55:39 Ar-Rahmaan (The Beneficent)

{ فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذَنْبِهِ إِنْسٌ وَلَا جَانٌّ } أي: سؤال استعلام بما وقع، لأنه تعالى عالم الغيب والشهادة والماضي والمستقبل، ويريد أن يجازي العباد بما علمه من أحوالهم، وقد جعل لأهل الخير والشر يوم القيامة علامات يعرفون بها، كما قال تعالى: { يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ }

وهذه كقوله تعالى "هذا يوم لا ينطقون ولا يؤذن لهم فيعتذرون" فهذا في حال وثم في حال يسئل الخلائق عن جميع أعمالهم قال الله تعالى "فوربك لنسألنهم أجمعين عما كانوا يعملون" ولهذا قال قتادة "فيومئذ لا يسئل عن ذنبه إنس ولا جان" قال قد كانت مسألة ثم ختم على أفواه القوم وتكلمت أيديهم وأرجلهم بما كانوا يعملون وقد قال علي ابن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس لا يسألهم هل عملتم كذا وكذا لأنه أعلم بذلك منهم ولكن يقول لم عملتم كذا وكذا.فهذا قول ثان. وقال مجاهد فى هذه الآية لا تسأل الملائكة عن المجرمين بل يعرفون بسيماهم وهذا قول ثالث. وكأن هذا بعدما يؤمر بهم إلى النار فذلك الوقت لا يسئلون عن ذنوبهم بل يقادون إليها ويلقون فيها.

The Horrors of the Day of Resurrection

Allah said,

فَإِذَا انشَقَّتِ السَّمَآءُ

(Then when the heaven is rent asunder,) on the Day of Resurrection; this meaning is clear in this and similar Ayat, such as,

وَانشَقَّتِ السَّمَآءُ فَهِىَ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَاهِيَةٌ

(And the heaven will be rent asunder, for that Day it (the heaven) will be frail and torn up.)(69:16),

وَيَوْمَ تَشَقَّقُ السَّمَآءُ بِالْغَمَـمِ وَنُزِّلَ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ تَنزِيلاً

(And (remember) the Day when the heaven shall be rent asunder with clouds, and the angels will be sent down, with a grand descending.)(25:25) and,

إِذَا السَّمَآءُ انشَقَّتْ - وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ

(When the heaven is split asunder, and listens to and obeys its Lord -- and it must do so.)(84:1-2) Allah's statement,

فَكَانَتْ وَرْدَةً كَالدِّهَانِ

(and it becomes Wardah like Dihan.) This means they will melt just as sediment and silver are melted when heated. And they will be colored, just as dies stain something, sometimes red, sometimes yellow, or blue, or green. This demonstrates the extent of the horrors of the Mighty Day of Resurrection. As-Suddi said, "It will be as rosy color and as filth oil." Mujahid said

كَالدِّهَانِ

(like Dihan), "Like the colors of dyes." Allah said;

فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لاَّ يُسْـَلُ عَن ذَنبِهِ إِنسٌ وَلاَ جَآنٌّ

(So on that Day he will not be questioned about his sins, (neither) human nor Jinn.) this is similar to His saying;

هَـذَا يَوْمُ لاَ يَنطِقُونَ - وَلاَ يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ

(That will be a Day when they shall not speak, and they will not be permitted to put forth any excuse.)(77:35-36) This is the case at the time, then all the creatures will be questioned about their deeds. Allah said;

فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَسْـَلَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ - عَمَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

(So, by your Lord, We shall certainly call all of them to account. For all that they used to do.)(15:92-93) Qatadah said, "On that they will be questioned and then their mouths will be sealed and their hands and feet will reveal what they used to do." Allah the Exalted said,

يُعْرَفُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ بِسِيمَـهُمْ

(The criminals will be known by their marks,) i.e., by special marks that distinguish them. Al-Hasan and Qatadah said, "They will be known by their dark faces and their blue eyes." I say that this contrasts to the marks that will distinguish the believers, such as the light that will appear on the parts of the body that they used to wash while performing ablution. Allah said,

فَيُؤْخَذُ بِالنَّوَاصِى وَالاٌّقْدَامِ

(and they will be seized by their foreheads and feet.) meaning, the angels of punishment will bend their heads down to their feet and throw them like this into the Hellfire. Al-A`mash said that Ibn `Abbas said, "He will be taken by his forehead and his feet and be broken just as a stick is broken to be thrown into an oven." Allah said,

هَـذِهِ جَهَنَّمُ الَّتِى يُكَذِّبُ بِهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ

(This is the Hell which the criminals denied.) meaning, `this is the Fire that you used to deny existed that it; now you see it before your eyes!' While being chastised, criticized, disgraced and belittled, this will be said to the disbelievers.

يَطُوفُونَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ حَمِيمٍ ءَانٍ

(They will go between it and Hamim An!) meaning, they will sometimes be punished with fire and they will sometimes be given Hamim which is a drink like molten copper tearing their intestines and internal organs,

إِذِ الاٌّغْلَـلُ فِى أَعْنَـقِهِمْ والسَّلَـسِلُ يُسْحَبُونَ - فِى الْحَمِيمِ ثُمَّ فِى النَّارِ يُسْجَرُونَ

(When the iron collars will be rounded over their necks, and the chains, they shall be dragged along, in the Hamim, then they will be burned in the Fire.)(40:71-72) Allah said

ءَانٍ

(An) meaning hot, due to the fierce and intense heat that is impossible to bear. Ibn `Abbas said;

يَطُوفُونَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ حَمِيمٍ ءَانٍ

(They will go between it and Hamim An!) "That has reached the ultimate temperature and boiling fiercely." Similar was said by Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Ath-Thawri and As-Suddi. Qatadah also commented, "Its boiling started when Allah created the heavens and the earth!" Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi said, "The (disobedient) servant will be seized by the forehead and stirred in that boiling water until his flesh melts and only the bones and the eyes in his head remain. This is the meaning of Allah's statement,

فِى الْحَمِيمِ ثُمَّ فِى النَّارِ يُسْجَرُونَ

(In the Hamim, then they will be burned in the Fire.)(40:72) And Al-Hamim Al-An means hot." There is another report from Al-Qurazi;

حَمِيمٍ ءَانٍ

(Hamim An) that it means "prepared. " This is also the view of Ibn Zayd. And saying that it means "prepared" does not contradict the first report from Al-Qurazi which says that it means hot, for Allah said:

تُسْقَى مِنْ عَيْنٍ ءَانِيَةٍ

(They will be given to drink from a spring, Aniyah.) (88:5) which means severe unbearable heat, and His saying;

غَيْرَ نَـظِرِينَ إِنَـهُ

(not to wait for it to be prepared)(33:53) which means properly cooking and preparing it. So His saying;

حَمِيمٍ ءَانٍ

(Hamim An.) Hamim, that is very hot. Surely, punishing the disobedient criminals as well as favoring those who had Taqwa, is from Allah's grace, mercy, justice, compassion and kindness for His creatures. His warnings against His torment and punishment, such as mentioned in these Ayat, should encourage all creatures to abandon the Shirk and disobedience they engage in, and this is why Allah reminded them of this favor;

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

(Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny)

Thus on that day no man will be questioned about his sin nor any jinn about his sin; but they are questioned on some other occasion By your Lord We shall question them all Q.1592 al-jānn in this instance and in what will follow denotes the jinn and also in both cases al-ins denotes human beings.

The Horrors of the Day of Resurrection

فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَّا يُسْأَلُ عَن ذَنبِهِ إِنسٌ وَلَا جَانٌّ (On that day, neither a man will be questioned about his sin, nor a Jinn...55:39) One interpretation of this verse is that no one will be asked whether or not he had committed the sin, because it will have already been recorded by the angels in the ledger of deeds, and Allah has the Pre-Eternal knowledge of it. The question will be 'why' did they commit the sin? This is the interpretation of Ibn ` Abbas ؓ . Mujahid (رح) interprets it as follows: There will be no need for the angels of punishment to question the criminals whether or not they committed the sin. They will be known by their special marks [ See verse (41) below ] clearly showing on their faces. The angels will be able to recognize them by the their distinguishing marks and hurl them into the Hellfire according to the type of misdeeds they might have committed. A composite interpretation of the two explanations is as follows: This event will take place when people will have given account of their deeds, and judgment will have been passed against the criminals to go to Hell on the Day of Reckoning. They will not be questioned nor will any negotiation be held about their sins at that stage. Their characteristic signs will be seen on their faces, and accordingly they will be hurled into Hell.

Qatadah (رح) says that the verse refers to a stage after they will have been questioned about their sins, but they will have refused under oath. Then their mouths and tongues will be sealed, and their hands and feet will be asked to bear witness. At that stage no more questions will be asked from them. Ibn Kathir notes all three explanations. They are close to each other, and thus there is no conflict.