Surah Al-Ma'aarij (70) — Ayah 4

(Ayah 4) ➊ { تَعْرُجُ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةُ وَ الرُّوْحُ اِلَيْهِ :} The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him. Here, by {’’ الرُّوْحُ ‘‘}, either Jibreel (Gabriel), peace be upon him, is meant, because in the Qur’an his name is {’’ الرُّوْحُ ‘‘}, as He said: « نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوْحُ الْاَمِيْنُ (193) عَلٰى قَلْبِكَ» [ الشعراء :۱۹۳، ۱۹۴ ] “The trustworthy Spirit has brought it down upon your heart.” And elsewhere He said: « قُلْ مَنْ كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيْلَ فَاِنَّهٗ نَزَّلَهٗ عَلٰى قَلْبِكَ بِاِذْنِ اللّٰهِ » [ البقرۃ : ۹۷ ] “Say: Whoever is an enemy to Jibreel (Gabriel)—for indeed he has brought it down upon your heart by Allah’s command.” By combining both verses, it is established that by {’’ الرُّوْحُ ‘‘} is meant Jibreel (Gabriel), peace be upon him. His separate mention from the angels is due to his great status. Or, it means the souls of the believers, because when righteous people die, the angels take their souls up to the heavens, and the gates of the heavens are opened for them, as has come in the Sahih hadiths of Abu Hurairah and Bara’ bin Azib, may Allah be pleased with them. [ دیکھیے نسائي، الجنائز، باب ما یلقی بہ المؤمن… : ۱۸۳۴۔ أبوداوٗد : ۴۷۵۳ ] However, when the angels ascend with the souls of those who deny the signs of Allah, the gates of the heavens are not opened for them. See Surah Al-A’raf (40) and the aforementioned hadiths.
From this verse, it is clearly established that Allah, the Exalted, is above, and the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him. Those who deny that Allah is above and upon the Throne, even after hearing the clear verses of the Qur’an, are not ready to accept that their Lord is above. They argue that Allah is free from the limitations of time and space, whereas no one has ever said that height or the Throne is a limitation for Him or that He is in need of them.

➋ {’’ فِيْ يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهٗ خَمْسِيْنَ اَلْفَ سَنَةٍ ‘‘} (In a day whose measure is fifty thousand years) has two possible meanings. One is that the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day whose measure is fifty thousand years, meaning He is at such a height that for the angels and the Spirit to reach His presence, they must ascend such heights that if anyone else were to ascend, it would take him fifty thousand years, but the angels and the Spirit cover that distance in a single day. (Ibn Jarir) Note that the number fifty thousand years is only to express the vastness of the distance, because with the help of instruments, human limited vision has discovered such vast galaxies beneath the sky that to measure the distance of their stars from the earth, the term “light year” had to be coined. In the Arabic language, numbers like fifty, hundred, thousand, etc., are commonly used to express abundance, not for counting. The angels and the Spirit, by the power and speed granted by Allah, cover this distance of fifty thousand years from the lowest earth to above the seven heavens in a single day. The meaning is that by His power, every matter is accomplished so quickly above the seven heavens, so what delay can there be in the coming of punishment upon those who are asking for it? Just have a little patience. According to the words of the verse, this meaning is closer, because {’’ فِيْ يَوْمٍ ‘‘} is immediately preceded by {’’ تَعْرُجُ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةُ وَ الرُّوْحُ اِلَيْهِ ‘‘}.

The second meaning is that the punishment will occur on a day whose measure is fifty thousand years, and by that day is meant the Day of Resurrection. In this case, the word {’’ فِيْ يَوْمٍ ‘‘} relates to {’’ وَاقِعٍ ‘‘}. This meaning is more authentic, because it is supported by the Qur’an and by Sahih hadith. Therefore, Hafiz Ibn Kathir and most commentators have considered this to be the preferred meaning. At the beginning of Surah At-Tur, He said: « اِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ لَوَاقِعٌ (7) مَّا لَهٗ مِنْ دَافِعٍ (8) يَّوْمَ تَمُوْرُ السَّمَآءُ مَوْرًا (9) وَّ تَسِيْرُ الْجِبَالُ سَيْرًا » [ طور : ۷ تا۱۰ ] “Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will surely occur. None can avert it. On the day when the heaven will shake with a dreadful shaking, and the mountains will move away with a (horrible) movement.” In these verses as well, the punishment of the Lord, which none can avert, is stated to occur on the Day of Resurrection. In the verses under commentary, a few verses after {’’ فِيْ يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهٗ خَمْسِيْنَ اَلْفَ سَنَةٍ ‘‘}, He said: « يَوْمَ تَكُوْنُ السَّمَآءُ كَالْمُهْلِ (8) وَ تَكُوْنُ الْجِبَالُ كَالْعِهْنِ » [ المعارج : 9،8 ] “(This punishment of the day of fifty thousand years will be) on the day when the sky will be like molten copper and the mountains will be like colored wool.” From this, it is clear that what is meant is the Day of Resurrection. This is also established from {’’ اِنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَهٗ بَعِيْدًا ‘‘}.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while describing the punishment on the Day of Resurrection for one who does not give zakah, said: [ حَتّٰی يَحْكُمَ اللّٰهُ بَيْنَ عِبَادِهِ فِيْ يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهٗ خَمْسِيْنَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ مِّمََّا تَعُدُّوْنَ ] [أبو داوٗد، الزکاۃ، باب في حقوق المال : ۱۶۵۸۔ مسلم : ۹۸۷ ] “(He will continue to be punished) until Allah judges between His servants, on a day whose measure is fifty thousand years by your reckoning.” The length of this Day of Resurrection will be for the disbelievers, and this, along with other punishments, will itself be a punishment. In any case, days of calamity are long. As for the people of faith, they will be completely at ease on that day, as He said: « لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَ لَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُوْنَ » [ یونس : ۶۲ ] “No fear will be upon them, nor will they grieve.” And He said: « لَا يَحْزُنُهُمُ الْفَزَعُ الْاَكْبَرُ وَ تَتَلَقّٰىهُمُ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةُ » [ الأنبیاء : ۱۰۳] “The greatest terror will not grieve them, and the angels will come to receive them.” And He said: « وَ هُمْ مِّنْ فَزَعٍ يَّوْمَىِٕذٍ اٰمِنُوْنَ » [ النمل : ۸۹ ] “And they will be safe from the terror of that day.” Happy days do not take long to pass.