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The meaning is twofold: "that We consider them to be equal with those who.. .", etc., and "that We shall deal with them in the same manner as We deal with those who...", etc. The reference to the intrinsic difference between these two categories with regard to "their life and their death" points not merely to the moral quality of their worldly existence, but also, on the one hand, to the inner peace and tranquility with which a true believer faces life's tribulations and the moment of death, and on the other, to the nagging anxiety which so often accompanies spiritual nihilism, and the "fear of the unknown" at the time of dying.
Three meanings can be deduced. (1) The evil ones are not in Allah's sight li ke the righteous ones; neither in life nor in death are they equal; in life the righteous are guided by Allah and receive His Grace, and after death His Mercy, while the others reject His Grace, and after death receive condemnation. (2) Neither are the two the same in this life and in the after-life; if the wicked flourish here, they will be condemned in the Hereafter; if the good are in suffering or sorrow here, they will receive comfort and consolation in the Hereafter. (3) The real life of the righteous is not like the nominal life of the wicked, which is really death; nor is the physical death of the righteous, which will bring them into etemal life, like the terrible death of the wicked which will bring them to eternal misery.
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See note [11] on 10:5 . The implication is that without a differentiation between right and wrong - or true and false - there would be no "inner truth" in the concept of a divinely-planned creation.
Cf. xliv. 38-39, and n. 4717. The government of the world is so ordered that each soul gets every chance for its full development, and it reaps the fruit of all its activities. If it breaks away from Allah's Grace, it suffers, but no injustice is done to anyone: on the contrary Allah's Bounty is always beyond man's deserts.
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Thus Razi, evidently reflecting the views of Zamakhshari, which have been quoted at length in my note [4] on 14:4 .
See note [7] on 2:7 .
If a man follows, not the laws of Allah, which are also the laws of his own pure nature as made by Allah, but the desires of his own distorted self, as shaped by the rebellion of his will, the inevitable consequence will be the withdrawal of Allah's grace and guidance. All his faculties will then be debased, and there will be nothing to guide him, unless he turns in repentance again to Allah.
Cf. ii. 7 and notes.
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I.e., by accident, or as an outcome of blind forces of nature.
Cf. xxiii. 37, and n. 2896. The additional touch here, "And nothing but Time can destroy us", suggests the materialist philosophy that Matter and Time are eternal backwards and forwards; and possibly also that though each individual perishes, the race lasts till Time destroys it. This is not knowledge but conjecture. Why not accept light from Him Who knows all.
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Lit., "their argument is nothing but that they say".
Cf. 44:36 and the corresponding note [19].
Cf. xliv. 36. It is no argument to say, "If there is a future life, bring back our forefathers and let us see them here and now!" It is not for a man to raise the dead when and where he pleases. It is for Allah to command. And His promise is about the general Resurrection for the Day of Judgment. In His hands are the keys of life and death.
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I.e., whatever they could not "prove" by direct observation or calculation. For the above rendering of al-mubtilun, see surah {29}, note [47].
These vain wranglers about the future life and deniers of the Truth may have a run in this fleeting world; but the moment the world of Reality is established, they will see what they now deny. The facts will destroy their fancies, and they themselves will find themselves humiliated and lost, for having deliberately ignored Allah's Signs and acted on opposition to His holy Will.
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Bowing the knee: the key-phrase of the Sura, and its title. Cf. xix. 72. Whatever the arrogance of the wicked may be in this life, whatever exclusive sects and divisions they may form, in this life, the time will come when they will humbly submit and bow the knee to the Truth. Before Allah, when their Record is produced, they must necessarily be dumb.
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Cf. xliii. 80. Nothing misses the Recording Angel, and whatever is said in the Record is true.
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The attainment and satisfaction of all hopes and desires; the reaching of the final goal of Bliss. Cf. xliv. 57, and n. 47 33.
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There is arrogance as well as untruth in this pretence. The coming of Judgment has been proclaimed times out of number by every prophet of Allah. They cannot dismiss it as a mere idea or superstition. Their object is merely an ostentatious and lofty rejection of Faith.
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Lit., "and that which they were wont to deride will have enfolded them".
Cf. xi. 8. Their mockery will be turned against themselves, for they will be hemmed in by the very Realities which they had ignored or doubted or laughed at.
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Cf. vii. 51 and n. 1029. "Forget" is of course metaphorical for "deliberately to ignore".
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Lit., "since the life of this world has beguiled you": implying that this self-abandonment to worldly pursuits was the cause of their scornful disregard of God's messages.
Lit., "out of it". Regarding the stress on the phrase, "On that Day", see note [114] on the last paragraph of 6:128 , note [10] on 40:12 and note [59] on 43:74 .
It is implied that 'you deliberately allowed yourselves to be deceived by the vanities of this world', or 'that you put yourselves into a position where you were deceived, for you were expressly warned against Evil.'
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