Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 128 of 165

Al-An'am 6:128

وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا يَـٰمَعْشَرَ ٱلْجِنِّ قَدِ ٱسْتَكْثَرْتُم مِّنَ ٱلْإِنسِ ۖ وَقَالَ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُم مِّنَ ٱلْإِنسِ رَبَّنَا ٱسْتَمْتَعَ بَعْضُنَا بِبَعْضٍ وَبَلَغْنَآ أَجَلَنَا ٱلَّذِىٓ أَجَّلْتَ لَنَا ۚ قَالَ ٱلنَّارُ مَثْوَىٰكُمْ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ

“And [mention, O Muḥammad], the Day when He will gather them together [and say], "O company of jinn, you have [misled] many of mankind." And their allies among mankind will say, "Our Lord, some of us made use of others, and we have [now] reached our term which You appointed for us." He will say, "The Fire is your residence, wherein you will abide eternally, except for what Allāh wills. Indeed, your Lord is Wise and Knowing."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Gathered at last, jinn and their human partners call their bargain mutual enjoyment now ended, and are shown their lodging.

A reflection

The sentence still held in His hand

A woman scrolls past a headline about a notorious criminal who has died in prison. Under it, hundreds of comments say the same thing in different words. Burn. She starts to type it too, then stops with her thumb in the air.

The ayah has just pronounced a sentence: the Fire is your lodging, abiding in it. Then, in the same breath, comes a phrase that holds the sentence open: illā mā shāʾa Allāh, except as Allah wills. The commentaries read the exception in several ways. Some take it to mean the time of rising and reckoning before they reach the Fire. Others record a reading that it refers to people Allah knew would yet believe. The details differ. The direction does not: the last word belongs to Him alone.

One early reading, reported from a Companion, draws a striking lesson from it. No one should pass judgement on Allah's behalf over His creation, placing people in Paradise or in the Fire. If even a sentence spoken by Allah ends with His will, what is left for ours?

This is where the ego is cut down to size. Few of us would ever claim to be God. Yet many of us hand out final verdicts with ease. That colleague is beyond hope. That relative is bound for Hell. The comment box is full of small thrones.

The ayah closes: 'Your Lord is Wise, Knowing.' Is this self-praise, a ruler adding his titles to a decree? No. A wise judge names the ground of his ruling so that those who hear it can trust it. He is telling us why the sentence is right: it rests on full knowledge, not on a mood. He gains nothing from our agreement. We gain the peace of knowing that the final account of every soul is in hands that cannot err. That includes the criminal, and it includes us.

The woman deletes the word. She does not excuse the crimes. She simply remembers that the sentencing is not hers.

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.