There were reminders till this point and in the next five verses there are various warnings and each has its own peculiarity e.g. in the sixth verse it says, “Beware! Those who dispute about the Hour have strayed far away.”

The word “Yu maaroona” has been derived from “Mara’” or “Mariah”. According to Maqayis-ol-Loghata it has two meanings, one to caress the udder of the animal that is to be milked and the second is steadfastness but Raghib has preferred only the first meaning.

Later the word was used to denote anxiety and doubt though according to Raghib its meaning is more limited than doubt (because Mariah means that doubt which is full of curiosity in the way the milker tries to milk the cow)

The word “Mimara’h” denotes as if the opponents do not want to extract that which is in the other’s mind or according to the author of Maqayis-ol-Loghata each one of them is adamant in his argument as has been mentioned above. “Mariah” means steadfastness.

The pointed to be noted is that the term “zalaalim-ba-iid” has been used ten times in the Qura’n about the disbelievers and those who deny the resurrection. It is clear that complete waywardness is the significant sign of this group for their straying would have been shallow or temporary had they little belief in God and the Day of Reckoning and there would be a scope of their return to the truth. But the denial of Tawhid and resurrection takes mankind to the farthest frontiers of waywardness away from the center of guidance. According to another interpretation the signs for recognizing god and resurrection are so clear that they are like those issues of the senses and he who is astray about these two is certainly very wayward.

The seventh verse describes the wastage of good deeds done by those who deny the resurrection. It says, “Those who deny Our signs and the meeting on the Day of Resurrection, vain are their deeds. Do they expect to be rewarded with anything except what they used to do?”

The word “Habit” according to the dictionaries means to be wrong or to be sick (1) the explanation of the verses and traditions tell us that it means the wastage of the rewards for goodness due to some sins. According to Lisan-ol-Arab it means that a person does something good and then destroys it. Is this wastage totally decreed for obedience and sin or do they affect each other? The linguists have discussed this issue and wee will discuss the details in the proper place Inshallah.

With regards to the disputes and awards there is no doubt that some deeds like disbelief destroy the rewards for good deeds. If a person dies without belief then his good deeds are destroyed like the scattering of dust by the winds. This is what the above verse says about those who deny the resurrection and this is a very clear proof in the eyes of the Qura’n.

In the 8th verse those who do not believe in the hereafter are severely warned about painful punishment. It says, “We have prepared a painful torment for those who do not believe in the hereafter.”

On the one hand it says that the reward is already in place so that no one feels that there will be a delay in implementation of the promise and on the other side the painful punishment has been declared to enhance the importance of the belief in resurrection.

The term “Painful torment” has been used score of times in the Qura’n and mostly for the disbelievers and the hypocrites. It has been mentioned for great sins also like avoiding jihad like verse 39 of Surah Taubah, being excessive in taking retribution in verse 178 of Surah Baqarah or exhibiting lust like in verse 19 of Surah Noor or being unjust as in verse 169 of Surah Zukhruf and similar great sins.

In the 9th verse three painful punishments have been prescribed for those who forget the Day of Reckoning. The disbelievers will be told “And it will be said “We shall neglect you as you even as you neglected the meeting of this day of yours and your abode shall be the fire and there shall be no helpers for you.”

Actually forgetting the Day of Reckoning is the fountainhead of all waywardness as described in the Qura’n:

Verse 26 of Surah Saad says, “Those who go astray from God’s path shall have a severe torment because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.”(2)

God is present every where and everything is present before Him. There is no question of Him forgetting anything. What the verse means to say that he ignores and deprives those who forget from His mercy as if they have been forgotten. (Reflect)

In the 10th and final verse the disbelievers in resurrection are warned about an eternal punishment by Fire. The Messenger is asked to warn, “And if you wonder, then wondrous is their saying, “When we are dust, would we then surely be (returned) in a new creation?”

It then adds, “They are those who disbelieve in their Lord and they shall have collars around their necks, and they are the companions of fire where in they shall abide forever.”

The negative surprise by the believers is spoken about in the beginning of the verse and then this surprise is declared to be something peculiar. Can people express surprise for something which is clearly evident? In the end of the verse the disbelievers are spoken about as prisoners who will have yokes around their necks with chains. What can be a better yoke than Bias, ignorance and vanity for they confiscate all freedom and so even such a clear issue becomes a surprise for them simply because it is against their vanity and blind following.

We should note that the verse does not say that they will have yokes in their necks on the Day of Reckoning but the verse says that according to an Arab poet: “Their yokes and chains will keep them far from guidance.”

Some commentators have taken this verse to be the hint about the conditions on the Day of Reckoning and that yokes and chains will put on their necks (3) Some have mentioned two premises (4) but some have said that it refers to their condition in this world and Allama Tabatabai in Al Mizan says, “This sentence speaks about their entanglement in materialistic pleasures, dependence on greed and vanity, their enchainment to ignorance and subsequent denial.” (5)

It is established that such are the yokes that men put willingly around their necks hands and legs and they will transform to yokes of fire on the Day of Judgment. They will stop such men from trying to come close to God’s mercy.

1. Maqayis-ol-Loghata the origin of “Habit”

2. Al Mizan vol. 12 page 50

3. Tafsir Majmaul Bayan for verse 5 of Surah Raad; Tafsir Qartabi vol.5 page 3513.

4. Tafsir Kabeer vol.19 page 9

5. Tafsir Al Mizan vol.11 page 300.