Surah Al-Furqaan (25) — Ayah 22

(Ayah 22) ➊ { يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةَ لَا بُشْرٰى يَوْمَىِٕذٍ لِّلْمُجْرِمِيْنَ:} That is, seeing the Lord Almighty is very far off; even seeing the angels is not an ordinary matter. The day they see the angels, there will be no good news for those criminals, because the angels come only with punishment for them (Hijr: 8), whether they bring some punishment in this world, or come to them at the time of death (An'am: 93; Anfal: 50; Muhammad: 27, 28), or appear to them on the Day of Resurrection.

➋ The meaning of { وَ يَقُوْلُوْنَ حِجْرًا مَّحْجُوْرًا: ’’ حِجْرًا ‘‘} is barrier, obstruction; {’’ مَحْجُوْرًا ‘‘} is for emphasis, meaning a very strong barrier. That is, when the criminals see the angels, they will wish that there were a strong barrier, a severe obstruction between them and the angels, by which they could escape from them.

22-1. By "that day" is meant the day of death, that is, these disbelievers desire to see the angels, but at the time of death, when they will see the angels, there will be no happiness or joy for them, because at that moment the angels will announce to them the warning of the punishment of Hell and say, "O wicked soul, come out from the wicked body," from which the soul runs and flees, upon which the angels strike and beat it, as is mentioned in (وَلَوْ تَرٰٓي اِذْ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوا ۙ الْمَلٰۗىِٕكَةُ يَضْرِبُوْنَ وُجُوْهَهُمْ وَاَدْبَارَهُمْ ۚ وَذُوْقُوْا عَذَابَ الْحَرِيْقِ) 8. Al-Anfal: 50), (وَمَنْ اَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرٰي عَلَي اللّٰهِ كَذِبًا اَوْ قَالَ اُوْحِيَ اِلَيَّ وَلَمْ يُوْحَ اِلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ وَّمَنْ قَالَ سَاُنْزِلُ مِثْلَ مَآ اَنْزَلَ اللّٰهُ ۭ وَلَوْ تَرٰٓي اِذِ الظّٰلِمُوْنَ فِيْ غَمَرٰتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلٰۗىِٕكَةُ بَاسِطُوْٓا اَيْدِيْهِمْ ۚ اَخْرِجُوْٓا اَنْفُسَكُمْ ۭ اَلْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُوْنِ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَقُوْلُوْنَ عَلَي اللّٰهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَكُنْتُمْ عَنْ اٰيٰتِهٖ تَسْتَكْبِرُوْنَ) 6. Al-An'am: 93). In contrast, the state of the believer at the time of death, at the moment of agony, is that the angels give him the glad tidings of Paradise and its delightful blessings, as is in Surah Ha Mim As-Sajdah [41:30-32], and it is also mentioned in the hadith that the angels say to the soul of the believer, "O pure soul that was in a pure body, come out and go to a place where there are Allah's blessings, and He is the Lord who is pleased with you." For details, see Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Majah. Some say that by this is meant the Day of Resurrection. Imam Ibn Kathir says that both opinions are Sahih, because on both days the angels appear before both the believers and the disbelievers, giving the believers the glad tidings of Allah's mercy and pleasure, and giving the disbelievers the news of destruction and loss.

22-2. The original meaning of Ḥijr is to prevent, to stop. Just as a judge, due to someone's foolishness or minority, prevents him from spending his own wealth, it is said, Ḥajara al-qāḍī ʿalā fulān—the judge prevented so-and-so from disposing (of his wealth). In this sense, the part of the Ka'bah called Ḥaṭīm is also called Ḥijr, which the Quraysh of Makkah did not include in the Ka'bah, so it is forbidden for those performing ṭawāf to perform ṭawāf from inside it; during ṭawāf, one should pass from its outer part, which has been distinguished by a wall. Intellect is also called ḥijr because intellect also prevents people from doing things that are not befitting for a human. The meaning is that the angels say to the disbelievers that you are deprived of those things whose glad tidings are given to the righteous, that is, it is in the meaning of ḥarāman muḥarraman ʿalaykum—today, Paradise al-Firdaws and its blessings are forbidden to you; only the people of faith and piety will be deserving of them.

22. On the Day they see the angels, there will be no good news for the criminals, and they will cry out, "we seek refuge from you [32]!"

[31] There are only three possible ways for them to see the angels. Two in this world and one in the Hereafter. In this world, such people see the angels with their own eyes when they descend upon them with the wrath and punishment of Allah. Secondly, when the angels come to them to take their souls. And in the Hereafter, they will be seeing the angels at all times. Whatever the time and whatever the situation, there will be nothing joyful for them; rather, whenever the angels come to them, they will come as the wrath of Allah.

[32]
The Three Ways of Seeing the Angels:

This is an idiom. "Hijarah" means stone, and "hijr" refers to anything that is as hard as a stone and also serves as a barrier or shield. It was the custom of the Arabs that when they saw an enemy from whom they feared harm, or when they saw some other calamity, they would say "hijran mahjura," just as we say, "Allah's refuge from this," or "May Allah save us from this." Upon hearing these words, the listener would usually not cause harm. In the same way, on the day when these criminals see the angels, they will utter these words seeking refuge from them, but on that day, they will not find any refuge.