Surah Al-Qiyamah


  
   
 



As we continue with our daily existence... it seems to be an unending cycle of day and night
but the fact is that with each passing moment we are coming closer and closer to our end.
Even though we “believe” in the Day of Judgement, yet it seems to be a dreamy sort of event
which is to come in a far away future. Due to a severe lack of knowledge of Quran and
Hadith, we have started believing in the illusions of this world and think of it as reality; with
the result that the reality of “resurrection and recompense” seems to be an illusion.

If you change the sign boards on the roads by switching over east with west...can anybody
reach their destination? Similarly the certainty that the day of Judgement is very near, acts
as a sign post in our conscious minds, motivating us to stay on the right way... therefore
Allah takes oath of this great day...

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I swear by the Day of Resurrection

Apart from giving us knowledge of the day of Qiyamah, Allah has blessed all of us with a
very sophisticated “tool” which is the conscience. It is like an alarm which rings as soon as
we do something wrong. The strength of this alarm depends on the strength of our faith and
knowledge. And the fact that Allah has taken oath of it really makes me think how great this
blessing is... but sadly how little we make use of it:

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And I swear by the self reproaching soul!

But the people of Makkah to whom these verses were revealed did not want to believe in
Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and tried to challenge the divine verses with their logic of
possibilities... Allah asks them:

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Does man think that We shall not be able to put his bones together?

The answer is so amazing and awesome:

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Why not? We are able to put together, in perfect order, the very tips of his fingers.

After reading this verse, I just sat mesmerized looking at my finger tips and marvelling at the
pattern of the lines... so fine and so intricate. It was as if I was seeing them for the first time
and I understood that this is how Quran opens our eyes! How amazing is the power of that
Rabb who created these tiny joints with all the details and will again make us whole and
complete, even after we become a collection of dust and bones...

But some people prefer to remain blind even after seeing it all... until they will be overtaken
by the horrors of the Qiyamah:

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When the sight shall be dazed...

When some calamity hits us in this world our first reaction is to run away from the scene but
on that final day there will be no place to protect anyone:

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- on that Day man will ask: “Is there any way to escape?” Nay! There will be no refuge.

How we deny the truth with our logics and the power of speech but on the day of judgement
Allah will tell us the reality of what we did...

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On that Day man shall be told about all his deeds, from the first to the last.

It is not that we are blind about ourselves... rather Allah has given us both outer and inner
vision and we can see where we are going wrong; but we just have this habit of denial due to
which we don’t admit our faults and seldom try to correct them:

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Indeed, man shall bear witness against himself, even though he shall plead with
excuses.
The reason behind this self deception is nothing but the love of this world. Instead of being
mesmerised by Allah and bowing down in front of His greatness, we are mesmerised by the
love of the world and its temporary benefits and pleasures....

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Nay, the fact is that you people love this fleeting life.

We go on blindly in pursuit of this world, not realizing that the price we are paying for it is too
high:

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and you are heedless of the Hereafter.

Some might say that to change our lifestyle for the sake of the Akhirah is nearly impossible
and what will become of us if we give up the haram pleasures... others might even try to
prove that the haram is not haram anymore... but amidst all this non seriousness and denial
there will still be some fortunate people who will seek the truth and follow it even though they
have to make some sacrifices... but look at how they will be honoured and pleased on the
day of Judgement:

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On that Day, some faces shall be bright, looking towards their Rabb.

What greater joy can there be that the one whom you try to please is actually pleased with
you... the one you love, loves you... So when the believers of Allah will look at the
countenance of their Rabb and see with their eyes how pleased He is with their efforts then it
will be a supreme moment of joy for them and they will forget every other thing that they
were given before that. Can anything in this world compare with this pleasure?

But it is a matter of faith and for those who don’t believe in these verses and continue on
their ways, there is a sad end awaiting them:

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And on that Day some faces shall be gloomy, thinking that some backbreaking calamity
is about to be inflicted on them.

How can we not believe when we have seen death with our own eyes...?
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Nay, when a man’s soul is about to leave and reaches to the throat; and those around
him cry: “Is there any enchanter to help?"

How sad is the moment of departure... think of the pain of any separation and then multiply it
with infinity... that will be the intensity of saying farewell to this world forever:

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Then man will be certain that it was the time of departure from this world.

So what will be the state of the person who did not do any of the things which Allah told him
to do? Where will he go now?

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that will be the Day of driving towards your Rabb.

Allah specially mentions two things and it is a sort of warning to us that while we have still
time we must hold on to these things which the unfortunate soul neglected to do:

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But in this life he neither believed, nor offered Salah (prayed);

And then Allah repeats again and again the word which we fear the most... misery and
suffering...

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Woe to you, O man! Woe to you. Again woe to you, O man! Woe to you.

How can we even think of being independent in our choices and decisions? When we have
been created from a drop of water and through various stages Allah has made us complete
humans... how can we even dare to disobey the one who gave us this life and everything?

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Does man think that he will be left to wander around without any purpose? Was he not
once a drop of emitted semen?
If we contemplate on this amazing creation of our bodies, of this universe, of all the varieties
and species of plants and animals, night and day, the sun, moon and stars... all separate yet
woven together in a complex program of life and death... then how can we think that Allah
who created it the first time cannot do so again?

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Has He not then the power to bring the dead to life?

For me this Surah is such a powerful reminder that whatever excuses I have to put the
interests of this life ahead of the hereafter, all those reasons, logics, and excuses are as
baseless, as weak, and as foolish as the disbelief in resurrection. Because if we really
believe in our destination then we cannot loiter and waste our time on the way... if we truly
believe in the immense pleasures of the hereafter then we cannot lag behind in achieving
the maximum benefits. Allah has programmed into us a need for permanent happiness and
success... it is just a matter of faith where we believe it can be found. If we believe it is in the
hereafter then will work for that and if we think that it can be found in this world then it will be
striving in vain...

May Allah save us from all false illusions and open our eyes to the reality. May He increase
us in our faith and guide us to the ultimate success...ameen