| Surah Aal Imran, 106-109
"On a day when faces shall turn bright and faces shall turn dark, as for those whose faces turn dark, (they shall be questioned): "Did you disbelieve after you had accepted the Faith? Now taste the punishment because you have been disbelieving." [106] And as for those whose faces turn bright, they rest in Allah's mercy. They are there for ever. [107] These are the verses of Allah We recite to you with all veracity. And Allah wants no injustice for (anyone in) the worlds. [108] And to Allah belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And to Allah all matters are returned."[109] (3:106-109)
Commentary
The meaning of 'bright' and 'dark' faces: This expression appears in the Holy Qur'an at several places, for instance:
On the day of Doom, you shall see those who lied against Allah (with) their faces blackened. (39:60)
Some faces on that day shall shine, laughing, joyous. Some faces on that day shall be dusty, overspread with darkness. (80:38)
Faces on that day shall be radiant, looking towards their Lord. (75:22)
In these verses, several words such as, 'bayad', 'sawad', 'ghabarah', 'qatarah', and 'nadirah', have been used to carry the same sense. In the English translation, where applicable, they appear in italics. According to the majority of commentators, 'brightness' signifies the brightness of the light of Faith, that is, the faces of believers shall be resplendent with the light of Faith, fresh and smiling due to happiness (as a result of rewards bestowed upon them by Allah). 'Darkness' signifies the darkness of disbelief, that is, the faces of the disbelievers will be covered with the gloomy anguish of disbelief and the added soot of sin and transgression would turn them still darker.
Who are these people?
Commentators have explained the identity of the people with 'bright' and 'dark' faces variously. Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him says that the faces of the followers of Sunnah shall be 'bright' and those of the followers, of Bid'ah (innovation in the revealed Faith, not intended by Allah and His Messenger, nor by his learned dark Companions). Hadhrat 'Ata' Rahmatullahi 'Alayh: Allah have mercy upon him says that the faces of the Muhajirin and Ansar shall be 'bright' and the faces of the Bani Qurayzah and Bani Nadir shall be 'dark' (Qurtubi).
Imam Tirmidhi rahimahullah narrates a hadith from Sayyidna Abu Umamah Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him which identifies these as relating to the Khawarij, the oldest sect of rebels), that is, the 'dark' faces shall belong to the Khawarij, and the 'bright' faces to those whom they shall kill. The hadith is given below:
When Sayyidna Abu Umamah radiallaahu 'anh was asked if he had heard the hadith from the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him, he replied, while counting on his fingers, that he would not have narrated this hadith had he not heard it from the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him seven times (Tirmidhi).
Sayyidna 'Ikrimah Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him says that 'dark' faces shall belong to those from among the people of the Book who did confirm the coming of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam: Peace be upon him before he was ordained. But when he had been given prophethood they did not accept and support him. On the contrary, they started falsifying him. (Qurtubi)
There are other explanations as well, other than those cited above, but they all lead to the same conclusion, and are not contradictory. Imam al-Qurtubi has said in his Tafsir that the expression in the verse means that the faces of sincere Muslims shall be 'bright' but the faces of all those who may have altered their religion, or may have become apostates and disbelievers, or may be concealing their hypocrisy in their hearts, shall be 'dark'.
Some Special Notes
In the verse Allah Almighty has mentioned the bayad first, and the sawad or darkness after it. But, in the verse which follows: (As for those whose faces turn dark), sawad or darkness has been made to appear before bayad or brightness, although the sequence of the original statement required that the mention of brightness appear first at this place as well. This reversal of the order seems to indicate that Allah Almighty has pointed out to His main purpose of creation. That purpose is to bless His creation with His mercy; punishment is not the objective.
So, those with bright faces come first as they deserve the mercy and merit from their Lord. People with dark, anguished faces were mentioned later as the ones who deserve punishment. Towards the close of the verse, the statement (They rest in Allah's mercy) is meant to stress upon the great mercy of the Creator.
One cannot miss observing that those deserving of mercy were identified immediately at the beginning of the verse and again, at the end of the verse, and very affectionately indeed. The mention of those whose faces shall turn dark remains in between. All this points out to His limitless, endless mercy, clearly suggesting that human beings were certainly not created to serve as an exhibit or manifestation of Divine punishment; instead, they were created to flourish under the sunshine of Allah's mercy.
2. About the statement, 'they shall rest in Allah's mercy', the blessed Companion Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas Radhi-Allahu Anh: Allah be pleased with him says that 'rahmah' or 'mercy' in the verse means 'Jannah' or 'paradise'. Here too, the wisdom behind giving the name 'mercy' to 'paradise' is, quite obviously, that man, no matter how worshipful and pious he may be, shall not enter Paradise unless it be through the sole mercy of Allah Almighty. The reason is that being devoted in acts of worship is no feat of human excellence as such. On the contrary, the very ability to do so is, in itself, a gift of Allah. So, 'ibadah'or worship does not, in itself, create an inherent right to enter Paradise. It is Allah's mercy alone through which one can enjoy the bliss of Paradise. (al-Tafsir al-Kabir)
3. The sentence (they rest in Allah's mercy) is immediately qualified by (they are there for ever). This means that the mercy in which the believers shall rest will not be temporary; it would be forever and eternal. This blessing will never be taken away or reduced in their case. In contrast to this are those whose faces shall turn dark; for them, it has not be expressly mentioned if they shall be in that state for ever.
Sinning man earns his own punishment
The verse (106) (now taste the punishment because you have been sinning) indicates that the punishment on that Day is not from Allah but that it is as consequence of what man has earned while living his mortal life, for the truth is that the blessings of paradise and the hardships of hell are simply a changed form of our very deeds. So, later on in verse 108, it was said: (and Allah wants no injustice for (anyone in the worlds) which means that Allah has no intention of being unjust to His creation. Whatever reward or punishment there is, is nothing but justice and very much the perfect expression of the divine wisdom and mercy. (Ma'ariful Qur'an)
» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 26th December 2011
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