Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 69

(Ayah 69) ➊ {وَ اَشْرَقَتِ الْاَرْضُ …:} On the Day of Resurrection, Allah and the angels will come down to the earth (see Surah Al-Fajr: 22) and the earth will be illuminated with the light of its Lord. Some people deny that Allah will come to the earth on the Day of Resurrection and also openly deny His descending to the lowest heaven. They say that neither is Allah on the Throne, nor does He descend to the lowest heaven, nor will He come to the earth on the Day of Resurrection; rather, all these are metaphors. The Throne means sovereignty, descending to the lowest heaven means the descent of His mercy, and coming on the Day of Resurrection means His command coming, etc. However, it is an established rule that a metaphorical meaning is only intended when taking the literal meaning is impossible, whereas here there is no difficulty in taking the literal meaning. These people have accepted the statement of the polytheist philosophers of Greece that every place of occurrences is itself an occurrence, so they denied every new state and new affair that comes to Allah. Thus, according to them, Allah neither hears, nor sees, nor speaks, nor is on the Throne, nor descends, nor ascends, nor becomes angry, nor becomes pleased, because all these are occurrences (new states) which, in their view, cannot occur to Allah.
These people interpret all such words in the Qur’an and Hadith in ways that are actually distortions. They say that all these are metaphors used to present Allah in the form of a king according to the minds of the Bedouins of Arabia. As if neither the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) nor the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) knew Allah and His essence and attributes. The real truth was revealed to the Greek philosophers and reached these people through them. The Qur’an repeatedly negates their rule, as He said: « يَسْـَٔلُهٗ مَنْ فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِيْ شَاْنٍ » [ الرحمٰن : ۲۹ ] “Whoever is in the heavens and the earth asks Him; every day He is in a (new) state.” And He said: «قَدْ سَمِعَ اللّٰهُ قَوْلَ الَّتِيْ تُجَادِلُكَ فِيْ زَوْجِهَا » [ المجادلۃ : ۱ ] “Indeed, Allah has heard the statement of the woman who disputes with you concerning her husband.” And He said: «اُجِيْبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ اِذَا دَعَانِ » [ البقرۃ : ۱۸۶ ] “I respond to the supplication of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.” And He said: « وَ كَلَّمَ اللّٰهُ مُوْسٰى تَكْلِيْمًا » [ النساء : ۱۶۴ ] “And Allah spoke to Musa, direct speech.” And He said: « وَ مَا يَاْتِيْهِمْ مِّنْ ذِكْرٍ مِّنَ الرَّحْمٰنِ مُحْدَثٍ اِلَّا كَانُوْا عَنْهُ مُعْرِضِيْنَ» [ الشعرآء : ۵ ] “And there never comes to them a new reminder from the Most Merciful but they turn away from it.” See also the commentary of Surah Al-Fajr (22) and Surah Al-Haqqah (17).
➋ { وَ وُضِعَ الْكِتٰبُ : } That is, the records of deeds of all people will be placed before them. See Surah Bani Isra’il (13) and Surah Al-Kahf (49).
➌ {وَ جِايْٓءَ بِالنَّبِيّٖنَ وَ الشُّهَدَآءِ :} The witnesses refer to, besides the prophets, the righteous people of our Ummah and all previous nations who conveyed the message of truth to their people, because Allah says: «وَ مَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِيْنَ حَتّٰى نَبْعَثَ رَسُوْلًا » [ بني إسرائیل : ۱۵ ] “And We never punish until We have sent a messenger.” Among these witnesses are also those individuals of the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him) who will testify in favor of Nuh (peace be upon him) and other prophets that they conveyed Allah’s message to their people. For more details, see the commentary of Surah Al-Baqarah (143) and Surah An-Nisa’ (41). Among these witnesses are also the noble scribes (angels) and a person’s own limbs, which will testify against him. Likewise, the earth on which a person performed any good or bad deed, as He said: « يَوْمَىِٕذٍ تُحَدِّثُ اَخْبَارَهَا (4) بِاَنَّ رَبَّكَ اَوْحٰى لَهَا» [ الزلزال : ۴، ۵ ] “That Day it will report its news, because your Lord has inspired it.”
➍ { وَ قُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ … :} That is, after bringing forth all good and bad deeds and establishing proof through the witnesses, judgment will be passed among all people with justice, and no one will be wronged in any way. See Surah Al-Anbiya’ (47) and Surah An-Nisa’ (40).

69. 1. Some have interpreted this "light" as justice and some as command, but there is nothing preventing it from being taken in its real meaning, because Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth.

69. 2. The prophets will be asked whether they conveyed My message to their respective people or community, or it will be asked what response their communities gave to their invitation—did they accept it or reject it? The Ummah of Muhammad will be brought as witnesses, who will testify to these matters as Allah had informed them of these affairs.

19. 3. That is, there will be no decrease in anyone's reward or recompense, and no one will be punished more than their crime.

69. And the earth will shine with the light of its Lord [87], and the record of deeds will be placed, and the prophets and all the witnesses [88] will be brought forth, and judgment will be made between the people with justice, and they will not be wronged.

[87] That is, today the earth is illuminated by the light of the sun, but the earth that will be prepared for the Plain of Resurrection will be sparkling and shining directly with the light of its Lord.

[88]
Who Will Bear Witness on the Day of Judgment?

By "witnesses" (shuhada), the foremost intended are the Prophets, and their mention has already come separately in this verse. Then, it refers to those people through whom Allah's message was was conveyed to them, then also the angels who kept recording their deeds. And if the criminals still do not confess their sins, then their own limbs, and the walls, trees, and stones of that environment—all will bear witness against the criminals.