Man is too busy in his life to attain and maintain a position of authority or even "respect" by all means one can think of. Generally, the affluent and the demagogues hurt others, usurp their rights and loot others wealth so that their coffers swell and give him an edge over others. This has been true since ages and history is replete with such examples. Likewise, the idolaters and the denial of existence of One True God and associating worldly deities with Him will be at loss when they would find none of their worldly gods coming forward to save them. And many such actions, though make the man a success in this world, will turn out tp be his doom on the Day of Judgement.
Surah Yā Sīn (36:65) is a striking verse about the Day of Judgment - a day when instead of people speaking, their limbs will speak to testify the harm they had brought to others on instructions of their master. A dreadful day when a person will not be able to present any justification to his worldly acts for his own limbs will be witness against him.
The Verse
"Today We shall seal their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify to what they used to earn." (Qur’an 36:65)
Context
This verse appears in a passage (36:60–70) where Allah warns the disbelievers about the consequences of rejecting His message. It shifts the scene to the Day of Resurrection, showing how ultimate justice will be done.
Explanation
- "We shall seal their mouths" On that Day, Allah will prevent people from lying or making excuses. No verbal defense will be possible because their tongues will be silenced.
- "Their hands will speak to Us"
- Their hands will testify to the actions they committed — whether righteous or sinful.
- This indicates that Allah will cause our own body parts to become witnesses against us.
- "Their feet will testify" The places we walked to — good or evil — will be exposed. Our feet will bear witness to our choices.
Here only the evidence to be given by the hands and the feet has been mentioned. But at other places it has been said that their eyes and their ears and their tongues, and the very skins of their body, will tell how they had been employed in the world.
* Read detailed explanation / tafsir / exegesis of the verse from our earlier post: The Day when hands will speak and feet shall bear witness to their evil deeds
Supporting References from Qur’an
This is not the only warning that Allah has sounded to the man. There are many other verses with similar them in Al Qur'an:
- Sürah 41. Fussilat:20–21 — "When they come near it (Hell), their hearing, sight, and skins will testify against them about what they used to do. They will say to their skins, ‘Why do you testify against us?’ They will reply, ‘Allah, who gave speech to all things, gave us speech…’"
- Surah HaMim-Sajdah, Ayat 20: Then, when all will have reached there, their ears and their eyes and their very skins will bear witness against them concerning what they had been doing in the world.
- Sürah 17. Al Isra:36 We are warned that hearing, sight, and hearts will be questioned.
- (Surah 24 Nur:24) (Let them not be heedless of) the Day when their own tongues, their hands, and their feet shall all bear witness against them as to what they have been doing.
Here a question arises: On the one hand, Allah says: We shall seal their mouths, and on the other hand, in the verse of Surah An-Noor, He says: Their tongues will bear testimony against them. How can these two things be reconciled? The answer is: To seal the mouths means to deprive them of their power of speech. That is, after this they will not be able to say whatever they like with their tongue. The testimony of their tongues means that their tongues themselves will tell how the wicked people had used them, what blasphemies and lies they had been made to utter, what mischief they had invented and what falsehoods they had been made to say on different occasions.
Hadith Reference: Prophet ﷺ said:
"On the Day of Judgment, the servant’s feet will not move until he is asked about his life, how he spent it; about his knowledge, what he did with it; about his wealth, how he earned it and how he spent it; and about his body, how he used it." (Tirmidhī 2416)
Lessons for Us
The Divine Scriptures and the prophets of Allah have been warners only, cautioning the man of a Day that will come one day, even long after our death when our bones would have become dust. It is up to the man to take heed of such warnings and live a life to please Allah and none else.
- We are accountable — even our bodies will speak truth on Judgment Day.
- Avoid hypocrisy — lies and excuses won’t work; only our deeds matter.
- Guard our actions — hands, feet, eyes, ears, and tongues will all testify.
- Live in awareness of Allah — this is the essence of taqwā.
This verse thus depicts a terrible scene, one that we can hardly contemplate: We all will have to face one day. The day when everyone will et each other down; their own bodies give witness against them; their personalities are torn apart with each part claiming that the other is lying. Each organ in their bodies returns to their Lord separately, in full submission to Him.
Time is now to purify our thoughts and keep our limbs directed to actions that please Allah and do not hurt others. Remember, when we die, there is no chance to redo our worldly actions - cash on the time we have now to straighten our dossiers honestly, hoping Allah will forgive us.
You may refer to more Selected Verses from Sürah 36. Yā-Sīn already published.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may also refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
For more Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. .
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
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