Ad-Dukhan · Makki · ayah 40 of 59

Ad-Dukhan 44:40

إِنَّ يَوْمَ ٱلْفَصْلِ مِيقَـٰتُهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ

“Indeed, the Day of Judgement is the appointed time for them all -”

Saheeh International

Essence

The Day of Sorting is the appointment kept for every human being, first and last, when truth is finally parted from falsehood.

A reflection

The knife that finds the joint

Inna yawma al-faṣli mīqātuhum ajmaʿīn: indeed, the Day of Sorting is their appointed time, all of them.

The root f-ṣ-l has a butcher's picture at its heart. A mafṣil is a joint, where two bones meet. A skilled butcher does not hack. He finds the joint, and the limb comes away cleanly at its natural seam. Faṣl is that kind of parting: one thing separated from another until a clear gap shows between them.

A family gathers for an Eid meal. The grandfather carves the lamb. His son has tried before and wrestled with it. The old man feels with the tip of the knife, finds the joint, and the shoulder falls away without force. Everyone notices. He is not stronger. He simply knows where things divide.

One theological commentary gives four meanings for the name Day of faṣl. It is the day Allah parts the people of the Garden from the people of the Fire. It is the day He judges between His servants. For the believer, it parts him from everything he dislikes. For the denier, it parts him from everything he wants.

The fourth meaning is the most searching. On that Day, it says, every person's state appears exactly as it is. No doubt or suspicion remains about anyone. Illusions and confusions are cut away. Only realities and clear proofs are left.

We live in a world where things are tangled. Good people are slandered, liars are admired, motives are hidden even from ourselves. The Day of faṣl is when the knife finds every joint. Nothing will be hacked or forced. Each thing will simply come apart at its true seam.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.