Tafsir of Al Imran 3:56

This is an explanation of the judgment indicated by His saying—Glory be to Him—{"then I will judge,"} and a detailed elaboration of it by way of division after unification. Many of the scholars of verification have held this view. An objection has been raised that the judgment is contingent upon the return to Allah—Exalted be He—and that this will inevitably occur on the Day of Resurrection. How, then, can it be correctly interpreted as punishment qualified by His saying—Exalted be He—{"in this world and the Hereafter"}?

Several answers have been provided:

First: The intention is to signify perpetuity and non-interruption, without looking specifically at "this world" and "the Hereafter."

Second: The intention behind "this world" and "the Hereafter" is their linguistic concept—that is, the first and the last—serving as an expression for continuity. This is far more remote than the first.

Third: What the author of al-Kashf mentioned, which is that the reference is more general than that of the worldly and the otherworldly. His saying—Exalted be He—{"until the Day of Resurrection"} is a limit for the supremacy (fawqiyyah), not a limit for the appointment (ja'l). The return is delayed relative to the appointment, and it is not delimited, in the manner of your saying: "I will lend you the residence of this house for a month, then I will bestow upon you a garment of such-and-such quality," for it requires the bestowing to be after the lending, not the removal [of the garment]. On this basis, the fulfillment of the reward covers the benefits of both abodes. It is not hidden that the word "were" (kuntum) in His saying—Majestic and Exalted be He—{"in that wherein you used to differ"} contains some indication of this meaning; that the meaning is "I will judge between you in the Hereafter regarding that in which you used to differ in this world."

Fourth: That the punishment in this world is the supremacy over them, and the meaning is: "I will add to the punishment of the previous supremacy the punishment of the Hereafter." The author of al-Kashf said: "In this there is a fine correspondence, and this supremacy is an introduction to the punishment of the Hereafter and a confirmation of it, and an integration indicating that it is a supremacy of justice, not a dominance of tyranny." It is not hidden that this is very remote from the literal wording, as the meaning of "I will punish them in this world and the Hereafter" is nothing but "I will inflict upon them the punishment of both abodes." However, it is said that the taking of the whole does not necessitate the taking of every part; thus, it is possible for the punishment of both abodes to be realized in the Hereafter by inflicting the punishment of the Hereafter upon them, while the punishment of this world was already inflicted upon them in this world, so the completion of both punishments occurs in the Hereafter.

Fifth: That "in this world and the Hereafter" is attached to "severe," emphasizing the degree of severity. This is nothing, as is not hidden.

Better than all of this is what some scholars of verification have mentioned: that the meaning of "then" (thumma) should be understood as a ranking of status and a progression from one statement to another, not as a temporal delay. In that case, it is not required that their return to Allah—Exalted be He—be delayed from the appointment in time, whether His saying—Majestic and Exalted be He—{"until the Day of Resurrection"} is a limit for the appointment or for the supremacy. Thus, there is no impediment.

Furthermore, the intended punishment in this world is their subjugation through killing, captivity, enslavement, the taking of jizya, and the like. And for those with whom none of these modes of humiliation is practiced, they live in fear, for they know that Islam seeks them, and that is sufficient as a punishment. As for the punishment in the Hereafter, it is the eternal chastisement in the Fire.

{And they will have no helpers} That is, no assistants to ward off the punishment of Allah from them. The plural form, as our master, the Mufti of Rum, said, is for correspondence with the plural pronoun—meaning that not one of them has a single helper.