Surah Al-Ahqaf (46) — Ayah 20

(Ayah 20) ➊ {وَ يَوْمَ يُعْرَضُ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا عَلَى النَّارِ:} Its connection with the previous verses is twofold: first, after mentioning the fate of those who mistreat their parents and deny the Resurrection, the fate of all disbelievers is described. Second, the previous verse mentioned that both believers and disbelievers will be rewarded according to their deeds and no one will be wronged, so now the question is answered: what will happen to the good deeds that disbelievers do in this world? At the very least, they should receive their reward; if they are not rewarded, that would be injustice. It is said: remember the time when those who refused to accept the truth will be presented before the Fire.

➋ { اَذْهَبْتُمْ طَيِّبٰتِكُمْ فِيْ حَيَاتِكُمُ الدُّنْيَا وَ اسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهَا:} Disbelievers, due to their arrogance and wickedness, are not willing to accept faith and completely submit themselves to the obedience of Allah and His Messenger, nor is the Hereafter their goal. Therefore, they are given the reward for their good deeds in this world. Among their deeds, those done for worldly benefits such as fame, etc., have nothing to do with the Hereafter; however, the deeds they did for Allah are also rewarded here in this world. If nothing else, it is a great favor that they are not immediately seized for their disbelief and polytheism, but are given respite, and along with that, they are given many worldly blessings. (See Hud: 15, 16) Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ مُؤْمِنًا حَسَنَةً، يُعْطٰی بِهَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَيُجْزٰی بِهَا فِی الْآخِرَةِ، وَأَمَّا الْكَافِرُ فَيُطْعَمُ بِحَسَنَاتِ مَا عَمِلَ بِهَا لِلّٰهِ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَتّٰی إِذَا أَفْضٰی إِلَی الْآخِرَةِ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ حَسَنَةٌ يُّجْزٰی بِهَا ] [مسلم، صفات المنافقین، باب جزاء المؤمن بحسناتہ في الدنیا والآخرۃ… : ۲۸۰۸ ] "Allah will not diminish the reward of any good deed of a believer; he will be given in this world and will also be rewarded in the Hereafter. As for the disbeliever, he is fed in this world for the good deeds he did for Allah, until when he reaches the Hereafter, he will have no good deed left for which he could be rewarded."

➌ { فَالْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُوْنِ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَكْبِرُوْنَ … :} With Allah, the reward for every good deed and the punishment for every evil deed will be given according to the nature of that deed, as those who fast will enter through the "Gate of Rayyan." So, the humiliating punishment for the disbelievers will be in accordance with the arrogance they displayed; they considered themselves great, their pride did not allow them to obey Allah and His Messenger, so inevitably they will be given a punishment that matches their arrogance. The humiliation of some moments of the Day of Resurrection is described in this hadith narrated by Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both): the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ يُحْشَرُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُوْنَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَمْثَالَ الذَّرِّ فِيْ صُوَرِ الرِّجَالِ يَغْشَاهُمُ الذُّلُّ مِنْ كُلِّ مَكَانٍ فَيُسَاقُوْنَ إِلٰی سِجْنٍ فِيْ جَهَنَّمَ يُسَمّٰی بُوْلَسَ تَعْلُوْهُمْ نَارُ الْأَنْيَارِ يُسْقَوْنَ مِنْ عُصَارَةِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ طِيْنَةِ الْخَبَالِ ] [ ترمذي، صفۃ القیامۃ، باب ما جاء في شدۃ الوعید للمتکبرین : ۲۴۹۲، قال الألباني حسن ] "The arrogant will be raised on the Day of Resurrection like tiny ants in the form of men, humiliation covering them from all sides. Then they will be driven to a prison in Hell called 'Boulas.' Over them will rise the fire of fires, and they will be given the filth of the people of Hell to drink, which will be a destructive mud." As for what arrogance is, its details are narrated by Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): he said: [ لَا يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ فِيْ قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ كِبْرٍ، قَالَ رَجُلٌ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَكُوْنَ ثَوْبُهُ حَسَنًا وَنَعْلُهُ حَسَنَةً، قَالَ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ جَمِيْلٌ يُحِبُّ الْجَمَالَ، الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ وَغَمْطُ النَّاسِ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب تحریم الکبر و بیانہ : ۹۱ ] "He will not enter Paradise who has even a mustard seed's weight of arrogance in his heart." A man said: "A person likes his clothes and shoes to be good (is this arrogance)?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "Indeed, Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Arrogance is rejecting the truth and looking down on people."

➍ { تَسْتَكْبِرُوْنَ فِي الْاَرْضِ:} "You used to act arrogantly in the land"—although greatness is the right of none but Allah, whether in the earth or in the heavens, but the inhabitants of the earth should especially keep their status in mind. For one who dwells in lowliness, the desire for loftiness is not befitting in any way. It is said: « وَ لَا تَمْشِ فِي الْاَرْضِ مَرَحًا اِنَّكَ لَنْ تَخْرِقَ الْاَرْضَ وَ لَنْ تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُوْلًا» [ بني إسرائیل : ۳۷ ] "And do not walk arrogantly upon the earth; indeed, you will never tear the earth apart, nor reach the mountains in height."

➎ { بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ:} This has two meanings: first, it is stated explicitly because arrogance is the right of none but Allah; whoever displays arrogance does so unjustly. Second, unjust arrogance is forbidden, as mentioned above; however, arrogance in the path of Allah when fighting disbelievers is rightful and beloved to Allah.

➏ { وَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَفْسُقُوْنَ:} By arrogance is meant denial of faith, and by wickedness is meant other sins. The meaning is that there will be two reasons for the punishment of humiliation: one is unjust arrogance in the land, i.e., refusal to believe, and the other is wickedness, i.e., sins and disobedience, and both are the habits of disbelievers. Muslims should seek refuge from these.

➐ Note that in the commentary of this verse, the commentators have written that it shows a Muslim should use the blessings of this world sparingly, so that his blessings in the Hereafter are not diminished, and here they have written the incidents of the asceticism and simple life of Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and other Companions, and their avoidance of worldly pleasures. But the truth is that this verse is not about Muslims at all; it concerns the disbelievers. For the disbelievers, there are only the blessings of this world, while for the believers, there are blessings in both this world and the Hereafter, as it is said: « قُلْ مَنْ حَرَّمَ زِيْنَةَ اللّٰهِ الَّتِيْۤ اَخْرَجَ لِعِبَادِهٖ وَ الطَّيِّبٰتِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ قُلْ هِيَ لِلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا فِي الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا خَالِصَةً يَّوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ» [ الأعراف : ۳۲ ] "Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good things of provision? Say: These are for those who believe during the life of this world (as well), and exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection." The believer receives the reward for his good deeds in both this world and the Hereafter, as mentioned in the benefit (2) of this verse in the hadith. The abstention of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) from worldly pleasures was not based on this verse, because it is for the disbelievers; their abstention was so that they would not become heedless of the Hereafter by indulging in worldly pleasures, and for this patience and asceticism, they would receive greater reward. (Summary of Adwa' al-Bayan)

20. 1. That is, remember the time when the veils will be lifted from the eyes of the disbelievers and they will be seeing the fire of Hell or will be near it. Some have interpreted "یعرضون" to mean "یعذبون," and some say there is inversion in the speech; the meaning is, when the fire will be presented to them, "تعرض النار علیھم" (Fath al-Qadeer).

20. 2. "Tayyibat" refers to those blessings which a person eats, drinks, and uses with pleasure and delight, and feels joy and happiness. But if their use is accompanied by concern for the Hereafter, then it is a different matter, as a believer does. Along with this, he also observes gratitude to Allah by obeying His commands. But using them with indifference to the Hereafter makes a person rebellious and defiant, as a disbeliever does, and thus he is ungrateful to Allah. Therefore, a believer, due to his gratitude and obedience, will receive these blessings, and even far better blessings, again in the Hereafter.

20. 3. Two reasons for their punishment have been mentioned: unjust arrogance, on the basis of which a person avoids following the truth, and the second, "fisq"—committing sins fearlessly. Both these things are common among all disbelievers. The people of faith should protect themselves from both these things.

20. And on the Day when the disbelievers will be presented before the Fire, it will be said to them, "You exhausted your share of good things in your worldly life and enjoyed them. So today you will be punished with a humiliating punishment because you used to act arrogantly on the earth without right and because you used to disobey." [31][32]

[31]
The Reward for the Good Deeds of Disbelievers is Given to Them in This World:

Disbelievers and those who deny the Hereafter are given the reward for their good deeds in this world itself. For example, if a person builds a hospital or a room in it for public welfare, his only purpose is that his generosity becomes famous and people remember him in good words. So, he receives this reward in the world. A plaque bearing his name is placed outside the hospital room. Sometimes, an advertisement or news is also published in newspapers and magazines on behalf of someone else. In this way, he achieves the purpose for which he did this good deed. In short, such disbelievers are given the reward for their good deeds by Allah Almighty in the form of wealth and children, authority, health, honor, fame, etc. As for the matter of reward in the Hereafter, neither was it their objective nor will they receive it, and it will be clearly told to them that you have already received the reward for your good deeds in the world and have benefited from them. Therefore, today there is nothing for you. The abundance of wealth and riches, children, honor, health, and other blessings are not given only to disbelievers. Allah’s righteous servants also receive them and can receive them. However, their way of thinking and the manner of benefiting from these blessings is completely different from that of the disbelievers and deniers of the Hereafter. As is clear from the following hadith.

The Way of Thinking of the Believers:

Ibrahim, the son of Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awfؓ, says that one day Abdur Rahman bin Awf (his father) was fasting. In the evening, when food was placed before him to break his fast, (upon seeing the blessings of food) he said: Mus’ab bin Umair رضی اللہ عنہ was martyred (on the day of Uhud). He was better than me. He was shrouded in such a sheet that if his head was covered, his feet would remain uncovered, and if his feet were covered, his head would remain uncovered. And Hamza bin Abdul Muttalibؓ was also martyred that day; he too was better than me. After that, we people were given ease and abundance, and we fear that perhaps the reward of our good deeds has been given to us quickly in this world. Then he began to weep and wept so much that he did not eat the food. [بخاري۔ كتاب المغازي۔ باب غزوه احد]
[32] That is, without any reason, you used to strut arrogantly in the world. You considered it an insult to accept the commands of Allah and regarded the believers as contemptible. Therefore, today your arrogance will be broken, and in return for your disobedience, you will be thrown into Hell. And in return for considering others contemptible, you will be given a humiliating punishment so that even the inhabitants of Hell will consider you a contemptible creation.