Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 31

(Ayah 31) ➊ { ثُمَّ اِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ … :} According to the preceding and following verses, this dispute refers to the argument between the polytheists and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) before Allah Almighty on the Day of Resurrection, when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) will present his case: "O Allah! I conveyed Your message to these people, but they denied me." (See Furqan: 30) And the polytheists will swear oaths and deny that they were polytheists in the world, saying: « وَ اللّٰهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِيْنَ » [ الأنعام : ۲۳ ] "By Allah, our Lord, we were not among those who associated partners." Then the decision will be in the hands of Allah Almighty, Who, in addition to the testimony of the Prophet, will establish their crime with the testimonies of the believers, the angels, the earth and the heavens, and even the hands, feet, tongues, and other limbs of these polytheists themselves, and will decide their fate.

➋ Because the words of the verse are general, all disputes that will occur before Allah Almighty on the Day of Resurrection are included in this, whether they are between disbelievers and Muslims, or between polytheists and their deities, or between leaders and their followers, or between kings and their subjects, or between the oppressed and the oppressors, even if both are Muslims, to the extent that a person will even dispute with his own limbs. (See Ha Mim As-Sajdah: 21) Therefore, most commentators have kept this verse general. Tabari has narrated with an authentic chain from Ali bin Abi Talhah, in the explanation of this verse, the statement of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): {’’ يُخَاصِمُ الصَّادِقُ الْكَاذِبَ، وَالْمَظْلُوْمُ الظَّالِمَ، وَالْمُهْتَدِي الضَّالَّ وَالضَّعِيْفُ الْمُسْتَكْبِرَ ‘‘} [ طبري : ۳۰۳۸۳ ] "That is, the truthful will dispute with the liar, the oppressed with the oppressor, the guided with the misguided, and the weak with the arrogant." Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) says: [ لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ : « ثُمَّ اِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُوْنَ » قَالَ الزُّبَيْرُ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! أَتُكَرَّرُ عَلَيْنَا الْخُصُوْمَةُ بَعْدَ الَّذِيْ كَانَ بَيْنَنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا؟ قَالَ نَعَمْ فَقَالَ إِنَّ الْأَمْرَ إِذًا لَشَدِيْدٌ ] [ ترمذي، التفسیر، باب و من سورۃ الزمر : ۳۲۳۶، قال الترمذي حسن صحیح وقال الألباني حسن الإسناد ] "When this verse: «ثُمَّ اِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُوْنَ » was revealed, Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'O Messenger of Allah! After the disputes in this world, will those disputes occur again among us?' He (peace be upon him) said: 'Yes!' So Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'At that time, the matter will be very severe.'"

31. 1. That is, O Prophet! Both you and your opponents, all will meet death and come to Us in the Hereafter from this world. In the world, the decision between monotheism and polytheism could not be made among you, and you kept disputing about it, but here I will decide it, and I will admit the sincere monotheists to Paradise and the polytheists, deniers, and rejecters to Hell.

31. Then on the Day of Resurrection, you will all present your cases before your Lord [47].

[47]
What kinds of people will dispute with each other before Allah?

These disputes will be of several kinds. The oppressed will seize the oppressor by the collar and present him before Allah, presenting arguments about the oppression he suffered. The second type is that the disbelievers and polytheists will deny their crimes. Then, the testimonies of the Messengers and the believers will be presented against them. After that, their own limbs will testify against them. The third type is that Allah Himself will decide the disputes between the people of truth and the people of falsehood, or between the monotheists and the polytheists. The fourth type will be the dispute between the polytheists and their deities, or between the leaders and their followers. Both will lay blame on each other. In short, there will be many kinds of disputes, all of which will be decided in Allah’s court with utmost justice.