The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 5) — Page 539
PT. 30 AT-TAKĀTHUR 5. Nay again! you will soon come to know. 4829 6. Nay! if you only knew with certain knowledge, 7. You will surely see Hell in this very life. 8. Aye, you will surely see it with the eye of certainty in the Hereafter. 4830 35:32). It is the blind craze for worldly things, to the detriment of higher values, to which exception has been taken in this verse. 4829. Commentary: Repetition of the verse is intended to add emphasis to and render more effective the warning contained in the Surah. Or the Surah may refer to the Nemesis that will come in the wake of blind engrossment in acquisition of worldly things in this life and in the Hereafter. 4830. Commentary: the The verse administers a severe rebuke to disbelievers. It seems to say to them: "Why can't you understand the simple thing, that the wages of sin is death and that no spiritual life is left in you. Had you used common sense and what little amount of knowledge you possess, you would have seen a veritable Hell yawning before your eyes in this very life, i. e. you would have realized that your engrossment in the pursuit of pomp, circumstance and the material advantages of this temporary existence will cause your total ruin. But you give no thought to these stark 3435 CH. 102 ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ كَلَّا لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ لَتَرَوُنَّ الْجَحِيمَة ثُمَّ لَتَرَوُنَّهَا عَيْنَ الْيَقِينِ realities of life. You do not believe that such a thing will ever happen, but the time is fast approaching when you will see Divine punishment overtaking you in the form of diverse calamities. " ale i. e. It may be stated here that there are three stages of certainty, viz. i. e. " certainty by inference, "certainty by sight" and i. e. "certainty by realization. " In the first stage a thing itself is not visible but from its visible effects a man can conclude that it exists. In the second stage not only the effects of a thing but the thing itself is visible, though its nature is not completely comprehended. In the third stage which is the stage of perfect realization or personal experience a man both through observation of the effects of a thing on others and through realization of its effect on himself, can have as complete an understanding of the nature of a thing as it is possible for him to have. These are also the stages of human knowledge with regard to Hell. A man can, by inference, attain certainty about the existence of Hell in this very life but it is after death