In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
Mankind! Have fear of your Lord. The violent convulsion of the Last Hour will be awesome indeed.
On the day when it comes, every suckling mother will utterly forget her nursling, and every woman heavy with child will cast her burden; and it will seem to you that all mankind are drunk, although they are not drunk. But severe indeed will be God’s punishment.
(The Pilgrimage, Al-Haj: 22: 1-2)
Last week, we gave a general and brief introduction of the surah, pointing out its main characteristics. Today we complete this introduction before we start discussing the opening verses. When we read the surah in full, we find that it consists of four main parts.
It begins with a general address to all mankind, calling on them to be God-fearing. They are warned against the violent convulsion which announces the arrival of the Day of Judgment. We also have a description of the horrific scenes accompanying it and a denunciation of disputing without knowledge about God and following every devil who will inevitably lead his followers astray. It then highlights indications of the resurrection based on the stages of life a human embryo goes through, and the development of plant life, making a clear link between all types of life.
These stages which follow well established and never failing laws God has set in operation are shown to be closely linked to the truisms that God is the truth; that He brings the dead to life; that He has power over all things; that the Last Hour will inevitably come; and that God will resurrect all those buried in their graves. All these are natural laws and facts closely related to the law that governs the life of the universe.
A second denunciation of ignorant disputes about God follows, since such disputes are devoid of guidance and follow no enlightening book or revelation. When that is made clear, a negative example is given showing the repugnant attitude of those who look at faith from a profit and loss angle. When misfortune befalls them, such people are quick to seek help from sources other than God, giving in to despair of His help. This part of the surah concludes with a definitive statement that guidance and error are achieved by God’s will. He will certainly judge, on the Day of Reckoning, between the followers of different faiths. It finally paints a horrific scene of the punishment suffered by unbelievers, contrasted with the perfect bliss enjoyed by believers.
The second part is clearly related to the first one as it opens with a comment on the unbelievers who turn people away from God’s path and from the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. Their action is strongly denounced since God has made the Sacred Mosque a place for all mankind, where those who live close by it and those who come from remote parts have the same rights and position. It then relates part of the history of building the Kaaba, often referred to in the Qur’an as the House, and the task assigned by God to Abraham to build it on the basis of God’s oneness, purifying it of all traces of idolatry. It goes on to mention some of the rituals of pilgrimage and how they strengthen people’s piety, which is the aim of this great act of worship. This part of the surah is concluded with giving permission to believers to fight in order to protect places and rites of worship against aggression to which believers may be exposed for no reason other than their declaration that they believe in God alone.
The third part shows examples of the denials of faith by past communities, the destruction of hardened unbelievers, and scenes of cities that were destroyed over the heads of wrongdoers. The purpose here is to explain God’s law with regard to the messages He sends to mankind, to comfort the Prophet who was facing a determined campaign of rejection and opposition, and to reassure the believers as to the inevitable destiny. This part also includes certain aspects of Satan’s scheming against prophets and messengers, and how God reasserts His message, sets His revelations on their solid basis. Thus, believers will be reassured and unbelievers, whether weaklings or arrogant and powerful, will turn away, having been misled by Satan.
The final part of the surah states God’s promise of support to anyone who is oppressed as he tries to repel aggression launched against him. This promise is followed with highlighting some aspects of God’s infinite power. Next to it we have a miserable image of the helplessness of the deities worshipped by those who associate partners with God. The surah concludes with an address to the believers to worship their Lord and strive for His cause, and to hold fast to His rope as they fulfill their duties required by their faith which goes back to the time of Abraham (peace be upon him).
This is the line followed in the surah as its issues are explained in this coherent sequence. Now we will begin commenting on the first part.
“Mankind! Have fear of your Lord. The violent convulsion of the Last Hour will be awesome indeed. On the day when it comes, every suckling mother will utterly forget her nursling, and every woman heavy with child will cast her burden; and it will seem to you that all mankind are drunk, although they are not drunk. But severe indeed will be God’s punishment.”
This is how the surah begins: an awesome opening that makes hearts tremble. It addresses all mankind, calling on them to fear their Lord and warning them against what may happen on the eventful and terrible Day of Judgment. There is a clear element of a frightening mystery, that cannot be expressed in words. Thus we are told of a “violent convulsion” which is then described as “awesome indeed,” but we have no clear indication as to its nature or substance.
When the details are given, we find them even more frightening. We have a scene showing every suckling mother completely unaware of the child she is nursing: she looks but does not see, moves but only aimlessly. Every pregnant female miscarries because of the great shock that engulfs her. All people look drunk, but they are not. They only seem to be as they look into a void and walk unsteadily in all directions. It is a very busy scene, with a huge moving crowd. We almost see it with our eyes as the verses are recited, and we paint it in our imagination. Yet we can hardly have a full view stretching to its end, because of the horror it describes. It’s an actual horror that is not measured by volume or extent, but by its effect on human beings. Its measure is the suckling mother oblivious of the child on her breast. No mother can be so oblivious unless the horror she is encountering takes up all her senses and faculties. It is also measured by the miscarrying pregnant women, and by the people looking drunk without having had a drink. All this is the result of the fact that God’s punishment is “severe indeed.”