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Surah 23. Al-Muminun
Ayah 99 - 110
99 حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَ أَحَدَهُمُ ٱلْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ٱرْجِعُونِ
100 لَعَلِّىٓ أَعْمَلُ صَـٰلِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ ۚ كَلَّآ ۚ إِنَّهَا كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَآئِلُهَا ۖ وَمِن وَرَآئِهِم بَرْزَخٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ
101 فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِى ٱلصُّورِ فَلَآ أَنسَابَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلَا يَتَسَآءَلُونَ
102 فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَٰزِينُهُۥ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ
103 وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَٰزِينُهُۥ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ خَسِرُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ فِى جَهَنَّمَ خَـٰلِدُونَ
104 تَلْفَحُ وُجُوهَهُمُ ٱلنَّارُ وَهُمْ فِيهَا كَـٰلِحُونَ
105 أَلَمْ تَكُنْ ءَايَـٰتِى تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنتُم بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ
106 قَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَا غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْنَا شِقْوَتُنَا وَكُنَّا قَوْمًا ضَآلِّينَ
107 رَبَّنَآ أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْهَا فَإِنْ عُدْنَا فَإِنَّا ظَـٰلِمُونَ
108 قَالَ ٱخْسَـُٔوا۟ فِيهَا وَلَا تُكَلِّمُونِ
109 إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِى يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ ءَامَنَّا فَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ
110 فَٱتَّخَذْتُمُوهُمْ سِخْرِيًّا حَتَّىٰٓ أَنسَوْكُمْ ذِكْرِى وَكُنتُم مِّنْهُمْ تَضْحَكُونَ
[99-110] (Those people will not desist from their doing) till when death comes to any one of them, he will say, "Lord, send me back to the world89 which I have left: I hope I will now do righteous deeds."90 By no means!91 it is a mere saying that he is uttering:92 for now there is a barrier between the dead (and the world which they have left) up to the Day93 when they shall be raised up again. Then, when the Trumpet will be blown, all (worldly) relations between them shall cease to function and they will not inquire about one another.94 Then only those whose Scales will be heavy,95 will attain success; and those, whose scales will be light, will be the people who made themselves liable to loss96 they shall abide in Hell for ever. The "Fire" will scorch their faces so as to expose their jaws97 (It will be said to them,) "Are you not the same people, who treated as lies My Revelations, when they were recited to you?" They will say, "Our Lord, our bad luck prevailed over us, and we were, indeed, erring people. Our Lord, now take us out of this place: after this, if we be guilty of such a thing, we shall indeed be wrong-doers." In answer to this, Allah will say, "Get away from here, remain herein and do not speak to Me.98 For, you are the very same people, who made fun of some of Our servants when they prayed to Us, `Our Lord, we have believed: so forgive us and have mercy, on us, for You are the Most Merciful of all who show mercy? So much so that in your obduracy, you even forgot My very existence, and went on scoffing at them.
89In the original Text plural number has been used for Allah, which may be for reverence, or may include the angels as well, who will be seizing the criminal soul. The entreaty would be: "O my Lord! send me back!"
90It occurs at several places in the Qur'an that each of the criminals, after his death till his entry into Hell, and even after that, will plead again and again: "Lord, send me back to the world: I will no more disobey Thee: I will now do righteous deeds." See Al-An`am (VI):27, 28, Al-A`araf (VII): 53, Ibrahim (X 1 V): 44, 45, Ash-Shu`ara' (XXVI):102, AI-Fatir (XXXV): 37, Az-Zumar (XXXIX): 58, 59, AI-Mu'min (XL): 10-12, and Ash-Shura (XLII): 44 along with the relevant E.N.'s.
91That is, "He will never be sent back nor given another opportunity, for in that case the test and vial for which man is sent m this world becomes meaningless." For further explanation, see Al-Baqarah (II): 210 and E. N. 228 thereof, and,E.N.'s 6, 139, 140 of AI-An`am (VI) and E.N. 26 of Yunus (X).
92That is, "Now, when he has met his doom, he has nothing more to say than that he should be sent back to the world; so let him say what he likes; he will never be allowed to go back."
93"That is, "Now there is a `barrier' between them and the world, which will not allow them to go back to it. Therefore they shall remain in that state up to the Day of Resurrection."
94It does not mean that the father will not remain "father" and the son will not remain "son", etc.. It only means that they will not be able to help each other, nor shall they be able to inquire about each other as father and son, for each one will be worried and anxious about his own plight. See also Al-Ma'arij (LXX): 10-14, and `Abasa (LXXXI 34-37).
95That is, those whose good deeds will be heavy and will out-weigh their evil deeds.
96For the criterion of "success" and "failure" in the Hereafter, please refer to E.N.'s 1 and 50 above.
97The word kalih means a face whose skin has been removed so as to expose the jaws. When somebody asked Hadrat `Abdullah bin Mas`ud the meaning of kalih, he said, "Haven't you seen the scorched head of a slaughtered animal?"
98"....do not speak to Me" "...do not plead your case with Me." According to some traditions, these will be their last words and they shall never be allowed to speak again, but this is contradicted by the Qur'an itself in the succeeding verses. Therefore, it only means this that they will not be able to plead their case again.