The Dispute of the People of Hell

Allah says,

And, when they will dispute in the Fire, the weak will say to those who were arrogant:

Allah tells us how the people of Hell will dispute and argue with one another, and Fir`awn and his people will be among them. The weak, who were the followers, will say to those who were arrogant, who were the leaders and masters:

Verily, we followed you,

meaning, `we obeyed you and heeded your call to disbelief and misguidance in the world, '

can you then take from us some portion of the Fire?

means, `can you carry a part of our burden for us?

Those who were arrogant will say:We are all (together) in this (Fire)!...

meaning, `we will not bear any part of your burden for you; our own punishment is enough for us to bear.'

Verily, Allah has judged (His) servants!

means, `He has shared out the punishment among us according to what each of us deserves'.

This is like the Ayah:

He will say:For each one there is double (torment), but you know not. (7:38)

And those in the Fire will say to the keepers (angels) of Hell:Call upon your Lord to lighten for us the torment for a day!

They know that Allah will not answer them and will not listen to their prayer, because He said,

Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me! (23:108),

so they will ask the keepers of Hell, who are like jailers watching over the people of Hell, to pray to Allah to lessen the Fire for them if only for one day. But the keepers of Hell will refuse, saying to them

Did there not come to you, your Messengers with (clear) evidences?

meaning, was not proof established in the world on the lips of the Messengers

They will say:Yes.

They will reply:Then call (as you like)!...

means, you are on your own. We will not pray for you or listen to you; we do not want you to be saved and we have nothing to do with you. Moreover, we tell you that it is all the same whether you offer supplication or not, because Allah will not respond and He will not lighten the torment for you.'

They will say:

And the invocation of the disbelievers is nothing but in vain!

meaning, it will not be accepted or responded to

The Victory of the Messengers and the Believers

Allah says,

Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe in this world's life.

As-Suddi said,

Allah never sends a Messenger to a people and they kill him or some of the believers who call them to the truth, then that generation passes away, but He then sends them someone who will support their call and will seek vengeance for their blood from those who did that to them in this world. So the Prophets and believers may be killed in this world, but their call will prevail in this world.

Allah granted victory to His Prophet Muhammad and his Companions over those who had opposed him, disbelieved in him and shown hostility towards him. He caused His Word and His religion to prevail over all other religions, commanded him to emigrate from his people to Al-Madinah, where He gave him supporters and helpers. Then He caused him to prevail over the idolators on the day of Badr, when He granted him victory over them and he humiliated them, killing their leaders and taking their elite prisoner, driving them before him in chains. Then he did them the favor of accepting ransom from them. Shortly after that, Allah enabled him to conquer Makkah, and he rejoiced in his return to his homeland, the sacred and holy land of Al-Haram. Through him, Allah saved it from its disbelief and Shirk. Then Allah enabled him to conquer the Yemen, and the entire Arabian Peninsula submitted to him, and the people entered the religion of Allah in crowds. Then Allah took him (in death), because of his high status and honor, and He established his Companions as his Khalifahs. They conveyed the religion of Allah from him, called mankind to Allah, they conquered many regions, countries and cities, and opened people's hearts, until the call of Muhammad spread throughout the world, east and west. This religion will continue to prevail until the Hour begins.

Allah says:

Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe in this world's life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth.

meaning, on the Day of Resurrection the victory will be greater and more complete.

Mujahid said,

The witnesses are the angels.

The Day when their excuses will be of no profit to wrongdoers.

is referring to the same as;

(...the Day when the witnesses will stand forth).

Others read it with that meaning;

And the Day the witnesses will stand forth, is a Day when there will be no profit to wrongdoers. (and the wrongdoers are the idolators).

(their excuses),

means, no excuse or ransom will be accepted from them.

Theirs will be the curse,

means, they will be cast out far away from the mercy of Allah.

and theirs will be the evil abode.

means, the Hell-fire,

as As-Suddi said, a terrible abode and dwelling place.

Indication that the Messenger and the Believers will prevail just as Musa and the Children of Israel prevailed

Allah says,

And, indeed We gave Musa the guidance.

means, the guidance and light with which Allah sent him.

and We caused the Children of Israel to inherit the Scripture.

means, `We caused them to prevail in the end and they inherited the land and accumulated wealth of Fir`awn, because of their patience in obeying Allah and following His Messenger Musa.'

The Scripture which they inherited, the Tawrah, was

A guide and a reminder for men of understanding.

i.e. those of a sound and upright nature.

Then Allah says,

So be patient,

means, `O Muhammad,'

Verily, the promise of Allah is true,

means, `We have promised that your word will prevail and that the ultimate victory will be for you and those who follow you, and Allah does not break His promises. What We have told you is true and there is no doubt in it whatsoever.'

and ask forgiveness for your fault,

This encourages the Ummah to seek forgiveness.

and glorify the praises of your Lord in the `Ashi,

meaning, at the end of the day and the beginning of the night,

and in the Ibkar.

meaning, at the beginning of the day and the end of the night

Verily, those who dispute about the Ayat of Allah, without any authority having come to them,

means, they try to refute the truth with falsehood, and to refute sound evidence with dubious arguments, having no proof or evidence from Allah.

there is nothing else in their breasts except pride. They will never have it.

means, they are too proud to follow the truth and submit to the one who has brought it. But their attempts to suppress the truth and elevate falsehood will fail; the truth will prevail and their words and aspirations will be defeated.

So seek refuge in Allah.

means, from being like these people,

or seek refuge with Him from being like these people who dispute about the Ayat of Allah without any authority having come to them.

Verily, it is He Who is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer

Life after Death

Allah tells us that He will bring back His creation on the Day of Resurrection. That is very easy for Him, because He created the heavens and the earth, and creating them is greater than creating mankind, the first time and when He creates them again. The One Who is able to do that is able to do anything that is less than that. As Allah says:

Do they not see that Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and was not wearied by their creation, is able to give life to the dead!

Yes, He surely is able to do all things. (46:33)

And Allah says here:

The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind; yet, most of mankind know not.

hence they do not think about or ponder this proof.

Similarly, many of the Arabs recognized that Allah had created the heavens and the earth, but they denied and rejected the idea of the resurrection; they acknowledged something which was greater than that which they denied.

Then Allah says:

And not equal are the blind and those who see; nor are those who believe, and do righteous good deeds, and those who do evil. Little do you remember!

The blind man who cannot see anything is not the same as the sighted man who can see everything as far as his eyesight reaches -- there is a huge difference between them. By the same token, the righteous believers and the immoral disbelievers are not equal.

(Little do you remember!),

means, most of the people remember little

Verily, the Hour (Day of Judgement) is surely coming,

means, it will indeed come to pass.

there is no doubt about it, yet most men believe not.

means, they do not believe in it, and in fact they doubt its existence altogether.