Surah Al-Qasas: Verses (60 - 61)

Translation and Exegesis (Based on Mafatih al-Ghayb)

Verse 60-61 (Partial Context): And what you have been given...

This is the third response to their doubt. Their core contention was: "We abandoned the religion so that we would not miss out on worldly life."

Allah (SWT) clarifies that this is a grave error because what is with Allah is better and more enduring (خير وأبقى).

1. Why it is Better (خير):
   • First reason: The benefits there (in the Hereafter) are greater.
   • Second reason: They are pure, free from impurities. Worldly benefits are always mixed with harms, and the harms are often greater.

2. Why it is More Enduring (أبقى):
   • They are permanent and unending. Worldly benefits are finite and cease.
   • When comparing the finite to the infinite, the finite is effectively non-existent. How much more so when considering that each person's share of worldly benefits is like an atom compared to the sea of the Hereafter's rewards.

It is clear, therefore, that worldly benefits have absolutely no proportion to the benefits of the Hereafter. Thus, abandoning the Hereafter's benefits to retain worldly ones is a profound form of ignorance.

After highlighting this, Allah says: {أفلا تعقلون} (Will you not use reason?) This means that whoever does not prioritize the Hereafter's benefits over worldly ones is effectively outside the bounds of sound intellect.

May Allah have mercy on Al-Shafi'i, who said: "If someone willed to bequeath one-third of their wealth to the most intelligent people, that third should be given to those engaged in obedience to Allah, because the most intelligent are those who give up little (worldly pleasure) to gain much (eternal reward)." It is as if he derived this understanding from this very verse.

Furthermore, Allah emphasizes this preference in another way: Even if we supposed that God's favors in the Hereafter would eventually cease and not be followed by eternal punishment, sound intellect would still demand prioritizing the Hereafter's favors over worldly ones. How much more so when worldly favors are followed by eternal punishment!

This is what is meant by the verse: {أفمن وعدناه وعدا حسنا فهو لاقيه} (Is he who We promised a good promise, which he will meet...?) (Al-Saffat: 57). This refers to the one who was given a small portion of worldly enjoyment, yet in the Hereafter, they will be among those brought forth for punishment.

The essence is: When they said, "We abandoned religion for the world," Allah responded: Even if your worldly life were not followed by the harm of punishment, reason dictates preferring the Hereafter's benefits. How can you ignore this when this world is followed by eternal punishment?

Allah uses the interrogative form (أفلا تعقلون) to make the acknowledgment of this preference more emphatic.

The specification of the term {المحضرين} (those brought forth/gathered) refers to those summoned for punishment, a concept known from the Quran (e.g., "I would have been among those brought forth" [Al-Saffat: 57]; "For they will surely be brought forth" [Al-Saffat: 127]). The term itself implies being summoned for accountability and obligation, which is fitting for places of harm and distress, not for gatherings of pleasure.

Verse 62-66:

{وَيَوْمَ يُنَادِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُ أَيْنَ شُرَكَائِيَ الَّذِينَ كُنْتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ} (And on the Day He will call them, He will say, "Where are My partners whom you used to claim?")

{قَالَ الَّذِينَ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَوْلُ رَبَّنَا هَٰؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ أَغْوَيْنَا أَغْوَيْنَاهُمْ كَمَا غَوَيْنَا ۚ تَبَرَّأْنَا إِلَيْكَ ۖ مَا كَانُوا إِيَّانَا يَعْبُدُونَ} (Those upon whom the Word has been established will say, "Our Lord, these are the ones whom we misled; we misled them just as we were misguided. We declare our innocence to You; they were not worshipping us.")

{وَقِيلَ ادْعُوا شُرَكَاءَكُمْ فَدَعَوْهُمْ فَلَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَهُمْ وَرَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ لَوْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَهْتَدُونَ} (And it will be said, "Call upon your partners," and they will call upon them, but they will not respond to them, and they will see the punishment—if only they had been guided!)

{وَيَوْمَ يُنَادِيهِمْ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَا أَجَبْتُمُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ} (And on the Day He will call them, He will say, "What answer did you give to the Messengers?")

{فَعَمِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَنْبَاءُ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَهُمْ لَا يَتَسَاءَلُونَ} (And the news will be obscured to them that Day, so they will not question one another.)