The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 769
PT. 23 AȘ-ṢĀFFĀT CH. 37 18. And our forefathers of yore also?' 19. Say, 'Yea; and you will then be abased. '3285 a 20. Then it will be but "one shout of reproach, and lo! they will begin to see. 3286 21. And they will say, 'Alas for us! this is the Day of Requital. ' 22. God will say "This is the Day of the final Decision which you used to deny. '3287 اوَ ابَاؤُنَا الْأَوَّلُونَ قُلْ نَعَمْ وَأَنْتُمْ دَاخِرُونَ ® فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ زَجْرَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ فَإِذَا هُمْ يَنْظُرُونَ وَقَالُوا يُوَيْلَنَا هَذَا يَوْمُ الدِّينِ هذَا يَوْمُ الْفَصْلِ الَّذِي كُنْتُمْ بِهِ تُكَذِّبُونَ ® a79:14. 46:35; 52:15. death or it may mean the great moral transformation brought about by the Holy Prophet. The verse purports to say that when disbelievers are told that they will have to account for their rejection of the teaching of Islam about the next life they say that they cannot believe that such a thing can ever happen, and with respect to the great change that Islam is destined to bring about in the lives of men, their denial, too, is firm and unequivocal. 3285. Important Words: (abased) is the plural of which is active participle from >> (dakhara & dakhira) which means, he was or became abject, mean, contemptible, despicable or abased (Lane). The verse replies to the firm denial by disbelievers of the possibility of Resurrection after death or of "resurrection" of the morally and spiritually dead Arabs mentioned in 2683 the preceding two verses with an even firmer affirmation that such a thing shall certainly come to pass, and, besides being disgraced on the Judgement Day, their pride will be humbled in the dust in this very life. 3286. Commentary: The verse, besides the Judgement Day, may refer to the sudden and swift punishment that will overtake disbelievers. The reference seems to be to the Fall of Mecca when the Meccans were simply flabbergasted at the sudden appearance of the Muslim army at its very gates. 3287. Commentary: It was at the Fall of Mecca that disbelievers realised to their sorrow that that was the day of final decision for which they had waited so long because after the Fall of Mecca within a very short time the whole of Arabia submitted to the inevitable and entered the fold of Islam.