Al-Furqan: 11 - "Nay, they deny the Hour..."

(Nay, they deny the Hour): This is a transition to narrating another type of their absurdities, relating to the matter of the Resurrection. What preceded related to the matters of monotheism and Prophethood. There is no harm in returning to what relates to the previous discourse, as the variation in the methods of narration corresponds to the variation in what is being narrated. How subtle it is to conclude the narration of what relates to the afterlife just before this transition.

And His saying, Exalted is He: (And We have prepared for those who deny the Hour a Blaze): This explains what is in store for them in the afterlife on account of that [denial]. That is, We have prepared for them a great Fire, intense in its combustion, whose state is such and such, because of their denial of it. This is indicated by placing the relative pronoun ("those who") in the position of their personal pronoun, or for anyone who denies it, whoever they may be—with them being the primary ones included in this. The Hour is placed in the position of its own pronoun to maximize the denunciation. Even though this preparation is not exclusively due to their denial of it—rather, their committing of absurdities regarding monotheism and Prophethood shares in the causality—nonetheless, since the Hour itself is the proximate cause for their entry into the Blaze, it is indicated by what was mentioned that the denial of it is the cause for their entry into it, and no reference is made to the causality of anything else.

It is said that "whoever denies the Hour" has become like a proper noun for those polytheists and those who denied the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and denied the Hour; meaning those who combine all three descriptions. This is because denial of it is the most specific of their ugly traits and the most frequently uttered by them, for among the disbelievers are those who commit shirk and deny the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) yet do not deny the Hour. Thus, the intended meaning of "who denies the Hour" is that specific class of disbelievers—and this is as you can see.

It is said: His saying, Exalted is He (Nay, they deny the Hour) is a conjunction to His saying, Exalted is He, (They said, "What is the matter with this Messenger...") and so on, and a turning away from it to something even more astounding. The meaning is that that [the previous statement] was a denial of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), while this is a denial of Allah, Exalted is He. In the Sahih of al-Bukhari, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), it is said: Allah, Exalted is He, said: "The son of Adam has denied Me, and it was not for him to do so..." until His saying, Exalted is He: "As for his denying Me, it is his claim that I am not able to restore him as he was." Its apparent meaning is that the astoundment of denying the Hour is because it is a denial of Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He.

Some have said: The astoundment is because they denied the power of Allah, Exalted is He, to resurrect, despite what they witnessed in their own selves and in the horizons, and what was established in their assumptions that restoration is easier than the initial creation. This is not a denial of Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, for they did not hear of the matter of the Hour except from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); thus, it is a denial of him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) regarding it. And you know that the Hadith contains an indication of what is accepted.

It is said: It is a turning away from that, in the sense that they brought something more astounding, as they denied the Hour and rejected it, while We have prepared for those who deny it a Blaze. Their audacity in denying it and their lack of fear of what is prepared for those who deny it—from the various types of torment—is more astounding than the previous statement. This is countered by the view that audacity in denying the Hour is [not necessarily] more astounding than the audacity of the previous statement after the manifestation of the miracle, and we do not concede that the addition of a lack of fear of the consequences—when that consequence pertains to the Hour they deny—adds anything. In this there is contemplation.

It is said: It is a turning away from that, meaning they brought something more astounding, as they denied the Hour about which all the Prophets (peace be upon them) had informed. Therefore, the audacity to deny it is an audacity to deny them; and audacity in denying them is more astounding than the audacity of the previous statement. This is countered by the argument that their intent in the previous statement was to deny his Prophethood (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and to accuse him of lying—yet far be it, far be it from him to lie in his claim, for his state (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not contradict their state, and his being described with what they claimed is contrary to the Messengership, which is a state present and realized in all the Prophets (peace be upon them). Thus, denying him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in that regard is also a denial of them, so the denial of the Hour, as mentioned, would not be more astounding than the denial of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as both denials share in being essentially a denial of all.

It is said: It is connected to His saying, Exalted is He, (Blessed is He who, if He willed...) which occurs as a reply to them, and which signifies the promise of Gardens and palaces in the afterlife. It is brought to explain that this [response] does not avail anything, in the manner of the saying of the one who said: "Turn aside to the favor, and greet the ruins of the house; what do you greet of the trenches and the stones?" The meaning is that they do not believe in the Hour, so how can they be convinced by this answer, and how can they believe in the acceleration of what you were promised in the afterlife?

It is said: It is a turning away from the answer to an explanation of the cause that invites them to denial. The meaning is: Nay, they deny the Hour, so their sights were restricted to worldly fortunes, and they assumed that honor is only through wealth, and they made your lack of it a pretext for denying you.