In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful
As for the unbelievers, the fire of hell awaits them. No term shall be determined for them so that they could die, nor shall its suffering be reduced for them. Thus shall We requite all unbelievers. There they will cry aloud: ‘Our Lord! Let us out and we will do good, not like what we did before.’ ‘Have We not given you lives long enough for anyone who would be warned to take warning? And a warner had come to you. Taste it, then. Wrongdoers shall have none to support them.’ God knows all that is hidden in the heavens and earth; He fully knows what is in people’s hearts.
It is He who made you inherit the earth. Hence, anyone who denies the truth will bear the consequences of his unbelief. In denying Him the unbelievers will have nothing but an increase of their loathsomeness in God’s sight; and in denying Him the unbelievers will only add to their loss.
(The Originator, Fatir, 35: 36-39)
The first three verses of this passage give us an image of the unbelievers destined to suffer the punishment of hell. The surah has thus given us a contrast to the earlier image of the believers who recite God’s revealed book. These are settled in “gardens of bliss will they enter, where they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls, and where they will be clad in silk garments. They will say: ‘All praise is due to God, who has removed all sorrow from us. Our Lord is certainly Much Forgiving, most appreciative. It is He who, out of His bounty, has settled us in this abode of permanent life, where we shall endure neither toil nor fatigue.”
These, then, are two contrasting images: one of peace, comfort and security and the other full of worry and insecurity. The melodious sound of gratitude to God and of praying to Him is contrasted with screams and cries for help. The image of care and honor shown to the believers is the opposite of the neglect and reproach the unbelievers experience. The soft and quiet rhythm contrasts with the violent rhythm. Thus the comparison is complete, and overall harmony is maintained both in detail and in general atmosphere.
We then have a comment on all these scenes and images, as well as what has preceded them of choosing the Muslim community for its task: “God knows all that is hidden in the heavens and earth; He fully knows what is in people’s hearts.”
It is God who knows everything in the universe and what is in people’s hearts. On the basis of His knowledge, He judges all matters.
The surah then begins its last passage which includes several rounds that go far and wide, inspiring our hearts and minds. One round looks at humanity and how one generation succeeds another. Another takes us across the heavens and earth in search of any trace of those whom the unbelievers allege to be God’s partners. Then we go across the heavens and earth again to contemplate God’s power as He holds the celestial bodies and the earth keeping them on their respective courses. The unbelievers are then made to face their broken promises and oaths. They swore that should they have a messenger to warn them, they would do better than past communities, but when a messenger came to them, this only increased their deviation from the truth. A look at the fates of earlier unbelieving communities follows. This is to demonstrate to those who denied the message of Islam that they should know that God’s laws are constantly in operation. Although they were aware of what happened to earlier unbelievers, they still did not take on board that the same fate could just as easily befall them. The surah concludes with a warning that should strike fear in people’s hearts. It tells them that if God were to punish people immediately for what they incur, no one would remain on the face of the earth. It behoves us then, to acknowledge God’s grace in allowing us time to reflect and consider our position.
“It is He who made you inherit the earth. Hence, anyone who denies the truth will bear the consequences of his unbelief. In denying Him the unbelievers will have nothing but an increase of their loathsomeness in God’s sight; and in denying Him the unbelievers will only add to their loss.” One generation of humanity inherits another; one state disappears to allow another to rise in its place; one flame is extinguished and one is lit: it is all the same continuous, progressive movement. If we contemplate this endless round, lessons clearly present themselves. Indeed, we feel that soon we ourselves will belong to the past and that future generations will look at the traces we leave behind in the same way as we read about those who passed before us. We then realize that age determination belongs to the One who allows the heirs to inherit those that have served their term. Thus everything goes its way and disappears. It is God alone who is everlasting, unaffected by the passage of time.
The person who knows that he stays for a while and goes, like a tourist on holiday, leaving those who succeed him to look at what he has done, should endeavor to make his short stay worthwhile. He should leave behind what earns for him good remembrance and do what benefits him in his ultimate destination for all return to the One who holds everyone accountable for whatever they say and do. Such too is how mankind moves from one generation to another: “It is He who made you inherit the earth.”
Then follows a reminder of individual responsibility. None will be made to bear any part of another person’s burden; none will protect another in anyway. This verse also refers to their persistent denial of the truth and its ultimate results: “Hence, anyone who denies the truth will bear the consequences of his unbelief. In denying Him the unbelievers will have nothing but an increase of their loathsomeness in God’s sight; and in denying Him the unbelievers will only add to their loss.” The Arabic word, maqt, which is translated here as ‘loathsomeness’, indicates the highest degree of hate. If a person incurs God’s hate, his loss exceeds all that we can imagine.