Surah Al-Qalam (68) — Ayah 42

(Ayah 42) ➊ {يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَنْ سَاقٍ … : ’’ يَوْمَ ‘‘} is either related to the previous verse {’’ فَلْيَاْتُوْا بِشُرَكَآىِٕهِمْ ‘‘}, meaning that in this world, it is possible that these people may falsely mention partners with Allah who claim to be responsible for their salvation, but this will be of no benefit. If they are truthful, then let them bring forth their partners on the Day when the shin will be uncovered and people will be called to prostrate, but they will not be able to prostrate. Or it is related to {’’ اِنَّ لِلْمُتَّقِيْنَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنّٰتِ النَّعِيْمِ ‘‘}, meaning that the righteous will be given blissful gardens on the Day when the shin will be uncovered.

➋ {’’ يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَنْ سَاقٍ ‘‘} has one meaning which is the simple translation of these words and is self-evident, and another meaning which is apart from the simple translation and is an idiom in the Arabic language. The meaning that is the simple translation and is self-evident is: "The Day when the shin will be uncovered," meaning Allah will reveal His shin and people will be called to prostrate. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself explained this verse with this meaning, and it is authentically narrated from him. Thus, in Sahih Bukhari, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [يَكْشِفُ رَبُّنَا عَنْ سَاقِهِ فَيَسْجُدُ لَهٗ كُلُّ مُؤْمِنٍ وَ مُؤْمِنَةٍ وَ يَبْقٰی مَنْ كَانَ يَسْجُدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا رِيَاءً وَ سُمْعَةً فَيَذْهَبُ لِيَسْجُدَ فَيَعُوْدُ ظَهْرُهٗ طَبَقًا وَاحِدًا ] [بخاري، التفسیر، باب : «یوم یکشف عن ساق» : ۴۹۱۹ ] "Our Lord will uncover His shin, so every believing man and believing woman will prostrate to Him, and the one who used to prostrate in the world for show and to be heard will remain; when he tries to prostrate, his back will become a single plate (i.e., he will not be able to bend)." In this hadith, there are clear words that Allah will uncover His shin. In fact, in another place in Sahih Bukhari, it is mentioned that every nation will follow whatever they used to worship: those who worshipped the cross will follow the cross, those who worshipped idols will follow the idols, and those who worshipped other deities will follow their respective deities. Only those will remain who used to worship only Allah, whether righteous or wicked, waiting for Allah. Allah will ask them: [ هَلْ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهٗ آيَةٌ تَعْرِفُوْنَهُ؟ فَيَقُوْلُوْنَ السَّاقُ فَيَكْشِفُ عَنْ سَاقِهِ فَيَسْجُدُ لَهُ ] [بخاري، التوحید، باب قول اللّٰہ تعالٰی : «وجوہ یومئذ ناظرۃ…» : ۷۴۳۹ ] "Is there any sign between you and your Lord by which you recognize Him?" They will say: "The shin." So Allah will uncover His shin, and every believer will prostrate to Him." From this, it is clear that the uncovering of the shin means that Allah will uncover His shin, and this will be a predetermined sign between Allah and the believers, and upon seeing this sign, the believers will fall in prostration before their Lord. This hadith is found not only in Sahih Bukhari but also in many other books of hadith. After such a highly authentic chain of narration from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself explaining the verse, there remains no need or room for any other interpretation, but since many commentators have given another interpretation of this verse, that too is mentioned.

These commentators say that "kashf-e-saq" is an Arabic idiom, which is a metaphor for severity, meaning {’’ يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَنْ سَاقٍ ‘‘} means that the Day of Resurrection will be very severe, because when a hardship or difficulty arises, a person lifts his garment from his shin and girds up his loins. This interpretation is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and also from some of the Tabi'in such as Mujahid, Ikrimah, and Ibrahim al-Nakha'i (may Allah have mercy on them). Although this interpretation is correct and this idiom is used in the Arabic language, the first interpretation (i.e., that on the Day of Resurrection Allah will uncover His shin) takes into account the explicit words of the Qur'an, and this interpretation was given by the very person upon whom the Qur'an was revealed, so it takes precedence. However, there is no contradiction between the two interpretations; on that Day, Allah's shin will also be revealed, and there is no doubt about the severity of that Day. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) himself never denied the revealing of Allah's shin, nor did any of the other Companions deny the words that have come in the Qur'an or hadith regarding Allah in this context. Since the Qur'an does not explicitly state that Allah's shin will be revealed, but only mentions the shin, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) understood from this that the uncovering of the shin refers to the severity of that Day, and this understanding is fully in accordance with the Arabic language. However, Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated explicitly from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that Allah's shin will be revealed, so the preferred meaning is the one explained by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself, even though the severity of the Day of Resurrection is also a reality in its own right.

It is regrettable for those people who have plainly said that Allah's shin will not be revealed, nor does He have a shin. These people have gone further and denied all such words that have come in the Qur'an, such as hand, face, eye, foot, etc., and said that if we accept these, it would necessitate that Allah has a body and is like us, whereas He Himself has said: «لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ » [ الشورٰی : ۱۱ ] "There is nothing like unto Him." These people interpret all such words and label those who affirm these attributes as "anthropomorphists." However, the answer to their claim is found in the very verse they present as evidence, where Allah says: « لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ وَ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ » [ الشورٰی : ۱۱ ] "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." That is, accept that there is nothing like Allah, and also accept that He is All-Hearing and All-Seeing. Do not deny His being All-Hearing and All-Seeing by thinking that we too are hearing and seeing, and if we accept this for Him, it would necessitate similarity to us. No, His being All-Hearing and All-Seeing is not like your being hearing and seeing. Similarly, Allah's shin, His face, His foot, and whatever He has mentioned about Himself are all true, but His shin is not like the shin of the creation, nor is any other attribute like the attribute of the creation; it is as befits His majesty.

In summary, the way of the righteous predecessors regarding the verses and hadiths about Allah's attributes is that one should have faith in their apparent wording and leave the reality of their nature to Allah. Those who have denied these attributes of Allah are, in fact, themselves involved in anthropomorphism, for they considered Allah's shin, His face, and other attributes to be like their own limbs, and thus denied them. If they had not considered these attributes to be like their own, they would never have denied them.

42. 1. Some have interpreted "kashf saaq" as referring to the terrors of the Day of Resurrection [ ا۔ ی ], but an authentic hadith explains its interpretation as follows: On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will uncover His shin (in a manner befitting His majesty), and every believing man and woman will prostrate before Him. However, those who used to prostrate for show and fame will remain; they will want to prostrate, but the vertebrae of their spine will become a single bone like a plank, due to which it will be impossible for them to bow down (Sahih Bukhari). What will Allah's shin be like? How will He uncover it? We neither know nor can describe this reality. Therefore, just as we believe without asking how and without doubt in His eyes, ears, hands, etc., similarly, the mention of the shin is in the Quran and hadith, and it is necessary to believe in it without asking how. This is the way of the Salaf and the hadith scholars.

42. The Day when the shin will be uncovered and they will be called to prostrate, but they will not be able to prostrate [19].

[19]
Mention of Allah’s Shin:

For the explanation of verses 42 and 43, consider the following hadith: Sayyiduna Abu Sa‘id Khudri ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: “On the Day of Resurrection, the Lord will uncover His shin, and every believing man and believing woman will fall into prostration. Only those will remain who used to prostrate for show or to be heard by people. They will try to prostrate, but their backs will become stiff like a board.” [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]
Some scholars have translated ﴿يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَنْ سَاقٍ﴾ as: “The day when the realities will be unveiled.” Even if this is an idiom of the Arabs, we cannot give preference to such an idiom over the statement of the Prophet ﷺ. As for the question of what Allah’s shin is like, whether it is like the shin of humans or has some other form, the answer is that we neither know this nor are we required to know it. Our duty is that if Allah has mentioned His shin, we accept it as it is, and do not go beyond that.