Interpretation of Surah al-Ma'arij (The Ways of Ascent) - Part 3

Fifty years indicates the location and stage. Every stage is equal to one thousand years long.

Some guessed it that the number fifty thousand years is expressing the excessiveness they do not mean the number, it means that day is the lengthiest day.

Any way it is for the criminals, tyrants and the infidels. Hence, in a narration from Abu Sayeed Khadri, it is described: Somebody asked: O Prophet of Allah, how much is the duration of that day. He replied: I swear by the One, in whose hands is the life of Muhammad sallallaho alaihi va ala alehi that day for the believer is light and convenient easier than the single obligatory namaz which he performs in this world.

In the next ayat addressed the holy messenger of God and said: tolerate with the best patience and be persistent before their mockery, denials and tortures.

فَاصْبِرْ صَبْرًا جَمِيلًا(70:5)

صَبْرًا جَمِيلًا means the pleasant and kind patience and long lasting persistence and must not give way to the hopelessness and depression accompanied by complains, uneasiness, sighing , groaning, getting into anxiety else it is not called pleasant patience. Then it adds: For the reason that they are seeing the judgment day very much far distance.

إِنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَهُ بَعِيدًا

(70:6

And we see it quite near and close.

وَنَرَاهُ قَرِيبًا

(70:7

They never believe that such a day is going to appear for them in which the deeds of all the people from first to last will be checked and counted and their smallest act and single uttered word is calculated too on the day which has a length of fifty years. But in fact they did not recognise the Majestic God there is no doubt in his power and might.

They presume and say: Is it possible that the rotten bones which get soiled and dispersed around, once again can be gathered and wear the attire of life. (As the noble Quran in its ayaat quoted the same terms) and then, is it possible, the day with a duration of fifty thousand years?

The most interesting thing is that today’s knowledge define that the extent of the day of every planet is different from another planet as it is following the period which revolving around its own axis and hence one day of the moon is equal to the two weeks of planet earth. Even it is said: Possibly by the passage of time the speed of earth will decrease. One day will become equal to a month or a year and a century.

We are not telling the Day of Judgment in such a way equal to fifty thousand years even with the worldly assessments it is not a strange matter to analyse it.

يَوْمَ تَكُونُ السَّمَاء كَالْمُهْلِ(70:8)

70:8

The Day that the sky will be like the boiling filth of oil, (or molten copper or silver or lead, etc.).

وَتَكُونُ الْجِبَالُ كَالْعِهْنِ

70:9

And the mountains will be like tufts of wool,

وَلَا يَسْأَلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيمًا(70:10)

70:10

and [when] no friend will ask about his friend,

يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ يَوَدُّ الْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ يَفْتَدِي مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِئِذٍ بِبَنِيهِ(70:11)

70:11

They will be shown each other. The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children

وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَأَخِيهِ(70:12)

70:12

And his wife and his brother

وَفَصِيلَتِهِ الَّتِي تُؤْويهِ(70:13)

70:13

And his relatives who sheltered him,

وَمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ يُنجِيهِ(70:14)

70:14

And all that are in the earth, so that it might save him.

كَلَّا إِنَّهَا لَظَى(70:15)

70:15

No! Indeed, it is the Flame [of Hell],

نَزَّاعَةً لِّلشَّوَى(70:16)

70:16

Tearing away his skin!

تَدْعُو مَنْ أَدْبَرَ وَتَوَلَّى(70:17)

70:17

It invites he who turned his back [on truth] and went away [from obedience]

وَجَمَعَ فَأَوْعَى(70:18)

70:18

In addition, collect (wealth) and hide it (from spending it in the Cause of Allah).

 

The day when no intimate friend comes to the rescue

In these ayaat, it is continuing the past discussions with more descriptions and explanations and said: The day when the skies melt like a metal.

يَوْمَ تَكُونُ السَّمَاء كَالْمُهْلِ

(70:8)

The mountains are like the clusters of colored woolen,

وَتَكُونُ الْجِبَالُ كَالْعِهْنِ(70:9)

مُهْلِ means the melted metal and by the عِهْنِ means the beaten wool .

Yea that day the skies will melt and collapse, the mountains will crush and crumble down and then the hurricanes disperse them in the space just like the wool lifted by the gust of wind. And after this destruction, a new world will come into existence and the human being will start their new life again.

When the resurrection in that world established, the situation of the deeds accounts and settlements are so much terrifying that everybody is thoughtful about themselves only. Not a single person is bothering about the other person and not a close and dear friend is enquiring about his friend.

وَلَا يَسْأَلُ حَمِيمٌ حَمِيمًا

(70:10)

Everybody is engaged in his own self, every person is anxious to rescue his own self. As told in the ayat 37 of Sura e Abasa:

لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مِّنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ شَأْنٌ يُغْنِيهِ(80:37)

80:37

That Day everyman will have enough to make him careless of others.

They did not even recognize their friends, particularly when their friends are shown to them yet every entity is tied up in his own confusions.

يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ

The real matter is that the horror and the fear are worst to such extent that nobody is able to think about another.

In the continuation of this subject and sketching the terrible scene it adds: The condition is such that the sinner wants to sacrifice his own children before the torment of that day.

يَوَدُّ الْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ يَفْتَدِي مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِئِذٍ بِبَنِيهِ

(70:11

Not only his children but he is agreed to give his spouse and brother,

وَصَاحِبَتِهِ وَأَخِيهِ

(70:12

Same way the family and the tribe he belongs who were supporting him,

وَفَصِيلَتِهِ الَّتِي تُؤْويهِ

(70:13

Even if he sacrifice the entire people living in the world to save himself,

وَمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ يُنجِيهِ

(70:14

Yea this torment of Dominant God is so much horrible that the man wants to sacrifice for securing himself all his near and dear ones such as children, wife, brother and family members who were his supporters. Not only them, he is ready to sacrifice the total number of people to protect himself from the hell fire..

يَوَدُّ means to love يَفْتَدِي means to protect from the hardships and difficulties.

فَصِيلَتِهِ means kinsmen and family members and tribe from which the man is separated.

تُؤْويهِ means to annex one thing into another and then it means to give shelter as well.

But in the reply of this desires and wishes he said: it is never like this.

كَلَّا

إِنَّهَا لَظَى