The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Maryam (mary)

Commentary : Verse 37.38

37- فَاخْتَلَفَ الاَحْزَابُ مِن بَيْنِهِمْ فَوَيْلٌ لّـِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن مَّشْهَدِ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

38- أَسْمِعْ بِهِمْ وَأَبْصِرْ يَوْمَ يَأْتُونَنَا لَكِنِ الظَّالِمُونَ الْيَوْمَ فِى ضَلاَلٍ مُّبِينٍ

  1. " Then the sects did differ among themselves; and woe to those who disbelieved because of presence on the great day."

  2. " How well they will hear and see on the day they come to Us! But the unjust (even) this day are in manifest straying."

Commentary:

'A party' is a group of people working with together and who have some particular goals and position which are usually united.

The Arabic word /mas(had/ means either the site of the attendance of people, or the place of bearing witness, because, on the Day of Judgment both people attend there, and a lot of witnesses from angels and prophets will testify upon the deeds of man.

Some people believed in Jesus as God, like the group of Ya'qhubiyyah; some others said that he was son of God, like the group of NasTuriyyah, while some other people believed in trinity, like Israilliyyah. But, on the Day of Resurrection, all of these groups will testify to the falsehood of their beliefs. (Tafsir-i-'Atyab-ul-Bayan)

Despite all the emphasis Jesus placed upon the subject of monotheism and the worship of the One God, yet, after him, some groups among his followers differed and expressed different ideas about the Messiah. Referring to this the verse says:

" Then the sects did differ among themselves; and woe to those who disbelieved because of presence on the great day."

The history of Christianity is also good evidence proving that after the Christ, they differed greatly about him and about the subject of monotheism. Some of them said: "He is God who has come down on earth and has brought a group of people to life and has caused others to die, then He ascended to heaven."

Others said: "He is the son of God", while others said: "He is one of the three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."

Yet others said: "He is the third of the three. God is the object of worship, Jesus is also an object of worship, and his mother also is an object of worship."

Finally, some his followers said that he was the servant of Allah and His Messenger.

Since deviation from the principle of Monotheism is counted as the greatest deviation of the Christians, at the end of the verse they are severely warned.

In the next verse, the Qur'an describes their state when they are present at the gathering-place of resurrection. It says:

" How well they will hear and see on the day they come to Us! …"

But, now that they are in this life, these cruel people are in a manifest aberration busy with their transgression. The verse continues saying:

"…But the unjust (even) this day are in manifest straying."

In principal, the observation of that court in Hereafter and the effects of the deeds, remove the sleep of negligence from the eyes and the ears so that the blind-hearted ones will become aware and wise. But, what a pity! This awareness will be of no avail to them.

Commentary : Verse 39.40

39- وَأَنذِرْهُمْ يَوْمَ الْحَسْرَةِ إِذْ قُضِيَ الاَمْرُ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ وَهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ

40- إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَرِثُ الاَرْضَ وَمَنْ عَلَيْهَا وَإِلَيْنَا يُرْجَعُونَ

  1. " And ware them of the Day of Regret, when the matter shall have been decreed while they are (now) in negligence and they do not believe."

  2. " Verily We inherit the earth and all that are upon it and unto Us they shall be returned.”

Commentary:

The gate of all misfortunes is negligence: negligence from the Lord, negligence from Hereafter, negligence from sins, negligence from plots, negligence from the poor and the deprived, negligence from the history and its courses, and negligence from adolescence, abilities, talents and preparednesses of development.

One of the names of Hereafter is 'the Day of Regret', regret for the missed opportunities and for the lost capitals. Death of a man in the state of negligence and faithlessness, is a source of regret.

Therefore, this verse addresses the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) and commands him to warn the pagans of Mecca from the Day when the sinners will regret why they had not done some more good deeds. This Day is the Day of Resurrection. Some commentators say that in that Day only those who deserve punishment will regret.

In Sahih-i-Muslim there has been narrated by Abu-Sa'id-i-Khidri that the Prophet of Islam said: "When the people of Heaven will enter Paradise and the people of Hell will enter the Hell Fire, all of them will be called and, thus, their attentions will be attracted. Then, the death will be shown to them and they will be told: 'Do you know death?' They will say: 'This is the death', while they all know it. Then, the death will be perished and the people of Paradise will be said to that there will be no death and they are eternal; and the people of Hell will also be said to that there will be no death and they are eternal. This is the meaning of 'And warn them of the Day of Regret'."

The believers in Imamate have narrated this tradition from Imam Baqir (a.s.) and Imam Sadiq (a.s.) who had added at its end that: "The people of Paradise will become so happy that if there were death there, all of them would die because of inconvenience." (The commentary of As-Safi, Majma'-ul-Bayan, and Al-Burhan)

The verse continues saying:

" …when the matter shall have been decreed …"

On that Day, the affairs will become one-sided. A group of people go into Paradise while another group will be sent into Hell. Some commentators say that it means that the life of this world has ended and no one will come back to this world to recompense the events of the last; and on that Day all people will be treated justly.

"… while they are (now) in negligence and they do not believe."

In this world, people are busy with some vain affairs and often forget the Hereafter.

0 In the next verse, Allah says that He will take up the inhabitants of the earth from the earth and He will inherit the earth and those who are on it, because there will remain no one on the earth to claim ownership or to be able interfere in it. The return of them all, after death, shall be to Him and none will govern them but Allah. The verse says:

" Verily We inherit the earth and all that are upon it and unto Us they shall be returned."