Surah 82. Al-Infitar, Ayah 18

For my rendering of thumma at the beginning of this verse as "And once again", see surah {6} note [31]. The repetition of this rhetorical question is meant to indicate that man's intellect and imagination cannot possibly answer it, since what is described as the Day of Judgment will usher in a reality which as yet is wholly outside our human experience and, therefore, cannot be grasped conceptually: hence, only allegory - and our own emotional response to it - can give us an inkling of what that reality might be.

We can speak of Rewards and Punishments, the Fruits of Actions, the Resurrection and the Tribunal, the Restoration of True Values, the Elimination of all Wrong, and a hundred other phrases. They might serve to introduce our minds vaguely to a new World, of which they cannot possibly form any adequate conception under present conditions. The question is repeated in verses 17-18 to emphasize this difficulty, and a simple answer is suggested, as explained in the next note.