But behold!! for how long. Allah gives leverage to the criminals for a considered time and provides them adequate time to repent and seek Divine forgiveness. But those who, due to their sheer arrogance, position and wealth often brush off Divine warnings and cautions for they think they can prevail upon everyone due to their position and wealth. For such ungrateful people, we share the 37th verse of Surah 80. Abasa that warns them of the Day of Matter Adequate!!
Sūrah ʻAbasa " سورة عَبَسَ " is the eightieth sürah with 42 āyāt with two rukus, part of the 30th Juzʼ of the Holy Qur'ān. In its verses 33-42, the picture of the day of judgement is painted when no one shall care about his own mother, father, brother or children. The world as we know it will have so completely passed away that the landmarks in the heavens and on earth will also have vanished. Not only that, but the human relationships of mind and heart will have been transformed by sin into something ugly and dreadful. The sinners will be so overcome with terror at the realization of their personal responsibility that they will desert their most intimate friends, and indeed their very sight of each other will add to their agony.
لِكُلِّ امۡرِیءٍ مِّنۡهُمۡ يَوۡمَـئِذٍ شَاۡنٌ يُّغۡنِيۡهِؕ
(80:37) For every man, that Day, will be a matter adequate for him.
A tradition has been reported in the Hadith by different methods and through different channels, saying that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: On the Day of Resurrection all men will rise up naked. One of his wives (according to some reporters, Aishah, according to others, Saudah, or a woman) asked in bewilderment: O Messenger of Allah, shall we (women) appear naked on that Day before the people. The prophet (peace be upon him) recited this very verse and explained that on that Day each one will have enough of his own troubles to occupy him, and will be wholly unmindful of others. (Nasai, Tirmidhi, Ibn Abi Hatim,)
Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (The Day of Judgement and the fleeing of the People from Their Relatives during it):
Ibn `Abbas said, "As-Sakhkhah is one of the names of the Day of Judgement that Allah has magnified and warned His servants of.' Ibn Jarir said, "Perhaps it is a name for the blowing into Trumpet.'' Al-Baghawi said, "As-Sakhkhah means the thunderous shout of the Day of Judgement. It has been called this because it will deafen the ears. This means that it pierces the hearing to such an extent that it almost deafens the ears.'
(That Day shall a man flee from his brother, and from his mother and his father, and from his wife and his children.) Qatadah said, "The most beloved and then the next most beloved, and the closest of kin and then the next closest of kin -- due to the terror of that Day.'
Allah said, (لِكُلِّ امْرِىءٍ مِّنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ Every man that Day will have enough to make him careless of others.) meaning, he will be preoccupied in his business and distracted from the affairs of others.
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ibn `Abbas that the Messenger of Allah said, (You will all be gathered barefoot, naked, walking and uncircumcised.) So, his wife said, "O Messenger of Allah! Will we look at or see each other's nakedness'' The Prophet replied, (Every man among them on that Day will have enough (worries) to make him careless of others) -- or he said: (he will be too busy to look.)
Ibn `Abbas narrated that the Prophet said, (You will all be gathered barefoot, naked and uncircumcised.) So, a woman said, "Will we see or look at each other's nakedness'' He replied, (O so-and-so woman! Every man among them on that Day will have enough (worries) to make him careless of others.) At-Tirmidhi said, "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.''
Yusuf Ali Explanation:
That is "Nor friend will ask after a friend that Day. On the contrary the sinner will desire to save himself at the expense even of his own family and benefactors."
This is as said in Surah 70 Al Maarij (The Ascending Steps), verses 10-14:
- (70:10) And no friend will ask after a friend
- (70:11 Though they will be put in sight of each other the sinner's desire will be: would that he could redeem himself from the Penalty of that Day by (sacrificing) his children) That is the sinner will offer his children, his family, his kinsmen, who had sheltered and protected him, -in fact everything on earth that he could-as a ransom for himself. Such would be his selfishness and his agony.
- (70:12) His wife and his brother
- (70:13) His kindred who sheltered him.
- (70:14 And all all that is on earth so it could deliver him) What would not the sinner give for his own deliverance! But nothing could save him. The Fire of Hell would be roaring for him!
Tafsir Qur'an Wiki:
The fearfulness depicted in this scene is purely psychological. It strikes the soul, isolates it and holds it in its grip. The result is that each of us will think only of ourselves. None shall have any time or power to think of others: “For each one of them will on that day have enough preoccupations of his own.” The description is vivid; yet there can be no shorter and yet more comprehensive statement to describe the general condition of worried minds and souls.
A picture has been painted, my brothers and sisters in Islam, as a caution and warning for all of us of a day when we shall stand all alone to answer for our bad deeds. And pray we do not fall short of good deeds that will be traded for each of our bad deeds, and that some good deeds are still left that could help us in achieving Divine forgiveness. However, before that day of matter adequate, let us leave all bad things and wrongdoings while we are still alive so that we do not have to stand in shame, for on that day any regret or apology will not help us.
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.
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.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
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 read more posts on similar themes in our series of posts related to: Rules of Divine Court on Day of Judgement.
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages and Understanding Al Qur'an for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān 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.
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from the following sources:
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Muhammad Asad Translation
- Yusuf Ali Translation
- Translation Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
- Qur'an Wiki
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
- Towards Understanding the Quran
In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references given above. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
