ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا الْكِتَابَ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مُقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْكَبِيرُ ﴿35:32﴾
(35:32) Then We bequeathed the Book to those of Our servants that We chose. *55Now, some of them wrong themselves and some follow the medium course; and some, by Allah’s leave, vie with each other in acts of goodness. That is the great bounty. *56
*56 That is, "All these Muslims are not alike but are divided into three classes:
(1) Those unjust to themselves: They are those who believe sincerely and honestly that the Qur'an is the . Book of Allah and Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) the Messenger of Allah, but in practical life do not fully follow the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. They are believers but sinful; culprits but not rebellious; weak of faith but not hypocritical and unbelieving at heart. Therefore, although they are °unjust to themselves," they have been included among the chosen servants of God and among the heirs to the Book; otherwise, obviously the rebels and the hypocrites and the unbelieving people could not be so treated and honoured. This class of the believers have been mentioned first of All because they are most numerous among the Muslims.
(2) Those following the middle course: They are the people who fulfil the obligations of this inheritance to some extent but not fully. They are obedient as well as erring. They have not left their self altogether free but try as best as they can to turn it to God's obedience; however, at times they give it undue freedom and become involved in sin. Thus, their life becomes a combination of both the good and the evil actions. They are less numerous than the first group but more than the third; that is why they have been mentioned second.
(3) Those excelling in good deeds: They are the people of the first rank among the heirs to the Book, and they are the ones who are doing full justice to the inheritance. They are in the forefront in following and adhering to the Book and the Sunnah; in conveying the message of God to His servants, in offering the sacrifices for the sake of the true Faith, and in every pious and good work. They arc not the ones who would commit a sin deliberately, but if they happened to commit a sin inadvertently, they would be filled with remorse as soon as they became conscious of it. They are less numerous than the people of the first two groups, and therefore, have been mentioned last, although they merit the first place in the matter of doing justice to the heritage of the Book of Allah
As for the sentence, "this is the supreme bounty', if it is related with the last sentence, it would mean that to excel in good deeds is the supreme bounty, and the people who excel in good deeds are the best of the Muslim community. And if it is taken to be related with the first sentence, it would mean that to be a heir to the Book of Allah and to be chosen for this heritage is the supreme bounty, and the people who have been so chosen on account of their faith in the Qur'an and the Holy Prophet Muhammad arc the best among the human beings created by Allah.
*57 One section of the commentators has held the view that this sentence is related with the two sentences immediately preceding it. That is, the ones who excel in good deeds are the best of the people and they alone will enter the Gardens. As for the first two groups, nothing has been stated about them so that they became worried concerning their fate and try to improve their lot. This view has been presented by `Allama Zamakhshari forcefully and supported by Imam Razi.
But the majority of the commentators opine that it is related with the whole preceding discourse, which means that all the three classes of the Ummah shall eventually enter Paradise, whether without accountability, or after the accountability, whether remaining secure from every punishment, or after receiving some punishment. This commentary is supported by the Qur'anic context, for a little below about those who are contrasted with the heirs of the Book, it has been said:
"And for those who have disbelieved, there is the fire of Hell. "
This shows that there is Paradise for all those who have believed in the Book, and Hell for all those who have refused to believe in it. The same has been supported by the Hadith of the Holy Prophet, which Imam Ahmad, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Tabarani, Baihaqi and some other traditionists have related on the authority of Hadrat Abu ad-Darda'.
The Holy Prophet said:
Those who have excelled in good works shall enter Paradise without; and those who arc following the middle course, shall be subjected to accountability; but their accountability shall be light. As for those who have been unjust to themselves, they shall be detained throughout the long period of Resurrection and accountability (mahshar). Then Allah shall cover them also with His mercy. And they are the ones who will say:
'Thanks to Allah Who has removed sorrow from us!'"
In this Hadith the Holy Prophet has himself given a complete commentary of the verse under discussion, and stated separately the end to be met by each of the three groups of the believers.
The "light accountability" for the ones following the middle course means this: The disbelievers will be punished for their disbelief as well as for each single crime and sin of theirs separately, but, contrary to this, the good and bad deeds of the believers who come with both the good and evil deeds will be judged on the whole: they will not be rewarded for each good deed and punished for each evildeed separately.
As for those "who will be detained throughout the period of Resurrection and accountability because they had been unjust to themselves," it means: They will not be thrown into Hell, but will be sentenced to be detained "till the rising of the Court." In other words, they will be exposed to all the severities and rigours of the lengthy Day of Resurrection (and God alone knows how lengthy it will be !) till Allah Almighty will turn to them in His mercy and command at the rising of the Court that they too be admitted into Paradise.
The traditionists have cited several sayings to the same effect from many Companions like Hadrat 'Umar, Hadrat `Uthman, Hadrat `Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Hadrat 'Abdullah bin `Abbas, Hadrat `A`ishah, Hadrat Abu Said Khudri and Hadrat Bara bin 'Azib. And obviously, the Companions could not have said any such thing in such matters unless they had heard it from the Holy Prophet himself.
But from this one should not form the impression that `those who have been unjust to themselves" from among the Muslims will only be sentenced to be detained "till the rising of the Court", and none of them will go to Hell at all. Several crimes have been mentioned in the Qur'an and Hadith, whose perpetrator will go to Hell in spite of his faith.
For instance, Allah Himself has declared that the believer who kills another believer wilfully shall go to Hell. Likewise, Hell has been mentioned as the punishment of those people also who violate the provisions of the Divine Law of Inheritance.
Those who devour interest even after its prohibition have been declared to be "the dwellers of Hell." Besides these, some other major sins also have been mentioned in Hadith, whose perpetrator shall go to Hell.
(35:32) Then We bequeathed the Book to those of Our servants that We chose. *55Now, some of them wrong themselves and some follow the medium course; and some, by Allah’s leave, vie with each other in acts of goodness. That is the great bounty. *56
*56 That is, "All these Muslims are not alike but are divided into three classes:
(1) Those unjust to themselves: They are those who believe sincerely and honestly that the Qur'an is the . Book of Allah and Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) the Messenger of Allah, but in practical life do not fully follow the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. They are believers but sinful; culprits but not rebellious; weak of faith but not hypocritical and unbelieving at heart. Therefore, although they are °unjust to themselves," they have been included among the chosen servants of God and among the heirs to the Book; otherwise, obviously the rebels and the hypocrites and the unbelieving people could not be so treated and honoured. This class of the believers have been mentioned first of All because they are most numerous among the Muslims.
(2) Those following the middle course: They are the people who fulfil the obligations of this inheritance to some extent but not fully. They are obedient as well as erring. They have not left their self altogether free but try as best as they can to turn it to God's obedience; however, at times they give it undue freedom and become involved in sin. Thus, their life becomes a combination of both the good and the evil actions. They are less numerous than the first group but more than the third; that is why they have been mentioned second.
(3) Those excelling in good deeds: They are the people of the first rank among the heirs to the Book, and they are the ones who are doing full justice to the inheritance. They are in the forefront in following and adhering to the Book and the Sunnah; in conveying the message of God to His servants, in offering the sacrifices for the sake of the true Faith, and in every pious and good work. They arc not the ones who would commit a sin deliberately, but if they happened to commit a sin inadvertently, they would be filled with remorse as soon as they became conscious of it. They are less numerous than the people of the first two groups, and therefore, have been mentioned last, although they merit the first place in the matter of doing justice to the heritage of the Book of Allah
As for the sentence, "this is the supreme bounty', if it is related with the last sentence, it would mean that to excel in good deeds is the supreme bounty, and the people who excel in good deeds are the best of the Muslim community. And if it is taken to be related with the first sentence, it would mean that to be a heir to the Book of Allah and to be chosen for this heritage is the supreme bounty, and the people who have been so chosen on account of their faith in the Qur'an and the Holy Prophet Muhammad arc the best among the human beings created by Allah.
*57 One section of the commentators has held the view that this sentence is related with the two sentences immediately preceding it. That is, the ones who excel in good deeds are the best of the people and they alone will enter the Gardens. As for the first two groups, nothing has been stated about them so that they became worried concerning their fate and try to improve their lot. This view has been presented by `Allama Zamakhshari forcefully and supported by Imam Razi.
But the majority of the commentators opine that it is related with the whole preceding discourse, which means that all the three classes of the Ummah shall eventually enter Paradise, whether without accountability, or after the accountability, whether remaining secure from every punishment, or after receiving some punishment. This commentary is supported by the Qur'anic context, for a little below about those who are contrasted with the heirs of the Book, it has been said:
"And for those who have disbelieved, there is the fire of Hell. "
This shows that there is Paradise for all those who have believed in the Book, and Hell for all those who have refused to believe in it. The same has been supported by the Hadith of the Holy Prophet, which Imam Ahmad, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Tabarani, Baihaqi and some other traditionists have related on the authority of Hadrat Abu ad-Darda'.
The Holy Prophet said:
Those who have excelled in good works shall enter Paradise without; and those who arc following the middle course, shall be subjected to accountability; but their accountability shall be light. As for those who have been unjust to themselves, they shall be detained throughout the long period of Resurrection and accountability (mahshar). Then Allah shall cover them also with His mercy. And they are the ones who will say:
'Thanks to Allah Who has removed sorrow from us!'"
In this Hadith the Holy Prophet has himself given a complete commentary of the verse under discussion, and stated separately the end to be met by each of the three groups of the believers.
The "light accountability" for the ones following the middle course means this: The disbelievers will be punished for their disbelief as well as for each single crime and sin of theirs separately, but, contrary to this, the good and bad deeds of the believers who come with both the good and evil deeds will be judged on the whole: they will not be rewarded for each good deed and punished for each evildeed separately.
As for those "who will be detained throughout the period of Resurrection and accountability because they had been unjust to themselves," it means: They will not be thrown into Hell, but will be sentenced to be detained "till the rising of the Court." In other words, they will be exposed to all the severities and rigours of the lengthy Day of Resurrection (and God alone knows how lengthy it will be !) till Allah Almighty will turn to them in His mercy and command at the rising of the Court that they too be admitted into Paradise.
The traditionists have cited several sayings to the same effect from many Companions like Hadrat 'Umar, Hadrat `Uthman, Hadrat `Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Hadrat 'Abdullah bin `Abbas, Hadrat `A`ishah, Hadrat Abu Said Khudri and Hadrat Bara bin 'Azib. And obviously, the Companions could not have said any such thing in such matters unless they had heard it from the Holy Prophet himself.
But from this one should not form the impression that `those who have been unjust to themselves" from among the Muslims will only be sentenced to be detained "till the rising of the Court", and none of them will go to Hell at all. Several crimes have been mentioned in the Qur'an and Hadith, whose perpetrator will go to Hell in spite of his faith.
For instance, Allah Himself has declared that the believer who kills another believer wilfully shall go to Hell. Likewise, Hell has been mentioned as the punishment of those people also who violate the provisions of the Divine Law of Inheritance.
Those who devour interest even after its prohibition have been declared to be "the dwellers of Hell." Besides these, some other major sins also have been mentioned in Hadith, whose perpetrator shall go to Hell.