Surah Ar-Room (30) — Ayah 8

(Ayah 8) ➊ { اَوَ لَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوْا فِيْۤ اَنْفُسِهِمْ … :} There can be two possibilities in this: one is that {’’ اَوَ لَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوْا فِيْۤ اَنْفُسِهِمْ ‘‘} is an independent sentence and {’’ مَا خَلَقَ اللّٰهُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضَ وَ مَا بَيْنَهُمَاۤ اِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَ اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ‘‘} is another sentence. That is, have those people who deny Allah’s messengers and His meeting not reflected within themselves, because there are many signs within their own souls, by which they can know that the One who brought them into existence from non-existence is also able to bring them to life again after this, and that the One who transferred them from one state to another—thus, from a drop of fluid to a clot, then to a lump of flesh, then to a living human, then in the form of a child, then a youth, then an old man, then a decrepit old man. Is it befitting for such a Being to leave them unrestrained, without giving them any command, nor forbidding them from anything, nor granting them any reward or punishment? No, rather, in every state, as they pass through different conditions, they are destined to meet their Lord for the reckoning of their deeds. (See Surah Inshiqaq: 6 and 16–19) (Abdur Rahman Sa'di)

The second possibility is that {’’ فِيْۤ اَنْفُسِهِمْ ‘‘ ’’ اَوَ لَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوْا ‘‘} is a circumstantial adverb and the sentence is completed at {’’ بِالْحَقِّ وَ اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ‘‘}. That is, have these people not reflected within their own souls, that is, in their hearts, that Allah Almighty did not create the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in vain and without purpose, nor did He make them to last forever, but rather, He created them with the truth, according to His perfect wisdom, that is, for a real purpose (trial), as He said: «{ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ اَيُّكُمْ اَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا }» [ھود : ۷ ] “That He may test you as to which of you is best in deed.” And He created them for a fixed term, upon reaching which this entire process must come to an end, and that appointed term is the Day of Resurrection, the time of reckoning, reward, and punishment. This is what is stated in this verse: «{ اَفَحَسِبْتُمْ اَنَّمَا خَلَقْنٰكُمْ عَبَثًا وَّ اَنَّكُمْ اِلَيْنَا لَا تُرْجَعُوْنَ }» [ المؤمنون : ۱۱۵ ] “Did you think that We created you in vain and that you would not be returned to Us?” See here how Allah Almighty has clearly stated that if He were to create the creation and then leave them as they are, without resurrecting them and bringing them to account, then creating mankind would be in vain. (Shanqiti) The first possibility of the verse’s exegesis is also Sahih, but the second is clearer, so the translation has been done according to this possibility. Both these points—that the creation of the heavens and the earth is not purposeless but with truth, and that the Resurrection will certainly take place—are mentioned together at many places in the Qur’an. See Surah Dukhan (38–40) and Surah Hijr (85).

➋ {وَ اِنَّ كَثِيْرًا مِّنَ النَّاسِ بِلِقَآئِ رَبِّهِمْ لَكٰفِرُوْنَ :} And many people deny the Hereafter, and being resurrected to meet their Lord, and the reckoning, because they have not reflected in their hearts. If they had reflected in their hearts upon the heavens and the earth and the countless wondrous things between them (see Baqarah: 164), they would have attained certainty in meeting their Lord.

8-1 Or created with a purpose and truth, not aimlessly and in vain. And that purpose is that the righteous may be rewarded for their good deeds and the wicked may be punished for their evil deeds. That is, do they not reflect upon their own existence, how they were brought from non-existence into being, and how they were created from a lowly drop of water? Then, a vast and expansive system of the heavens and the earth was established for a specific purpose, and for all of these, a particular time was appointed, that is, the Day of Resurrection. On that day, all of this will perish. The meaning is that if they were to reflect upon these matters, they would certainly realize and feel the existence of Allah, His Lordship and Divinity, and His absolute power, and they would come to believe in Him.

8-2 And the reason for this is the very lack of reflection and contemplation on the universe; otherwise, there is no reasonable basis for denying the Resurrection.

8. Have they never reflected within themselves [4]? Allah has not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them except for a true purpose [5] and for an appointed term [6]. Yet most people deny the meeting with their Lord.

[4]
In What Ways is Man Distinguished from Other Living Beings:

There is a whole universe settled within man as well. That is why the inner world of man is called the microcosm, and the external world or universe is called the macrocosm. Then, even this inner world has countless aspects. For now, let us reflect on that aspect of man in which he is distinguished from other animals. Self-interest, self-preservation, and survival of the species, etc., are such natural demands that are found in every living being, including man. And the things in which he is distinguished are as follows:
(1) There are countless things in the earth and its environment that have been subjugated for man, and he can use them as he wishes, and this quality is not found in any other living being besides man.
(2) He has been given the ability to distinguish between good and evil. He can judge his own actions, saying, "I did such and such good deed, and such and such deed was bad." This has been placed to a considerable extent in his nature. Then, he has also been warned through revelation.
(3) He has also been granted the power of will and choice, and he has full authority to adopt any way of life, good or bad, for himself. To the extent that a time comes when, contrary to his natural instinct for self-preservation, he does not hesitate to give his life under the influence of some emotion.
(4) He has been granted an ample share of intellect and consciousness, through which he is capable of deducing further facts and results from a few known and observed things.
In technical language, this is expressed as cause and effect. He wants to know the cause by observing phenomena, and then the effect beyond that. The entire period of man's test is until his death. These are the gifts of Allah that have not been granted to any living being other than man, and the purpose of granting them is to test man in this world: whether he remains obedient to Allah even in those matters in which he has been given choice, just as he is bound by Allah's laws and commands in natural matters. Thus, this world is only a place of trial for man, not for any other living being. And the time of this test is until his death. Death is, in fact, the day of the possibility of the result of his test.

The Day of Death is the Announcement of the Result, and Reward and Punishment Begin from That Moment:

And immediately after death, those who pass will be given rewards and honors, and they will be encouraged, while those who fail will be given severe and even more severe punishments according to their respective results. From this very reality, a rational proof for the certainty of the Hereafter is presented. Because it is impossible that a person is tested, but the result of that test is never announced, or after the announcement, those who pass are not encouraged, and those who fail are not punished at all. Nor is it possible that someone is punished before the time of the test is over. Therefore, the real place of reward and punishment is the abode of the Hereafter, not this world. And in this world, when divine punishment descends upon some individuals or nations, it is merely their arrest as criminals, not the full punishment for their crime. So that others may be protected from the oppression of such criminals, and the chain of their oppression may be stopped for the future.

Why is the Life of the Hereafter Necessary:

Thus, even by reflecting on this aspect of the inner world of man, the same conclusion emerges: that it is necessary for man to be rewarded or punished for his good and bad deeds. And also that this reward or punishment can only occur after death; therefore, the establishment of the Day of Resurrection becomes necessary. Now, those who do not believe in the reward and punishment of human deeds and the Day of Resurrection are asked: why were you given these additional gifts? If the purpose of living in this world was only to eat, drink, preserve the species, and then die and become dust, then other living beings are also doing this. Then what distinction remains between you and them? In fact, in one sense, such a human is worse than animals, because he did not benefit at all from the abilities that Allah granted him in excess of other animals.

[5]
Inventions and the Advancement of Civilization Occur Only Through Order and Discipline in the Universe:

By "in truth" is meant that Allah Almighty has assigned specific tasks to all things in the universe and has set laws for them, to which they are strictly bound: they can neither advance nor delay by a single moment, nor deviate even an inch. For example, it takes 24 hours from one sunrise to the next. It is not possible for the sun to advance or delay even a moment in this time. It is not possible for water to flow upward instead of downward, or to not maintain a level surface, or to start boiling before reaching 100 degrees Celsius. Nor is it possible for fire to stop burning things, or for objects to stop expanding with heat and contracting with cold. These are the very laws, due to whose order and discipline, man is able to bring forth new inventions. In fact, if we reflect a little further, if there were no order and discipline in the things of the universe, man would not even be able to survive in this world.

Arguments for Tawheed, the Purpose of Human Life, and the Day of Resurrection:

From this, it is clearly evident that every single thing in the universe has been created for countless benefits and purposes. This is not merely a child's play, where a child builds a sandcastle to amuse himself and, when bored, wipes it away with his hand. Rather, this is the deliberate plan and work of an All-Wise Being. One result of this is that the creator and owner of such an organized and coherent system can only be a single entity. Another result is that the secret of man's inventions and conquest of the universe lies in this very fact: all things in the universe are bound by natural laws. If this were not the case, neither the concept of scientific knowledge would be possible, nor that of human civilization and culture. Now the question is: on one hand, the foundation of the universe is based on solid realities; on the other hand, man has been given abilities that no other living being has been given, as mentioned above. Despite these facts, how can it be believed that human life has no purpose, and that he may live in this world as he wishes, indulge in pleasures, oppress others, violate their rights, and then depart from the world, becoming dust, and there is no one to question him? Thus, in this verse, strong arguments and testimonies are presented for the Oneness of Allah, the purpose of human life, and the Day of Resurrection.

[6]
The Third Argument for the Hereafter:

This is the third argument for the Day of Resurrection and the Hereafter. Everything that has been created, or in technical language, is originated (ḥādith), must perish. Seeing this coherent and stable system of the universe, man thinks that this system will continue forever. The real thing is matter, which is eternal and everlasting. Matter only changes its forms; it does not perish. This is the fundamental basis of the belief of the materialists. But modern research has proven that matter can indeed perish and can be converted into energy. By disrupting the system of the atom's components—electrons and protons—it is converted into energy, and then energy can also be converted back into matter. This proves that, except for the Being of Allah and His attributes, nothing is eternal or everlasting, and everything can perish. When this has been established by science, then what impossibility remains in the system of this universe being disrupted and the Day of Resurrection being established? As for when this present system of the universe will be disrupted and when the Day of Resurrection will be established, only the Creator of the universe can know this, and it is beyond human reach to find this out.