Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 28

(Ayah28) ➊ { الَّذِيْنَ تَتَوَفّٰىهُمُ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةُ … : ’’ فَاَلْقَوُا ‘‘ ’’أَلْقٰي يُلْقِيْ‘‘} is the third person masculine plural perfect verb from (افعال). The meaning is future, because it is as certain as the past. The word {’’ اِلْقَاءٌ‘‘} is used for bodies, as it is said: {’’فُلاَنٌ أَلْقَي السِّلَاحَ‘‘} that so-and-so threw down his weapons, meaning he surrendered himself. The meaning of {’’ السَّلَمَ ‘‘} is {’’اِسْتِسْلَامٌ‘‘}, that is, to be completely submissive and obedient.

➋ { ظَالِمِيْۤ اَنْفُسِهِمْ:} here refers to the disbelievers, because {’’ الَّذِيْنَ تَتَوَفّٰىهُمْ ‘‘} in the previous verse is the attribute of {’’ الْكٰفِرِيْنَ ‘‘}, and the greatest injustice to oneself is disbelief and polytheism. (See Al-An'am: 21) The mention of the angels taking their souls while they are wrongdoers also hints at the severity that these wrongdoers face at that time. For details, see Surah Al-An'am (93) and Surah Al-Anfal (50). In the lengthy hadith of Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with them both), the treatment of the angels with the believer and the disbeliever at the time of death is described in detail. [ مسند أحمد : ۴ /۲۸۷، ۲۸۸، ح : ۱۸۵۶۱۔ أبوداوٗد : ۴۷۵۳ ]

➌ { مَا كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ مِنْ سُوْٓءٍ :} means that they spent their whole lives opposing and fighting the believers, but now, when the reality becomes clear, they will express their obedience, saying that we never did anything wrong. There, they will blatantly lie, thinking that just as their lies worked in the world, they will work here too, and they will even swear oaths on it. See Surah Al-An'am (22, 23) and Surah Al-Mujadila (18).

28. 1. This describes the state of the polytheist wrongdoers at the time of their death, when the angels seize their souls and they start speaking of reconciliation, that is, displaying obedience and humility, they say, "We did not do evil." Just as on the Day of Resurrection, in the presence of Allah, they will also swear false oaths and say, "By Allah, we were not polytheists." In another place it is said, "The Day when Allah will raise them all up and gather them to Himself, they will swear to Him just as they swear to you."

28. 2. The angels will reply, "Why not?" That is, you are lying; your whole life was spent in evil, and with Allah your record of deeds is preserved. What good will this denial do now?

28. Those disbelievers who wronged themselves—when the angels come to take their souls, they will surrender [29] and say, “We were not doing anything evil.” The angels will say, “Yes, you were! Allah certainly knows well what you were doing.”

[29]
The Punishment of the Grave and Its Nature:

The very angels whose coming they kept demanding from their Prophet—when those angels actually arrive, all their arrogance is shattered and they collapse like foam. Yet, they do not stop there; rather, they will completely deny their disobedience and their activities against the truth, and will surrender their weapons so that they may receive safety from the angels. To this, they will be answered: “Do you now wish to deceive Allah by lying?” Even though Allah is fully aware of your every action—how you became enemies of the Prophets, rejected the truth, and persisted in your disbelief and polytheism. The punishment for your rebellion is that now you will be cast into Hell forever. This warning from the angels reaches the criminals even in this world, that is, with the last gasp of death, every person begins to see their end, and the angels even make it clear to them. The period from the last gasp of death until resurrection on the Day of Judgment is called Barzakh, and in hadith, this period is referred to with the words “grave and tomb,” whether the deceased is actually intact or not, or has been disposed of in some other way—whether devoured by a beast or drowned in water. The deniers of hadith who deny the punishment of the grave are refuted in these verses. When the soul departs from the body, which is called death, even then the soul neither dies nor perishes, but remains established with its personality, and this very soul will be returned to its body on the Day of Resurrection, the body that will be provided to it on that day. This is called the second life, and the punishment or reward that occurs in the realm of Barzakh, as mentioned in these verses, is only for the soul. Just as a person sometimes experiences pain in a dream, it seems to him that he is being beaten, and he feels the pain of that beating, even though all these events happen to the soul, while the body lies on the bed. Then, when he wakes up, the effects of the beating in the dream are not only in his mind, but sometimes are found on his body as well, and he appears frightened. The condition of the punishment of the grave is exactly like this. Similarly, in dreams, a person also experiences events of comfort and happiness, and when he wakes up, he himself is cheerful and everyone sees his face radiant with joy. The state of the reward of the grave is also like this. In other words, the realm of Barzakh is a state of semi-life in which the effects of death are more prominent, and so this semi-living state of Barzakh is described as death itself. For further details, refer to my book “Ruh, the Punishment of the Grave, and the Hearing of the Dead.”