Surah 74. Al-Muddaththir

30For explanation, see E.N. 16 of Surah At-Tur.

31In other words, the people of the left hand will be seized in consequence of their misdeeds, but the people of the right hand will have their debts settled. (For explanation of the people of the right hand and the left hand, see E.N.'s 5, 6 of Surah Al-Waqi`ah).

32At several places in the Qur'an above, it has been stated that the dwellers of Paradise and the dwellers of Hell will be able to see and commune with each other directly without the agency of any instrument whenever they will so desire, although they will be living hundreds of thousands of miles away from each other. For instance, see Al-A`raf: 44-50 and E.N. 35, As-Saaffat: 50-57 and E.N. 32 on it.

33That is, "We were not of those who after having believed in Allah and His Messenger and His Book, performed the foremost duty imposed by Allah, i.e. the Prayer. " Here, it should be understood well that unless a person has believed he cannot offer the Prayer at all. Therefore, one's being of those who performed the Prayer, by itself implies that one is a believer. But by attributing one's going to Hell to one's not being of those who performed their Prayer, it has been made explicit that one cannot escape Hell even after having believed if one does not perform one's Prayers regularly.

34This shows how grave a sin it is in Islam to see a hungry man and fail to feed him even if one can, for this has been particularly mentioned as one of the causes of one's going to Hell.

35"Till the inevitable overtook us" : till death came upon us. Here, "the inevitable" implies death as well as the Hereafter.

36That is, "Even if an intercessor interceded for a person who persisted in this way of life till death, he would not be forgiven." The question of intercession has been so fully explained at so many places in the Qur'an that no one can have any difficulty in knowing and understanding as to who can intercede and who cannot, when one can intercede and when one cannot, for whom one can intercede and for whom one cannot, and for whom intercession is beneficial and for whom it is not. As one of the major causes of the people's deviation in the world, is their false concept about intercession, it has been explained at such length in the Qur'an as to leave no room for any doubt and ambiguity. For example, see Al-Baqarah; 255, Al-An`am: 94, Al-A`raf: 53. Yunus: 3-18, Maryam: 87, Ta Ha: 109, Al-Anbiya': 28, Saba: 23, Az-Zumar: 43-44, Al-Mu'min: 18, Ad-Dukhan: 86, An-Najm: 26, An-Naba: 37-38.