36:67 Yaseen (Yaseen)

{ وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَمَسَخْنَاهُمْ عَلَى مَكَانَتِهِمْ } أي: لأذهبنا حركتهم { فَمَا اسْتَطَاعُوا مُضِيًّا } إلى الأمام { وَلَا يَرْجِعُونَ } إلى ورائهم ليبعدوا عن النار. والمعنى: أن هؤلاء الكفار، حقت عليهم كلمة العذاب، ولم يكن بُدٌّ من عقابهم.وفي ذلك الموطن، ما ثَمَّ إلا النار قد برزت، وليس لأحد نجاة إلا بالعبور على الصراط، وهذا لا يستطيعه إلا أهل الإيمان، الذين يمشون في نورهم، وأما هؤلاء، فليس لهم عند اللّه عهد في النجاة من النار؛ فإن شاء طمس أعينهم وأبقى حركتهم، فلم يهتدوا إلى الصراط لو استبقوا إليه وبادروه، وإن شاء أذهب حراكهم فلم يستطيعوا التقدم ولا التأخر. المقصود: أنهم لا يعبرونه، فلا تحصل لهم النجاة.

وقوله عز وجل "ولو نشاء لمسخناهم على مكانتهم" قال العوفي عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما أهلكناهم وقال السدي يعني لغيرنا خلقهم وقال أبو صالح لجعلناهم حجارة وقال الحسن البصري وقتادة لأقعدهم على أرجلهم ولهذا قال تبارك وتعالى "فما استطاعوا مضيا" أي إلى أمام "ولا يرجعون" إلى وراء بل يلزمون حالا واحدا لا يتقدمون ولا يتأخرون.

هَـذِهِ جَهَنَّمُ الَّتِى كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ

(This is Hell which you were promised!) meaning, `this is what the Messengers warned you about, and you did not believe them.'

اصْلَوْهَا الْيَوْمَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ

(Burn (enter) therein this Day, for that you used to disbelieve). This is like the Ayah:

يَوْمَ يُدَعُّونَ إِلَى نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ دَعًّا - هَـذِهِ النَّارُ الَّتِى كُنتُم بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ - أَفَسِحْرٌ هَـذَا أَمْ أَنتُمْ لاَ تُبْصِرُونَ

(The Day when they will be pushed down by force to the fire of Hell, with a horrible, forceful pushing. This is the Fire which you used to belie. Is this magic or do you not see) (52:13-15)

The Mouths of the Disbelievers will be sealed on the Day of Resurrection

الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَى أَفْوَهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَآ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْسِبُونَ

(This Day, We shall seal up their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their legs will bear witness to what they used to earn.) eThis will be the state of the disbelievers and hypocrites on the Day of Resurrection, when they deny the sins they committed in this world and swear that they did not do that. Allah will seal their mouths and cause their limbs to speak about what they did. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "We were with the Prophet and he smiled so broadly that his molar could be seen, then he said:

«أَتَدْرُونَ مِمَّ أَضْحَكُ؟»

(Do you know why I am smiling) We said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said:

«مِنْ مُجَادَلَةِ الْعَبْدِ رَبَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، يَقُولُ: رَبِّ أَلَمْ تُجِرْنِي مِنَ الظُّلْمِ؟ فَيَقُولُ: بَلَى، فَيَقُولُ: لَا أُجِيزُ عَلَيَّ إِلَّا شَاهِدًا مِنْ نَفْسِي، فَيَقُولُ: كَفَى بِنَفْسِكَ الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًا، وَبِالْكِرَامِ الْكَاتِبِينَ شُهُودًا، فَيُخْتَمُ عَلَى فِيهِ، وَيُقَالُ لِأَرْكَانِهِ: انْطِقِي فَتَنْطِقَ بِعَمَلِهِ، ثُمَّ يُخَلَّى بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْكَلَامِ، فَيَقُولُ: بُعْدًا لَكُنَّ وَسُحْقًا، فَعَنْكُنَّ كُنْتُ أُنَاضِل»

(Because of the way a servant will argue with his Lord on the Day of Resurrection. He will say, "O Lord, will You not protect me from injustice" Allah will say, "Of course." He will say, "I will not accept any witness against me except from myself." Allah will say, "Today you will be a sufficient witness against yourself, and the honorable scribes will serve as witnesses against you." Then his mouth will be sealed, and it will be said to his faculties, "Speak!" So they will speak of what he did. Then he will be permitted to speak, and he will say, "May you be doomed! It was for you that I was fighting.")" This was recorded by Muslim and An-Nasa'i. Ibn Jarir narrated that Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The believer will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection, and his Lord will show him his deeds, just between him and His Lord. He will admit it and will say, `Yes, O Lord, I did do that.' Then Allah will forgive him his sins and conceal them, and no creature on earth will see any of those sins, but his good deeds will be seen, and he will want all the people to see them. Then the disbeliever and the hypocrite will be brought to account, and his Lord will show him his deeds and he will deny them, saying, `O Lord, by Your glory, this angel has written down things that I did not do.' The angel will say to him, `Did you not do such and such on such a day and in such a place' He will say, `No, by Your glory, I did not do that.' When he says this, Allah will seal his mouth." Abu Musa 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." Then he recited:

الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَى أَفْوَهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَآ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْسِبُونَ

(This Day, We shall seal up their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their legs will bear witness to what they used to earn).

وَلَوْ نَشَآءُ لَطَمَسْنَا عَلَى أَعْيُنِهِمْ فَاسْتَبَقُواْ الصِّرَطَ فَأَنَّى يُبْصِرُونَ

(And if it had been Our will, We would surely have wiped out their eyes, so that they would struggle for the path, how then would they see) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, explained it: "Allah says, `If We willed, We could have misguided them all away from true guidance, so how could they be guided" And on one occasion he said, "`We could have blinded them."' Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "If Allah willed, He could have covered their eyes and made them blind, stumbling about." Mujahid, Abu Salih, Qatadah and As-Suddi said, "So that they would struggle for the path, i.e., the right way." Ibn Zayd said, "The meaning of path here is the truth -- `How could they see when We have covered their eyes"' Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him said:

فَأَنَّى يُبْصِرُونَ

(how then would they see) "They would not see the truth."

وَلَوْ نَشَآءُ لَمَسَخْنَـهُمْ عَلَى مَكَــنَتِهِمْ

(And if it had been Our will, We could have transformed them in their places.) Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said; "`We could have destroyed them." As-Suddi said, "`We could have changed their form." Abu Salih said, "`We could have turned them to stone." Al-Hasan Al-Basri and Qatadah said, "`We could have caused them to sit on their feet." Allah says:

فَمَا اسْتَطَـعُواْ مُضِيّاً

(Then they would have been unable to go forward) meaning, move to the front,

وَلاَ يَرْجِعُونَ

(nor they could have turned back.) meaning, move backwards. They would have remained static, unable to move forwards or backwards.

And had We willed We would have transformed them into apes or swine or stones in their place makānatihim variant reading has makānātihim the plural of makāna meaning makān in other words ‘in their dwellings’; then they would have neither been able to go ahead nor to return in other words they would not then be able to come and go.

In verse 65, it was said: الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَىٰ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ (Today We will set a seal on their mouths). On the day of Resurrection, when comes the time to account for deeds, everyone will be free to offer any excuse one has. But, Mushriks, the practitioners of shirk, those who associate partners in the pristine divinity of Allah Ta’ ala, will declare on oaths that they never had anything to do with shirk and kufr: وَاللَّـهِ رَ‌بِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِ‌كِينَ (By Allah, our Lord, we ascribed no partners to Allah - A1-An` am, 6:23).

And some of them will also say that they were free of whatever the angels had written down in their book of deeds. At that time, Allah Ta’ ala will put a seal on their mouths, so that they would not speak. Then, He will give power of speech to their own body parts, the hands and the feet, who will testify to all their deeds as court witnesses against them. As for the present verse, it mentions the speaking of hands and feet only. In another verse, mentioned there is the speaking of one's ear, eye and skin: شَهِدَ عَلَيْهِمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَأَبْصَارُ‌هُمْ وَجُلُودُهُم ' (their ears and their eyes and their skins will testify against them - 41:20). As for what has been said at one place: تَشْهَدُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَلْسِنَتُهُمْ (and their tongues will testify against them - An-Nur, 24:24), it is not contrary to 'putting a seal on their mouths' because putting a seal means that they will be unable to say anything out of their own volition. Their tongue will speak counter to their personal choice and will testify to the truth.

As for the question how these parts of the body would acquire power of speech, the Qur'an has already answered that by saying: أَنطَقَنَا اللَّـهُ الَّذِي أَنطَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ (Why did you testify against us? - 41:21) that is, these parts of the body will say that Allah, who has given power of speech to all things endowed with the ability to speak, has also enabled us to speak.