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).

Today, we complete our explanation of “Surah Waqe’ah”, that is, the Imminent Hour or the Inevitable Event to occur at the end of time. As we have already explained to you, it refers to the Day of Resurrection followed by the Final Judgement, which the disbelievers deny in fear of the sorting out of good and evil, since people on that day 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 hand or ordinary believers who made mistakes but turned in repentance to Allah and thereafter lived a pious life; and those on the left hand, 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, in our explanation of the previous Ayahs of this Surah last week, we said the evolutionary process should make any rational person realize the power of God Almighty to raise the dead to life, especially in view of the fact that the holy Qur’an presents the most logical arguments by urging readers to reflect on the wonders of the world of creation, as well as upon their own selves, to attain faith and eventually the bliss of Paradise, instead of committing wrongs and plunging into the fires of Hell. We also pointed out to the elixir of life, that is, water, which pours down from the clouds to make rivers flow and vegetation to grow, saying that the very power that makes seeds in the soil sprout and become plants is able to raise to life the dead humans on the Day of Resurrection. In other words, whether it is the development of agriculture or the process of procreation, we human beings might be the instruments of action, but it is the Will of God that provides us with a rich variety of crops, and the birth of babies and their development into perfect persons blessed with manifold talents. All this ought to inspire us to celebrate the glory of the All-Wise Creator and express gratitude to Him instead of being thankless and turning into disbelievers and sinners.

Let us listen to Ayahs 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, and 82 of Surah Waqe’ah:

“Nay, I swear by the orbit of the stars!

“And indeed it is a great oath, should you know.

“This is indeed a Qur’an the Most Honourable;

“In a guarded Book (the Preserved Tablet),

“No one touches it except the pure ones;

“A revelation (gradually sent down) from the Lord of all the worlds;

“What! Do you take lightly this discourse?

“And make your denial of it your vocation (or livelihood)?”

These Ayahs ascertain the flawless veracity of the holy Qur’an, which is indeed an eternal miracle for the guidance of all mankind, granted by the Almighty Creator to His Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his purified progeny). Ayah 76 is thus a Divine Oath by emphasis on the places and orbits of the stars, which are billions or more in number, and follow their fixed courses with precision as per the law of gravity without any collision. This makes the oath on the honoured status of the Qur’an far more significant, as scientists and any rational person, should affirm based on the discoveries of more and more galaxies that remarkably function in an orderly manner, as is evident by our own solar system and its planets, including our wonderful Earth. Without the least doubt this is a “great oath” making an extraordinary announcement that the Qur’an – to use the Arabic word in the Ayah – “Kareem” or the Most Honourable for the bounties it opens for the believers in various paths. Therefore what has been revealed to the Prophet for the guidance of humanity is preserved in a well-guarded tablet, which means the holy Qur’an ought to be touched in the state of cleanliness after due ablution in order to properly understand its dynamic contents for leading a sound and healthy life away from sins and with enthusiasm for expanding the vistas of knowledge, while only the thoroughly purified ones know its esoteric meanings for further unraveling of the wonders of creation.

Ayah 81, pointing to the revelation of the holy Qur’an to the Prophet by the Creator of the universe, poses the question in the next Ayah on the denial of this manifest truth by the disbelievers and how these deviated persons make a living by continuing to deny facts and realities in order to mislead the ignorant people.

From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. A Divine Oath on the wonders of creation is very significant and implies the highly honoured status of the holy Qur’an, which the Almighty Creator has revealed for the guidance of all mankind by urging them to reflect on its rational and dynamic contents.
2. The flawless veracity of the holy Qur’an is free of any vain discourse or interpolation, and thus in order to strengthen faith and benefit from its bezels of wisdom, it should be touched in the state of cleanliness and after due ablution.
3. It is only the Prophet and his purified progeny Qur’an who know the inner meaning of the Ayahs of the holy Qur’an and thus further open the vistas of knowledge for the seekers of truth.
4. Negligence, trivialization, and denial of the manifest truth of the holy Qur’an results from disbelief in the Day of Resurrection.

Now we invite you to listen to Ayahs 83, 84, 85, 86, and 87 of the same Surah:

“So when it (the soul leaving the body) reaches the throat [of the dying person];

“While you are looking on;

“And We are nearer to him than you are, though you do not perceive;

“Then why do you not, if you are not subject [to the Divine dispensation],

“Restore it (the soul), should you be truthful?”

These Ayahs hint at God’s Power of Resurrection by pointing to the last moments of a person’s life when none can avert death, which is decreed by the Almighty Creator Who is nearer to every one of us than our own selves, although most do not realize this fact owing to their fickle faith or lack of faith. The intention here is to awaken the conscience of the helpless onlookers who are also destined to meet the same fate, despite modern sophisticated technical and medical equipment which cannot compensate human weakness, thereby exposing the liars and deniers, who doubt Resurrection and the Day of Judgement.

These Ayahs teach us the following points:

1. The Power that gave life and decreed death can resurrect the dead from rotten and powdered bones for the final judgement.
2. No one, including modern scientific technology, have the power to avert death, let alone restoring the dead to life.

Now, in conclusion of this week’s episode of Path towards Enlightenment, which also marks completion of Surah Waqe’ah, we present you Ayahs 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, and 96:

“Then, if he be of those brought near (to the Divine Threshold);

“Then ease, abundance, and a garden of bliss.

“And if he be of the People of the Right Hand,

“Then greeting to you from the People of the Right Hand;

“But if he be of the deniers, the stray ones,

“Then a treat of boiling water,

“And entry into hell.

“Indeed this is the certain truth.

“So celebrate the Name of your Lord, the All-Supreme.”

These Ayahs sum up the points discussed in the beginning of the Surah which classifies people into three categories on Resurrection Day on the basis of the differing human dispositions at the time of death. Thus, those destined to be near the Divine Threshold pass away with utmost serenity, peace of mind, and happiness, for the abundant bliss of Paradise. Those on the Right Hand also attain felicity and the company of the virtuous in Heaven for having died with faith after repentance in the Divine Court and seeking of forgiveness from the All-Merciful Lord. As for the disbelievers, the deniers of truth, and the unrepentant sinners, death opens up for the them the gates of horrible punishment, with boiling water and fall into the fires of Hell. This is indeed the undeniable truth, and we should therefore celebrate the Name of the Lord Most High.

These Ayahs teach us that:

1. People are generally scared of death, but for those who are firm of faith and have abstained from sins, or those who have repented of their misdeeds and become righteous, death brings for them great bounties, including the bliss of Paradise.
2. As for the disbelievers and unrepentant sinners, the moment the soul leaves the physical body the never ending torment begins.

RM/AS/SS