Salaam and welcome to another episode of our weekly series titled “Path towards Enlightenment” which is an endeavour to make you and us familiar with an easy and fluent explanation of God’s Final Scripture to all mankind, the holy Qur’an that was revealed to the Last and Greatest of all Messengers, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

As you know, we have embarked upon explanation of “Surah Waqe’ah”, that is, the Imminent Hour or the Inevitable Event to occur at the end of time. It is the Day of Resurrection followed by the Final Judgement, which the disbelievers deny. On the Day of Judgement there will be sorting out of good and evil. People will be divided into three classes. Those brought near to the Divine Threshold for having reached the highest degree of faith; those on the right or ordinary believers who made mistakes but turned in repentance to Allah and thereafter lived a pious life; and those on the left, that is, the disbelievers who denied God’s message and the Prophets, lived in sins, and died in the state of disbelief. Ample proof is given in this Surah of the infinite power of the Almighty Creator and consequently His ability to bring about the Resurrection.

If you might recall, last week in our explanation of the previous Ayahs of this Surah we focused on the rewards reserved in Paradise for the people of the right hand, that is, the true believers, including those who sincerely repent of their misdeeds and earn forgiveness from God. Today we explain to you the Ayahs that describe the miserable fate of the people of the left hand, that is, those cast in the fires of Hell for their disbelief, heresy, tyranny, leading people astray, and the unrepentant sinners.

Here are Ayahs 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46 of Surah Waqe’ah:

“And the People of the Left Hand- what (or how wretched) are the People of the Left Hand?

“Amid infernal miasma and boiling water;

“And the shadow of a dense black smoke:

“Neither cool nor beneficial;

“Indeed they have been affluent before this;

“And they used to persist in the great sin.”

Unlike the inhabitants of Paradise, the denizens of Hell will be trapped in horrible and agonizing torments. These are people who on the Day of Judgement will be given the record of their deeds in their left hand to indicate that they are disbelievers, wrongdoers, heretics, tyrants, seditionists, and unrepentant sinners. They are exposed to three kinds of torments such as miasma, which means an unpleasant or unbearable vapour-like stench amidst scorching wind, followed by boiling water, and a shadow of stifling and burning smoke. As specified by Ayah 44 they shall be in a shadow which shall neither be cool nor relieve them of their wretched state.

The next Ayah indicates that this terrible punishment is because of their disobedience of Divine commandments and indulgence in forbidden pleasures, including persistence in committing grave sins, without any feeling of remorse, let alone repentance. This is what many affluent persons do, oblivious of the consequences of their misdeeds. Lying and denial of realities is considered the gravest sin since it is the source of committing other cardinal sins that include refusal to acknowledge the One and Only God and the Day of Resurrection.

These Ayahs teach us that:

1. The terrible punishment of Hell is in accordance to the gravity of one’s own misdeeds and persistence in sins and disbelief, without any feeling of guilt.
2. Often, excessive wealth leads to indulgence in forbidden pleasures and committing of unpardonable crimes.
3. Repentance of sins saves believers from the punishment Hell which is reserved for unrepentant sinners and the disbelievers who deny Divine Commandments.

Now let us listen to Ayahs 47, 48, 49, and 50 of the same Surah:

“And they (the disbelievers) used to say, ‘What! When we are dead and become dust and bones, shall we be resurrected?

“And so will our forefathers!

“Say (O Prophet), ‘Indeed the first and last’;

“All will all be gathered for the tryst (or miqaat) of an appointed day;”

These Ayahs refer to the denial of realities by the disbelievers who say that when one dies and turns into bones and dust, as is the state of the generations of the past, then how can such persons be raised to life and that too in original form and shape?  

It is obvious that the disbelievers fail to understand the fact that the One Who basically created the universe and all that it contains, including mankind, is Omnipotent and has the power to recreate in the original form anything that has perished.

Ayah 49 commands the Prophet to tell the deniers that all those who have died, from the first to the last, shall be resurrected and gathered together for the meeting on the Appointed Day with the records of their deeds in their hands. The Arabic word “miqaat” (meeting place) is cognate with “waqt” which denotes a certain time appointed for carrying out something. Here it refers to the appointed time for Resurrection when all mankind shall be assembled at the vast meeting place for the final judgement. And all this is easy for God Almighty to carry out.

From these Ayahs we learn the following points:

1. The disbelievers and the deniers of the Day of Resurrection have no rationale in rejecting recreation as something improbable.
2. It is easy for the Almighty Creator to bring to life all mankind and assemble them on the appointed day and place.

In conclusion of this week’s episode of Path towards Enlightenment, we present you Ayahs 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, and 56 of Surah Waqe’ah:

“Then indeed, you, erring deniers,

“Will surely eat from the Zaqqūm tree,

“And stuff your bellies with it,

“And drink boiling water on top of it,

“Drinking like thirsty camels;

“Such will be the hospitality they receive on the Day of Retribution.”

In contrast to the bliss of Paradise and the wondrous rewards for the righteous, these Ayahs refer to the bitter and distasteful food of the people of Hell, who are addressed in Ayah 51 as “erring deniers” for their refusal to abide by Divine Commandments, their rejection of the manifest truth, and their persistence in a life of sins and wicked ways. The Zaqqum tree is bitter, and is foul of smell and taste. It produces an inflammatory juice, hence at times the word Zaqqum is applied to any disgusting food given to the people of Hell, who shall be so hungry that they will devour such disgusting food and fill up their bellies with it. When they eat the disgusting food, they become thirsty, but their drink shall be boiling water that will burn their entrails. They are thus likened to thirsty camels suffering from dropsy or edema, because camels when afflicted with such a disease get so thirsty and drink excessive water until they perish. For the people of Hell, however, there is no question of being perished despite the intensity of the unceasing torments.

Ayah 56 calls these torments as hospitality reserved for the people of Hell, since while alive, out of arrogance and being proud of their wealth, they had mocked the Prophets of God and the Heavenly Scriptures, in addition to mistreating the pious persons and making vain attempts to eradicate from society religion and spiritual values. 

The point to note is that the torments of Hell are the result are merely the result of the disbelief in God, denial of truth, and persistence in sinful life, in spite of the ample of opportunity that the All-Merciful Lord had provided during life to reflect on facts and realities, repent of misdeeds, and return to the straight and unwavering path of monotheism that leads to Paradise. Thus, God Almighty is Just and His punishment is fair.

These Ayahs teach us:

1. All the terrible punishments are consequences of one’s own deeds.
2. God is Just and does not wrong anyone.
3. Many misled persons attain guidance, are forgiven by God, and granted the bliss of Paradise for rectifying their faith and deeds.
4. God has given ample opportunities and respite to the human beings to repent, reform, and rectify their wrongs, while abstaining from the satanic tendencies of sins, disbelief, atheism, polytheism, and the like.

RM/AS/SS