Hud Section 9 - The Ministry Of Moses
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Moses sent with clear signs and manifest authority
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The dealing with the people on the Day of Judgment shall be with Perfect Justice
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The punishment shall be as long as God wills
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The people of Pharaoh punished
Hud Verses 96 – 109
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَىٰ بِآيَاتِنَا وَسُلْطَانٍ مُبِينٍ
And indeed We sent Moses, with Our signs and an authority (which was) manifest, (11:96)
إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلَئِهِ فَاتَّبَعُوا أَمْرَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَا أَمْرُ فِرْعَوْنَ بِرَشِيدٍ
Unto Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they followed the bidding of Pharaoh; and Pharaoh’s bidding was no right directive.1(11:97)
يَقْدُمُ قَوْمَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَأَوْرَدَهُمُ النَّارَ وَبِئْسَ الْوِرْدُ الْمَوْرُودُ
He shall lead his people on the Resurrection Day, and bring them down to the (Hell) fire; but woeful will be the leading and the place led to. (11:98)
وَأُتْبِعُوا فِي هَٰذِهِ لَعْنَةً وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِئْسَ الرِّفْدُ الْمَرْفُودُ
They are followed by a curse in this (life) and (also) on the Day of Resurrection; And woeful is the gift which shall be given (unto them). (11:99)
ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ أَنْبَاءِ الْقُرَىٰ نَقُصُّهُ عَلَيْكَ مِنْهَا قَائِمٌ وَحَصِيدٌ
This is of the account of (the fate of) the townships We relate unto thee (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) of them some are standing and some have been mown down (by the passage of time) (11:100)
وَمَا ظَلَمْنَاهُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ فَمَا أَغْنَتْ عَنْهُمْ آلِهَتُهُمُ الَّتِي يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ لَمَّا جَاءَ أَمْرُ رَبِّكَ وَمَا زَادُوهُمْ غَيْرَ تَتْبِيبٍ
And We did no injustice unto them, but they were unjust unto themselves, so availed them not aught their gods whom they called upon besides God when came to pass the decree of thy Lord; they added not (aught to their lot) but perdition. (11:101)
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَخْذُ رَبِّكَ إِذَا أَخَذَ الْقُرَىٰ وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ إِنَّ أَخْذَهُ أَلِيمٌ شَدِيدٌ
Such is the grasp (of punishment) of thy Lord when graspeth2He the townships while they are unjust; Verily His grasp (punishment) is painful, severe. (11:102)
إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لِمَنْ خَافَ عَذَابَ الْآخِرَةِ ذَٰلِكَ يَوْمٌ مَجْمُوعٌ لَهُ النَّاسُ وَذَٰلِكَ يَوْمٌ مَشْهُودٌ
Verily, in this there is a sign for him who feareth the chastisement of the hereafter; This is a day for which mankind shall be gathered together, And this day shall be witnessed (by all) (11:103)
وَمَا نُؤَخِّرُهُ إِلَّا لِأَجَلٍ مَعْدُودٍ
And We delay it not but to an appointed3term. (11:104)
يَوْمَ يَأْتِ لَا تَكَلَّمُ نَفْسٌ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ فَمِنْهُمْ شَقِيٌّ وَسَعِيدٌ
The day (when) it arriveth, no soul shall speak but by His leave; then (some) of them shall be wretched and (some) blessed. (11:105)4
فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ شَقُوا فَفِي النَّارِ لَهُمْ فِيهَا زَفِيرٌ وَشَهِيقٌ
Then as for those who shall be wretched, they shall be in the (Hell) fire, for them therein shall be sighing and groaning. (11:106)5
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبُّكَ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ فَعَّالٌ لِمَا يُرِيدُ
They shall abide therein so long as the heavens and the earth endure, except (as) what willeth thy Lord; Verily thy Lord is the (Mighty) Doer of what soever He willeth. (11:107)
وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ سُعِدُوا فَفِي الْجَنَّةِ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا مَا دَامَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ رَبُّكَ عَطَاءً غَيْرَ مَجْذُوذٍ
And as for those who will be blessed, they shall be in the garden (of Paradise) abiding therein so long as the heavens and the earth endure, except (as) what thy Lord willeth; (it will be) A gift incessant. (11:108)
فَلَا تَكُ فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِمَّا يَعْبُدُ هَٰؤُلَاءِ مَا يَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُهُمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَإِنَّا لَمُوَفُّوهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ غَيْرَ مَنْقُوصٍ
Therefore be thou6not in doubt concerning what worship these (people); they worship not but as their fathers did worship before (them); and verily We will certainly pay them back in full their (due) share without (any) rebate. (11:109)
Commentary
Verse 105
A) Ref. to the Resurrection Day. Here it is asserted that no soul shall speak without His permission. In 77:35 it is said on that day they will not be permitted to forward their excuses. In 55:39 it is said none neither men nor the jinn will be questioned. In 37:24 it is asserted they will question each other. In 41:21 it is said that they will ask their skins as to why they gave evidence against them. The answer from the skin will be that God made them speak. These and similar passages seem to be contradictory but we have already pointed out that the Resurrection Day has many stages - and stages each of which has its own peculiarity which differs from the other states and stages - and each of the above verses refers to a particular state or stage. Hence no contradiction. This solution has been given by the Imams of the House of the Holy Prophet and a brief account of it is given by Shaikh Sadooq in his short treatise on the Shia faith.
B) This is a saying of the Holy Prophet. The wretched is wretched from the womb of his mother and the blessed is the blessed from the womb of his mother. The determinists consider this as supporting their views but as already pointed out it does not discard the effectiveness of the free will and free choice of the person in the determination of his faith. The sayings of the Holy Prophet point out that any one who would know what would be the choice and the will of the person when he reaches a responsible state would be able to judge whether he is wretched or blessed and God as the Omniscient knows every one’s trend of will and choice, knows his destiny even prior to his being in the womb of his mother. (A.P.).
Verses 106 - 108
The commentators have forwarded several views as to the exact meaning and significance of these Verses. The most appropriate one is to take these verses as referring to the conditions of the two classes of the wretched and blessed not after but before the Resurrection Day. It means people will be classified into two groups on the Resurrection Day prior to it. The groups of the wretched ones are kept in hell and torture as long as the heavens and earth endure subject to God’s will which means there is the possibility of their being taken out even before the end of the heavens and the earth and similarly the blessed ones will be kept in Paradise as long as the heavens and the earth endure and their state is also subject to God’s will but that being a blessing or a gift of grace, will not cease. (A.P.).
Verse 108
One of the commentators holds that the punishment after the Final Judgment will not be a permanent one. To establish this contention, he quotes this verse - interpreting ‘As long as the heavens and the earth endure’. But this argument does not hold good for it will be a time when the heavens and the earth will also cease to be and it will be a time when this temporary earth and the temporary heavens would have been changed into another permanent earth and permanent heavens which will constitute Paradise. They will be real and everlasting. Thus, the suffering awarded after the Final Judgment might be everlasting and also timely according to the intensity of the evils. But the reward of bliss will be eternal and not temporary.
