Indeed hell lurks in ambush (mirṣādan).

Al-Mufradāt says:

Raṣad means “being alert on guard.”

Marṣad (lookout) means the position of raṣad (ambush, observation) as God says: and lie in wait for them at every ambush (marṣad) (9:5). Mirṣād is similar to marṣad, with the difference that it is used for a place that is specifically and deliberately meant for observation and watching. God says: Indeed hell lurks in ambush (78:21), implying that people will pass over it, as He says elsewhere: There is none of you but will come to it (19:71).

لِّلطَّـٰغِينَ مَـَٔابًا ۝٢٢

40:3278:22 [It is] a resort (maʾāban) for the transgressors (lil-ṭāghīn).

Ṭāghūn are those who are characterized by tughyān, which means “violating and exceeding the limits.” Maʾāb (place of return, end point) is a locative noun that is derived from awb, which means “return.” The transgressors have made hell a place of resort and recourse for themselves [through their deeds]. That is why once they are cut off from this life, they will return and resort to it [as the place where they belong].

لَّـٰبِثِينَ فِيهَآ أَحْقَابًا ۝٢٣

78:23 Abiding therein for ages (aḥqāb),

Aḥqāb means “consecutive periods of time and long ages, without any specified limit.” The verse suggests that the transgressors referred to in the last verse (78:22) are hostile and deliberate disbelievers. This can be confirmed by the subsequent verses: Indeed they did not expect any reckoning. And they denied Our signs with such a denial (78:27-28).

Some exegetes have interpreted “ages” (aḥqāb) in this verse as “one age after another.” The meaning would be: “Hell will be a resort for the transgressors, who will be abiding there for one age after another, without any termination or limit.” Hence, the verse does not contradict other verses which explicitly affirm the eternal abidance of the disbelievers in hell.

Another suggested view is that the next two verses—they will taste in it neither…(78:24-25)—qualify ages in this verse. The meaning would be: “They will abide therein for ages without tasting any coolness or any drink, except boiling water and pus. After that, they will undergo another set of circumstances, and this process continues indefinitely.” This is a plausible interpretation, as long as it can be shown to be compatible with the context.

Aḥqāb is a plural noun, and there is a disagreement on its singular form. Here are some views about the term:

(1) Aḥqāb is the plural of ḥuqb or ḥuqub, as used in the verse: or I spend a long time (ḥuquban) (18:60).

(2) Both aḥqāb (78:23) and ḥuqub (18:60) are plural, where the singular of the former is ḥaqb, and the singular of the latter is ḥiqbah. (3) Al-Rāghib says, “Ḥiqbah means an unspecified span of time.” (4) Each ḥuqub [or ḥuqb] is 80 or 80-odd years.

(5) Some have added that each of these years consists of 360 days, where each day equals 1, 000 years [on the earth].

40:33(6) Each ḥuqub [or ḥuqb] is 40 years.

(7) Each ḥuqub [or ḥuqb] is 70, 000 years.

Comment: There is more to the list, but there is no evidence from the Qur’an to support any of these views. Nor are they established in the lexicons.

لَّا يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا بَرْدًا وَلَا شَرَابًا ۝٢٤

78:24 they will taste in it neither any coolness nor any drink,

Given the verse’s contradistinction between coolness and drink, apparently coolness means any means of cooling other than a drink, such as a shadow where one may rest. This would mean that “taste” (dhawq) is used in a general sense, meaning any form of enjoyment or access.

إِلَّا حَمِيمًا وَغَسَّاقًا ۝٢٥

78:25 except boiling water (ḥamīman) and pus (ghassāghan).

Ḥamīm means “scalding water.” Ghassāq means “pus” that exudes from the dwellers of hell.

جَزَآءً وِفَاقًا ۝٢٦

78:26 [That is] a fitting (wifāqan) requital.

This verse implies a perfect correspondence and correlation between one’s requital and one’s actions. This is because what motivates one to perform an act [voluntarily] is to reap its reward and consequence. Accordingly, being given the reward is the same as being given the action itself [because the two are identical]. Thus the Qur’an says: O faithless ones! Do not make any excuses today. You are only being requited for what you used to do (66:7).²

إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ لَا يَرْجُونَ حِسَابًا ۝٢٧ وَكَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا كِذَّابًا ۝٢٨

40:3478:27–28 Indeed they did not expect any reckoning. And they denied Our signs with such a denial (kidhdhāban).

The word kidhdhāban (78:28) is added to show surprise at their insistence in denial. These two verses explain and justify why their punishment will be fitting and in accord to their deeds. They did not anticipate the Day of Reckoning, had no hopes of the next life to come, and denied the signs which establish its truth. Thus they rejected monotheism and prophethood, and transgressed the limits of servitude by their acts. Since they disregarded God, God also disregarded them and deprived them of eternal bliss. Now what awaits them is nothing but wretchedness. What they shall find in the next world is only what is unpleasant to them, and will cause them torment. This is what God says below: So [now] taste! We shall increase you in nothing but punishment (78:30).

وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَـٰهُ كِتَـٰبًا ۝٢٩

78:29 And We have recorded (aḥṣaynāhu, from iḥṣāʾ) everything in a book (kitāban).

There are two possible interpretations for the word kitāban (a book, such a book): (1) It is the object where everything is recorded. The meaning is: “We have clearly recorded everything—including all actions—in a sublime book.” This makes the verse comparable to the verse: and We have recorded everything in a manifest register (36:12). (2) It is a ḥāl (circumstantial qualifier, participial phrase) which describes the condition of what is figured. The meaning is: “We have recorded everything while it is written.” In this case, the writing would be either in the Preserved Tablet or in the individual records of deeds.

It is permissible to interpret iḥṣāʾ (figuring, enumerating) as kitābah (writing) or vice versa, since both have a common element of recording and preserving. Therefore, the verse can be interpreted in two ways: (1) “We have recorded everything, such a recording.” (2) “We have written everything, such a writing.” Either way, the verse complements the justification in the last two verses. The meaning is: “Their requital is in accord with their deeds because they had the above mentioned qualities. And since We have recorded all that, We shall compensate them in accordance.”

40:35he is very just]. (Auth.)

فَذُوقُوا۟ فَلَن نَّزِيدَكُمْ إِلَّا عَذَابًا ۝٣٠

78:30 So [now] taste! We shall increase you in nothing but punishment!

The letter fāʾ (so, then, therefore) at the beginning of this verse indicates that this statement is drawn as a conclusion to the elaborate account of their punishment in the previous verses. The verse’s theme and message is to disappoint them from any hopes of being delivered from their doom, and tasting any comfort. The transition from the third person to the second person in this verse implies that they are considered to be present. Thus they are reprimanded and blamed directly.

… We shall increase you in nothing but punishment: This means that once you endure a punishment, what comes next is another punishment. You will undergo a series of torments heaping one on another. There will be a new punishment added to your previous one forever. Thus you should despair from ever tasting anything that you like and desire. This verse clarifies that what we read above—Abiding therein for ages (78:23)—implies eternal punishment without termination.

إِنَّ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ مَفَازًا ۝٣١

78:31 Indeed such a triumph (mafāzan, from fawz) awaits the

Godwary:

According to al-Rāghib, fawz means “achieving good in security.” This implies two elements: (i) deliverance from evil; (ii) attaining good.³ There are two possible interpretations for mafāz: (1) It is a maṣdar (infinitive noun, gerund).⁴ (2) It is a locative noun.⁵ The verse can convey either meaning.

حَدَآئِقَ وَأَعْنَـٰبًا ۝٣٢

40:3678:32 gardens (ḥadāʾiq) and vineyards (aʿnāban),

Ḥadāʾiq is the plural of ḥadīqah, which means “an enclosed orchard, a walled garden.” Aʿnāb is the plural of ʿinab (grape), which is the fruit of vine. Sometimes it is used for the vine plant itself.

وَكَوَاعِبَ أَتْرَابًا ۝٣٣

78:33 and buxom maidens (kawāʿib) of a like age (atrāban),

Kawāʿib is the plural of kāʿib, which means “a young girl whose breasts have protruded slightly into a round shape.” Atrāb is the plural of tirb (of the same age), which means “similar to another being.”

وَكَأْسًا دِهَاقًا ۝٣٤

78:34 and brimming (dihāqan) cups.

Dihāq (fullness, repletion) is a maṣdar (infinitive noun, gerund) which serves as an ism al-fāʿil (nominative substantive, active participial noun) here. It means “brimming with drink.”

لَّا يَسْمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغْوًا وَلَا كِذَّٰبًا ۝٣٥

78:35 Therein they shall hear no vain talk nor any denial

(kidhdhāban).

In paradise they will not hear any vain or futile speech. Nor will any of them deny the speech of another one.⁶ This means that their talk will be according to the truth, and will bear its intended effect.

جَزَآءً مِّن رَّبِّكَ عَطَآءً حِسَابًا ۝٣٦

78:36 [That is] a reward (jazāʾan) from your Lord, a bounty

(ʿaṭāʾan) reckoned (ḥisāban).

40:37There are three possible functions for the word ʿaṭāʾan (bounty, gift, grant): (1) It is a ḥāl (circumstantial qualifier, participial phrase) for jazāʾan, which is itself a ḥāl for an omitted verb. The implied meaning is: “What is done to the Godwary is done to them while being a reward from your Lord, while that is a measured bounty.”⁷ (2) It is a tamyīz (specification, discrimination, clarification) [for ʿaṭāʾan].⁸ (3) It is an absolute object (maf ʿūl muṭlaq) [for an omitted verb].⁹

It is said that the verse honors the Prophet by referring to God as your Lord. It is also part of the Qur’an’s glorification of God that it does not ascribe the requital of the transgressors to Him [in verse 78:26]. The description of their retribution shows that they are the cause of their ill fate. The Qur’an says: That is because of what your hands have sent ahead, and because Allah is not tyrannical to the servants (3:182, 8:51).

The word ḥisāb (reckoning) appears both after the retribution of the transgressors [78:27], and after the reward of the Godwary [78:36]. This affirms the theme of the Day of Judgment (78:17) that was introduced previously.¹⁰

رَّبِّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ۖ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْهُ خِطَابًا ۝٣٧

78:37 The Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, the All-Merciful, Whom they will not be able to address.

This verse interprets your Lord in the last verse. It clarifies that God’s Lordship encompasses everything in existence. Your Lord—that is, the Lord that the Prophet believes in and calls to—is the Lord of all things. This is contrary to what the polytheists believed: that every set of beings has its own lord, and God is the Lord of the lords—or He is the Lord of the heavens [only].¹¹

40:38Al-Raḥmān (the All-Merciful) is an intensified and exaggerated derivation from raḥmah (mercy, compassion). It is used here as an attribute of God’s Lordship, meaning that His Lordship embraces everything with mercy. Hence, nothing is left out of His mercy unless that thing deprives itself from it due to its insufficiency and wrong choice. It is a sign of utmost wretchedness for the transgressors to have disqualified themselves from God’s infinite mercy by opting out of His servitude.

… Whom they will not be able to address: The first part of the verse describes God with two qualities: (1) He is the Lord, which means that He directs the affairs of the creation. (2) He is the All-Merciful, which indicates His perpetual mercy. Given these two qualities, the final expression in the verse would pertain to the possibility of holding God accountable for His actions. His servants will not be able to ask Him, “Why did You do this?” or “Why did you not do that?” as we would ask one another. Hence, this statement—Whom they will not be able to address—is equivalent to the verse: He is not questioned concerning what He does, but they are questioned (21:23). We discussed its meaning under the verse.¹²

Meanwhile, to understand this expression accurately, we must interpret it in its full context, including the next verse: On the day when the Spirit and the angels stand in an array (78:38). The verse clearly shows that the clause, they will not be able to address (78:37) pertains to the Day of Judgment in particular. This can be confirmed by the previous context of the verses, which was an elaborate account of the punishments of the transgressors and the rewards of the Godwary, as a requital from God on the Day of Judgment. Therefore, what is meant [by they will not be able to address (78:37)] is that no one will have the right or ability to address God with respect to how He would compensate His servants. They can neither intercede for them, nor raise any objections to God’s judgment.

40:39The angels (78:38) are also among those who will not be able to address (78:37). Nevertheless, they are free from objecting God, as the Qur’an says: Rather they are [His] honored servants. They do not venture to speak ahead of Him, and they act by His command (21:26-27). The same holds for the Spirit (78:38) because: (1) It is the speech and word of God (16:40). (2) God’s word is the truth (6:73). (3) God Himself is the Manifest Truth (24:25). Evidently, the truth would not oppose or contradict the truth.¹³

Given the above discussion, what is meant by address in this verse (78:37) is intercession—or other similar means of saving one from evil, such as ransom, bargaining, friendship, supplication and petition. The Qur’an says: before there comes a day on which there will be no bargaining, neither friendship, nor intercession (2:254); neither shall any ransom be accepted from it, nor shall any intercession benefit it (2:123); The day it comes, no one shall speak except by His leave (11:105).

To summarize, the antecedent of the pronoun “they” is all beings who will be gathered on the Day of Judgment, including the angels, the Spirit, the humans and the jinn. This is commensurate with the theme of the verse, which is about the manifestation of God’s glory and grandeur on that day. Some exegetes have suggested that the antecedent of the pronoun “they” is the transgressors. This is unlikely given the wide gap between their last mention and this verse. Nor is it the angels and the Spirit, since there was no previous mention of them. Finally, as we said above, what is meant by address is intercession and other similar means [of relief and deliverance].

يَوْمَ يَقُومُ ٱلرُّوحُ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ صَفًّا ۖ لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا ۝٣٨

78:38 On the day (yawm) when the Spirit and the angels stand in an array. They will not speak except whom the All-Merciful permits and who speaks right.

The word yawm (On the day) identifies the time when they will not be able… (78:37). This interpretation is preferred to the suggested view that yawm identifies the time when They will not speak [in the current verse], because a temporal container would primarily pertain to an event that is mentioned before it [not after it].

40:40What is meant by the Spirit here is the being that is created through the divine command, as mentioned in the verse: The Spirit is of the command of my lord (17:85). Here are some other suggested interpretations for the Spirit in this verse:

(1) The higher orders of the angels.

(2) The guards of the angels.

(3) An angel who is in charge of all angels.

Comment: There is no evidence to support any of these views.

(4) Gabriel.

(5) The spirits of the people, which will stand alongside the angels between the first and the second blows of the Trumpet, before they enter their bodies [again].

(6) The Qur’an, which will stand in the sense that its teachings and predictions—about the felicity of the believers and the wretchedness of the disbelievers—will manifest and come into effect. Comment: There is Qur’anic evidence for calling the last three items spirit (rūḥ). For instance, the Qur’an says [with reference to Gabriel]: Brought down by the Trustworthy Spirit (al-rūḥ al-amīn) (26:193); Say, the Holy Spirit (rūḥ al-qudus) has brought it down (16:102); whereupon We sent to her Our Spirit (rūḥanā) (19:17). And it says [concerning the human soul]: I have breathed into him of My spirit (rūḥī) (15:29, 38:72). And it says [about the Qur’an]: Thus have We revealed to you the Spirit of Our command (rūḥan min amrinā) (42:52). However, as one can see, in these verses the word rūḥ is always annexed or qualified with another term, but in the current verse it is used in an unqualified way. Moreover, the last two views involve an unwarranted imposition on the verse.

… in an array (ṣaffan)…: This describes the condition of the angels and the Spirit [as they will stand]. The meaning is: “They will stand while they will be arraying.” Given the juxtaposition of the Spirit with the angels, we may infer that the Spirit will be in one array, and all the angels will form another array.¹⁴

… They will not speak…: This statement interprets and elaborates what we read above: Whom they will not be able to address (78:37). Based on this context, the pronoun “they” in the current verse refers to all beings that will be gathered, including the Spirit, the angels, the humans and the jinn. Two alternative views suggested by the exegetes are:

40:41(1) The pronoun refers to the Spirit and the angels.

(2) It refers to the people.

Comment: The clause, They will not speak is used in the same context as they will not be able (78:37). And given our interpretation of that expression [they will not be able to address (78:37)], neither of these two meanings is plausible.¹⁵

… except whom the All-Merciful permits…: This phrase qualifies the pronoun “they” in the clause, They will not speak. It is meant to clarify that only those who are permitted by God will be able to speak on that day. This part of the verse has an unqualified meaning, which can be compared to the verse: The day it comes, no one shall speak except by His leave (11:105).

… and who speaks right (ṣawāban): There is an implied omission here: “who speaks the right speech.” Ṣawāb means “a truth that is not mixed by any falsehood or error.” This phrase qualifies God’s permission in the last part of the verse. The effective meaning is: “None shall speak except those whom the All-Merciful permits—and He would only permit those who speak what is right.” This makes the verse comparable to the verse: Those whom they invoke besides Him have no power of intercession, except those who are witness to the truth and who know [for whom to intercede] (43:86).

Another suggested interpretation is: What is meant by except whom… are those who are spoken about [not the speakers], and what is meant by right is holding monotheistic beliefs—that is, acknowledging that “There is no god but God” (lā ilāh illā Allāh). The meaning is: “They will not speak in favor of anyone except one who meets two conditions: (1) The All-Merciful approves of the person being spoken about. (2) The person spoke right in this world, meaning that they were a monotheist and testified that there is no god but God.” Hence, the verse is comparable to the verse: and they do not intercede except for someone He approves of (21:28).

This interpretation is not plausible because it implies that the verse allows speaking in general, but restricts whom can be spoken about. This is not true, because the negation in these verses applies to any speech whatsoever on that day. Therefore, the exception would introduce those who are permitted to speak, not those who can be spoken about.