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Section 7

Unity of Allah

On the Day of Judgment the believers in false and imaginary deities will be asked to
call those whom they worshipped as gods other than the One True God – The deities
will disown their followers and the followers will be left deserted by their imaginary
gods – Allah creates and chooses whomever He likes, none else has any voice in it –
On the Day of Judgment Allah will summon a witness from each people – and then
the conduct of the people will wholly be disclosed

﴿61﴾ أَفَمَن وَعَدْنَاهُ وَعْداً حَسَناً فَهُوَ لاَقِيهِ كَمَن مَتَّعْنَاهُ مَتَاعَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ثُمَّ هُوَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مِنَ الْمُـحْضَرِينَ

61. “ Is he then unto whom We have promised a goodly promise which he shall meet it, similar to him whom We have provided with the provision of the life of this world, then on the Day of Hereafter he shall be of those brought up (for punishment)?”

Commentary:

The promises of Allah are both decisive and certain; and rewards in hereafter are both great and good.

In the previous verses, the words were about the persons who, for the enjoying of the bounties of the world, prefer disbelief to Faith and infidelity to Monotheism. Now, the verse under discussion defines the situation of this group in the Hereafter comparing the true believers.

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Atfirst, througha question,the Qur’ānwants the conscience of all to judge, when it says:

“Is he then unto whom We have promised a goodly promise which he shall meet it, similar to him whom We have provided with the provision of the life of this world, then on the Day of Hereafter he shall be of those brought up (for punishment)?”

No doubt every vigilant conscience prefers the Divine goodly promises and His great lasting merits to a few days of enjoying of perishing bounties and fleeting joys which have pain and toil in sequel.

The Qur’ānic sentence /fahuwa lāqiyah/ (which he shall meet it) is an emphasis on the fact that the promise of Allah does not infringe, and it should be such, because to infringe the promise is either because of ignorance or powerlessness, none of which is found in Divine Essence.

The Qur’ānic sentence: “Then on the Day of Hereafter, he shall be of those brought up (for punishment)” refers to the calling before Allah (s.w.t.) for the reckoning of deeds. Some commentators have rendered it into calling to the Hell Fire, but the first commentary is more suitable. However, this meaning shows that these polluted persons are drawn to this scene unwillingly, and it must be so, because the horror of reckoning and retribution has covered their whole entity.

The application of the Qur’ānic phrase /hayāt-ud-dunyā/ ‘life of this world’, which has repeatedly been mentioned in different Suras of the Qur’ān, points the meanness of this mortal life in comparison with the ‘Hereafter life’ which is permanent and perpetual.

The Arabic word /duniyā/ is derived from /dunuw/ which originally means: ‘nearness in place, or time, or position’.

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Then the terms /duniyā/ and /adnā/ have sometimes been used for the small creatures which are available, versus huge creatures, and sometimes it has been used for some mean things versus good and exalted things, and sometimes for ‘near’ versus ‘far’. And, in view of the fact that the life of this world in the face of the life of the next world is both small and worthless, and near, then the appellation of /hayāt-ud-duniyā/ (the life of this world) is perfectly fitting.

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