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Ayah
Word by Word
وَمَا
And not
كُنتُمۡ
you were
تَسۡتَتِرُونَ
covering yourselves
أَن
lest
يَشۡهَدَ
testify
عَلَيۡكُمۡ
against you
سَمۡعُكُمۡ
your hearing
وَلَآ
and not
أَبۡصَٰرُكُمۡ
your sight
وَلَا
and not
جُلُودُكُمۡ
your skins
وَلَٰكِن
but
ظَنَنتُمۡ
you assumed
أَنَّ
that
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
لَا
(does) not
يَعۡلَمُ
know
كَثِيرٗا
much
مِّمَّا
of what
تَعۡمَلُونَ
you do
وَمَا
And not
كُنتُمۡ
you were
تَسۡتَتِرُونَ
covering yourselves
أَن
lest
يَشۡهَدَ
testify
عَلَيۡكُمۡ
against you
سَمۡعُكُمۡ
your hearing
وَلَآ
and not
أَبۡصَٰرُكُمۡ
your sight
وَلَا
and not
جُلُودُكُمۡ
your skins
وَلَٰكِن
but
ظَنَنتُمۡ
you assumed
أَنَّ
that
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
لَا
(does) not
يَعۡلَمُ
know
كَثِيرٗا
much
مِّمَّا
of what
تَعۡمَلُونَ
you do
Translation
"Ye did not seek to hide yourselves, lest your hearing, your sight, and your skins should bear witness against you! But ye did think that Allah knew not many of the things that ye used to do!
Tafsir
And you did not use to conceal yourselves, when you used to commit lewd acts, lest your hearing or your eyes or your skins should bear witness against you, because you were never certain about [the truth of] resurrection; but you thought, when you used to conceal yourselves, that God did not know most of what you did.
On the Day of Judgement, the Sinners' Limbs will testify against Them
Allah says,
وَيَوۡمَ يُحۡشَرُ أَعۡدَاء اللَّهِ إِلَى النَّارِ فَهُمۡ يُوزَعُونَ
And (remember) the Day that the enemies of Allah will be gathered to the Fire, then they will be driven.
means, remind these idolators of the Day when they will be gathered to the Fire and they will be driven, i.e., the keepers of Hell will gather the first of them with the last of them, as Allah says elsewhere:
وَنَسُوقُ الۡمُجۡرِمِينَ إِلَى جَهَنَّمَ وِرۡداً
And We shall drive the criminals to Hell, in a thirsty state. (19:86)
حَتَّى إِذَا مَا جَاوُوهَا
Till, when they reach it,
means, when they stand at its edge,
شَهِدَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ سَمۡعُهُمۡ وَأَبۡصَارُهُمۡ وَجُلُودُهُمۡ
بِمَا كَانُوا يَعۡمَلُونَ
their hearing (ears) and their eyes and their skins will testify against them as to what they used to do.
means, all their deeds, earlier and later; not a single letter will be concealed
وَقَالُوا لِجُلُودِهِمۡ لِمَ شَهِدتُّمۡ عَلَيۡنَا
And they will say to their skins, Why do you testify against us?
they will blame their limbs and their skins when they testify against them, at which point their limbs will answer:
قَالُوا أَنطَقَنَا اللَّهُ الَّذِي أَنطَقَ كُلَّ شَيۡءٍ
وَهُوَ خَلَقَكُمۡ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ
They will say:Allah has caused us to speak -- as He causes all things to speak, and He created you the first time,
means, and He cannot be opposed or resisted,
وَإِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُونَ
and to Him you are made to return.
i.e. and to Him you will return.
Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bazzar narrated that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
The Messenger of Allah laughed and smiled one day, and said:Will you not ask about why I laughed
They said, O Messenger of Allah, why did you laugh
He said:
عَجِبۡتُ مِنۡ مُجَادَلَةِ الۡعَبۡدِ رَبَّهُ يَوۡمَ الۡقِيَامَةِ يَقُولُ
أَيۡ رَبِّي أَلَيۡسَ وَعَدۡتَنِي أَنۡ لَا تَظۡلِمَنِي
قَالَ بَلَى
فَيَقُولُ فَإِنِّي لَا أَقۡبَلُ عَلَيَّ شَاهِدًا إِلاَّ مِنۡ نَفۡسِي
فَيَقُولُ اللهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَوَلَيۡسَ كَفَى بِي شَهِيدًا وَبِالۡمَلَيِكَةِ الۡكِرَام الۡكَاتِبِينَ
قال فَيُرَدِّدُ هذَا الۡكَلَمَ مِرَارًا
قال فَيُخۡتَمُ عَلى فِيهِ وَتَتَكَلَّمُ أَرۡكَانُهُ بِمَا كَانَ يَعۡمَلُ فَيَقُولُ بُعۡدًا لَكُنَّ وَسُحۡقًا عَنۡكُنَّ كُنۡتُ أُجَادِل
I was amazed at how a servant will dispute with his Lord on the Day of Resurrection. He will say,
My Lord, did You not promise me that you would not treat me unjustly?
Allah will say, Yes.
The man will say, I will not accept any witness against me except from myself.
Allah will say, Is it not sufficient that I and the angels, the noble scribes, are witnesses?
These words will be repeated several times, then a seal will be placed over his mouth and his organs (or limbs) will speak about what he used to do. Then he will say,
Away with you! It was only for your sake that I was arguing!
It was recorded by him and Ibn Abi Hatim.
It was also recorded by Muslim and An-Nasa'i.
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Burdah said that Abu Musa said,
The disbeliever or the hypocrite will be called to account and his Lord will show him his deeds, but he will deny them and say, `O Lord, by Your glory, this angel has written about me something that I did not do.'
The angel will say to him, `Did you not do such and such on such and such a day in such and such a place?'
He will say, `No, by Your glory O Lord, I did not do it.'
When he does that, a seal will be placed over his mouth.
Al-Ash`ari, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
I think that the first part of his body to speak will be his right thigh.
Allah's saying
وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَسۡتَتِرُونَ أَنۡ يَشۡهَدَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ سَمۡعُكُمۡ وَلَا أَبۡصَارُكُمۡ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمۡ
And you have not been hiding yourselves (in the world), lest your ears and your eyes and your skins should testify against you;
means, their organs and skins will say to them, when they blame them for testifying against them, `you did not hide from us what you used to do, on the contrary, you openly committed disbelief and sin, and you claimed that you did not care, because you did not believe that Allah knew about all your deeds.'
Allah says:
وَلَكِن ظَنَنتُمۡ أَنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَعۡلَمُ كَثِيرًا مِّمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ
وَذَلِكُمۡ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنتُم بِرَبِّكُمۡ أَرۡدَاكُمۡ
but you thought that Allah knew not much of what you were doing. And that thought of yours which you thought about your Lord, has brought you to destruction;
meaning, `this evil thought, i.e., your belief that Allah did not know much of what you were doing, is what has caused you to be doomed and has made your losers before your Lord.'
فَأَصۡبَحۡتُم مِّنۡ الۡخَاسِرِينَ
and you have become of those utterly lost!
means, `in the place of Resurrection, you have lost your own selves and your families.'
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
I was hiding beneath the covering of the Ka`bah, and three men came along -- a man from the Quraysh and two of his brothers-in-law from Thaqif, or a man from Thaqif and two of his brothers-in-law from the Quraysh. Their bellies were very fat, and did not have much understanding. They said some words I could not hear, then one of them said,
`Do you think that Allah can hear what we are saying now?'
The other said, `If we raise our voices, He will hear it, but if we do not raise our voices, He will not hear it.'
The other said, `If He can hear one thing from us, He can hear everything.'
I mentioned this to the Prophet , then Allah revealed the words:
وَمَا كُنتُمۡ تَسۡتَتِرُونَ أَنۡ يَشۡهَدَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ سَمۡعُكُمۡ وَلَا أَبۡصَارُكُمۡ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمۡ
(And you have not been hiding yourselves (in the world), lest your ears and your eyes and your skins should testify against you) until;
مِّنۡ الۡخَاسِرِينَ
(of those utterly lost!).
This is how it was recorded by At-Tirmidhi.
A similar report was also narrated by Ahmad (through a different chain),
Muslim and At-Tirmidhi, and Al-Bukhari and Muslim also recorded (a different chain).
فَإِن يَصۡبِرُوا فَالنَّارُ مَثۡوًى لَّهُمۡ
وَإِن يَسۡتَعۡتِبُوا فَمَا هُم مِّنَ الۡمُعۡتَبِينَ
Then, if they bear the torment patiently, then the Fire is the home for them, and if they seek to please Allah, yet they are not of those who will ever be allowed to please Allah.
means, whether they bear it patiently or not, they are in the Fire and they will have no escape or way out from it, and even if they try to please Allah and offer excuses, nothing of that will be accepted from them.
Ibn Jarir said,
The meaning of the Ayah,
وَإِن يَسۡتَعۡتِبُوا
(and if they seek to please Allah), is:
They will ask to go back to this world, but this plea will not be answered.
This is like the Ayah:
قَالُواۡ رَبَّنَا غَلَبَتۡ عَلَيۡنَا شِقۡوَتُنَا وَكُنَّا قَوۡماً ضَألِّينَ
رَبَّنَأ أَخۡرِجۡنَا مِنۡهَا فَإِنۡ عُدۡنَا فَإِنَّا ظَـلِمُونَ
قَالَ اخۡسَيُواۡ فِيهَا وَلَا تُكَلِّمُونِ
They will say:Our Lord! Our wretchedness overcame us, and we were (an) erring people.
Our Lord! Bring us out of this. If ever we return (to evil), then indeed we shall be wrongdoers.
He will say:Remain you in it with ignominy! And speak you not to Me! (23:106-108)
Allah says,
وَقَيَّضۡنَا لَهُمۡ قُرَنَاء
And We have assigned for them intimate companions (in this world),
The intimate Companions of the Idolators make Evil Actions attractive to Them. Allah tells us that He is the One Who sends the idolators astray, and that this happens by His will and decree. He is the All-Wise in His actions, when He appoints for them close companions from among the devils of men and Jinn.
فَزَيَّنُوا لَهُم مَّا بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَمَا خَلۡفَهُمۡ
who have made fair seeming to them, what was before them and what was behind them.
means, they made their deeds attractive to them in the past. As far as the future is concerned, they only see themselves as doing good, as Allah says:
وَمَن يَعۡشُ عَن ذِكۡرِ الرَّحۡمَـنِ نُقَيِّضۡ لَهُ شَيۡطَاناً فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ
وَإِنَّهُمۡ لَيَصُدُّونَهُمۡ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ وَيَحۡسَبُونَ أَنَّهُم مُّهۡتَدُونَ
And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of the Most Gracious, We appoint for him a Shaytan to be a companion for him. And verily, they hinder them from the path, but they think that they are guided aright! (43:36-37)
وَحَقَّ عَلَيۡهِمُ الۡقَوۡلُ
فِي أُمَمٍ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ مِن قَبۡلِهِم مِّنَ الۡجِنِّ وَالاِۡنسِ
إِنَّهُمۡ
And the Word is justified against them as it was justified against those who were among the previous generations of Jinn and men that had passed away before them.
means, the Word of torment, just as it was justified against the nations of the past who did what they did, men and Jinn alike.
كَانُوا خَاسِرِينَ
Indeed they (all) were the losers.
means, they are all equal in terms of loss and being doomed.
How the disbelievers advised One Another not to listen to the Qur'an, and the Recompense for that
Allay says,
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَسۡمَعُوا لِهَذَا الۡقُرۡانِ
And those who disbelieve say:Listen not to this Qur'an...
means, they advised one another not to pay heed to the Qur'an or obey its commands.
وَالۡغَوۡا فِيهِ
and make noise in the midst of its,
means, when it is recited, do not listen to it.
This was the view of Mujahid.
And make noise in the midst of its (recitation)
means whistling and trying to make the Messenger of Allah confused when he recited Qur'an, which is what the Quraysh did.
لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَغۡلِبُونَ
that you may overcome.
means, this is the practice of these ignorant disbelievers and those who follow in their footsteps, when they hear the Qur'an. Allah commanded us to be different from that, and said:
وَإِذَا قُرِىءَ الۡقُرۡءَانُ فَاسۡتَمِعُواۡ لَهُ وَأَنصِتُواۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُرۡحَمُونَ
So, when the Qur'an is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy. (7:204)
Then Allah says
فَلَنُذِيقَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا
But surely, We shall cause those who disbelieve to taste a severe torment,
meaning, in return for what they do when they hear the Qur'an.
وَلَنَجۡزِيَنَّهُمۡ أَسۡوَأَ الَّذِي كَانُوا يَعۡمَلُونَ
and certainly, We shall requite them the worst of what they used to do.
means, for their evil deeds.
ذَلِكَ جَزَاء أَعۡدَاء اللَّهِ النَّارُ لَهُمۡ فِيهَا دَارُ الۡخُلۡدِ
جَزَاء بِمَا كَانُوا بِأيَاتِنَا يَجۡحَدُونَ
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا رَبَّنَا أَرِنَا الَّذَيۡنِ أَضَلَّنَا مِنَ الۡجِنِّ وَالاِۡنسِ
نَجۡعَلۡهُمَا تَحۡتَ أَقۡدَامِنَا لِيَكُونَا مِنَ الاَۡسۡفَلِينَ
That is the recompense of the enemies of Allah:the Fire. Therein will be for them the eternal home, a recompense for that they used to deny Our Ayat.
And those who disbelieve will say:Our Lord! Show us those among Jinn and men who led us astray, that we may crush them under our feet so that they become the lowest.
It was reported that Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, concerning the phrase,
الَّذَيۡنِ أَضَلَّنَا
(those who led us astray):
Iblis and the son of Adam who killed his brother.
As-Suddi reported that Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said;
Iblis is followed by everyone who commits Shirk and the son of Adam is followed by everyone who commits a major sin. So Iblis is the one who calls people to every evil thing, such as Shirk and lesser sins.
As for the first son of Adam, it is as confirmed in the Hadith:
مَا قُتِلَتۡ نَفۡسٌ ظُلۡمًا إِلاَّ كَانَ عَلَى ابۡنِ ادَمَ الاۡاَوَّلِ كِفۡلٌ مِنۡ دَمِهَا لاِاَنَّهُ أَوَّلُ مَنۡ سَنَّ الۡقَتۡل
No soul is wrongfully killed, but a share of the burden (of that sin) will be upon the first son of Adam, because he was the first one who set the precedent of killing another.
نَجۡعَلۡهُمَا تَحۡتَ أَقۡدَامِنَا
that we may crush them under our feet,
means, `make them beneath us in the torment, so that they will be punished more severely than us.'
لِيَكُونَا مِنَ الاَۡسۡفَلِينَ
so that they become the lowest.
means, in the lowest level of Hell, as already mentioned in Surah Al-A`raf, where the followers ask Allah to multiply the torment for their leaders:
قَالَ لِكُلٍّ ضِعۡفٌ وَلَـكِن لاَّ تَعۡلَمُونَ
(Allah) said:For each one there is double (torment), but you know not. (7:38)
i.e., Allah will give each of them the torment and punishment they deserve for their deeds.
This is like the Ayah:
الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواۡ وَصَدُّواۡ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ زِدۡنَـهُمۡ عَذَابًا فَوۡقَ الۡعَذَابِ بِمَا كَانُواۡ يُفۡسِدُونَ
Those who disbelieved and hinder (men) from the path of Allah, for them We will add torment to the torment because they used to spread corruption. (16:88)
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