Surah An-Naba (78): Read Online and Download - English Translation

زَاءً مِّن رَّ‌بِّكَ عَطَاءً حِسَابًا (this being a reward from their Lord, a suffering grant...78:36). The blessings of Paradise described above is the reward of the believers and is an abundant grant from their Lord. Here two things are mentioned. First, these blessings are a reward of their deeds. Secondly, they are a Divine grant. Apparently, they seem to be contradictory, because reward means receiving something in lieu of doing some service, whereas grant is given gratis. The Qur'an has combined the two words in order to indicate that the blessings of Paradise are reward for the inmates of Paradise only apparently, and in reality they are a Divine grant given to them gratis, because human deeds cannot be the reward of even those blessings which were given to him in the world, let alone the blessings of the Hereafter which depend entirely on Divine grace as is confirmed by the Tradition of the Holy Prophet ﷺ : "No one can enter Paradise merely by virtue of his deeds, unless Allah shows His grace." The Companions asked: "What about you, Messenger of Allah ﷺ . "He replied: "Nor will I enter Paradise merely by virtue of my action."

The word hisaban has two meanings: [ 1] a grant [ that is ] sufficient [ and ] abundant. This meaning is adapted from the following idiom: اَحسبتُ فُلاناً ای اَعطَیتُہ، ما یَکفِیہِ حَتَٰی قَالَ حَسبِی 'ahsabtu means that I gave him so much so that it was sufficient for him until he yelled out "enough, this is too much for me"; and [ 2] the second meaning 'balancing of account' and 'comparing'. Sayyidna Mujahid ؓ says that in this context the verse purports to say that the Divine grant will be given gratis to the inmates of Paradise. The grant will be in keeping with the degree of sincerity as reported in authentic Traditions. The deeds of the noble Companions are greater than the deeds of the rest of the Ummah. If a Companion were to spend in the way of Allah one mudd = [ 815, 39 grams ] and a non-Companion were to spend to the equivalent of Mount Uhud, the Companion's one mudd will weigh heavier than the mountain. And Allah knows best!

لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْهُ خِطَابًا (...No one will have power to address Him,...78:37)

This sentence is probably connected to the preceding verse: جَزَاءً مِّن رَّ‌بِّكَ عَطَاءً حِسَابًا (this being a reward from their Lord, a sufficing grant...78:36) In this case, it would mean that when Allah grants a certain grade of reward, no one dare speak about the grade as to why someone got more and others got less. But if this sentence is treated as an isolated one, it will mean that no one in the Plane of Gathering will have the power to speak to Him without His permission. This permission will be granted in some of the positions of Gathering, and not in others.

یوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّ‌وحُ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا ۖ لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّ‌حْمَـٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا (on the Day when the Spirit and the angels will stand in rows. They will not speak, except the one who is permitted by the Rahman [ the All-Merciful ] and speaks aright -78:38). Ruh (Spirit), according to some of the commentators, refers to the angel Jibra'il He has been mentioned before the other angels in general in order to show the greatness of his status. According to certain Prophetic traditions, Ruh is not an angel but a huge army of Allah. They have heads, hands and legs. In this interpretation, there will be two rows. One row will be that of Ruh and the other will be that of the angels.

يَوْمَ يَنظُرُ‌ الْمَرْ‌ءُ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ day when one will see what his hands have sent ahead....78:40) Apparently, this refers to the Day of Judgment. Every person will see his deeds with his own eyes in the Plane of Gathering. This might happen in one of two ways: [ 1] his ledger of deeds will be given in his hands and he will see it; or [ 2] his deeds will appear in the Plane of Gathering, epitomized in a visible shape, as certain narratives confirm this. Still a third possibility exists. The word 'day' may refer to 'the day of death'. And the words 'will see' means to see in the grave or barzakh, as explained by Mazhari.

وَيَقُولُ الْكَافِرُ‌ يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنتُ تُرَ‌ابًا (and the disbeliever will say, "0 would that I had become dust...78:40) Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar ؓ reports that on the Day of Resurrection the entire earth will become a plane surface where all human beings, Jinn, domesticated animals and wild animals will be gathered. If one animal had wronged another animal in the world, it will be given the opportunity to take its revenge. If a goat with horns had wronged a goat without horns, it will be granted the opportunity to take its avenge. When this phase is over, all animals will be commanded to become dust. They will become dust. At that moment the disbelievers will wish that they were also animals and would become dust like them, so that they would have been spared the torment of reckoning and punishment of Hell. We seek refuge in Allah from it! Allah knows best!

Al-hamdulillah

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Surah An-Naba'

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