Appearance
Verses 158–160
هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلائِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آياتِ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آياتِ رَبِّكَ لا يَنْفَعُ نَفْساً إِيمانُها لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمانِها خَيْراً قُلِ انْتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنْتَظِرُونَ ١٥٨ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَ كانُوا شِيَعاً لَسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ إِنَّما أَمْرُهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِما كانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ ١٥٩ مَنْ جاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثالِها وَ مَنْ جاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلا يُجْزى إِلاَّ مِثْلَها وَ هُمْ لا يُظْلَمُونَ ١٦٠
- Do they await anything but that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some of the signs of your Lord should come? On the day when some of the signs of your Lord shall come, its belief shall not profit a soul which did not believe before, or earn good through its belief. Say: Wait; we too are waiting.
- Surely they who divided their religion into parts and became sects. You have nothing to do with them; their affair is only with Allah, then He will inform them of what they used to do.
- Whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it, and whoever brings an evil deed, he shall be recompensed only with the like of it, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.
Commentary
These verses are connected to the previous thread of discussion. The verses (1) threaten the polytheists who refuse to follow the straight path and diverge into factions; (2) exonerate the Prophet from those who deviate in their religion; (3) promise good to those who bring good deeds with themselves [on the Day of Judgment]; and (4) confirm the fulfilment of God’s retribution [on the Day of Judgment].
هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلائِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آياتِ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آياتِ رَبِّكَ لا يَنْفَعُ نَفْساً إِيمانُها لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمانِها خَيْراً قُلِ انْتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنْتَظِرُونَ ١٥٨
(6:158) Do they await anything but that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some of the signs of your Lord should come? On the day when some of the signs of your Lord shall come, its belief shall not profit a soul which did not believe before, or earn good through its belief. Say: Wait; we too are waiting.
This is a rhetorical question that implies a negation. It is stated in a context where admonition has proven ineffective and the religious call has failed. The events mentioned in this verse are things that will inevitably be accompanied by God’s just judgment and decisive ruling that they shall be exterminated and the earth shall be cleared from their impurity.
… that the angels should come to them…: Given the theme and context of the verse, what is meant here is the angels descending with punishment. The same meaning can be inferred from: And they say: O you to whom the Reminder has been revealed! You are most surely insane. Why do you not bring to us the angels if you are of the truthful ones? We do not send the angels but with truth, and then they would not be respited ().
… or that your Lord should come…: The “coming” of God means His liqāʾ (meeting, vision), which itself means a total unveiling of His absolute oneness, without any veil or obscurity. This is a special quality of the Day of Resurrection, when the veils will be lifted. It is called a “coming” (ityān) because of the aspect of appearance after hiddenness, and presence after absence. Otherwise, the Holy Precinct of God is far superior to physical properties.
Some exegetes have said that your Lord should come means “your Lord’s command should come.” We discussed this interpretation under the verse: They do not wait aught but that Allah should come to them in the shadows of the clouds ().
… or that some of the signs of your Lord should come…: This means the occurrence of some event that would change their living condition in a way that they can no longer exercise choice and free will. Three examples of such signs and events are:
(1) Death, which takes one from the realm of action to the realm of retribution in barzakh (the intermediate realm between this life and the Resurrection).
(2) The establishment of disbelief and the strengthening of defiance in their souls as second nature, such that they can no longer acknowledge monotheism and embrace the truth wholeheartedly. They can at most admit it only verbally, out of fear of punishment and vengeance. This can possibly be inferred from the verse: And when the word shall come to pass against them, We shall bring forth for them a creature from the earth that shall speak unto them that indeed people would not believe in Our signs (). Similarly He says: And they say: When will this judgment (al-fatḥ) take place, If you are truthful? Say: On the Day of Judgment the faith of those who (now) disbelieve will not profit them, nor will they be respited (). Apparently fatḥ (lit. “victory, triumph, opening”) here means the Prophet’s triumph by God’s just judgment between him and his people. The same meaning can be seen in what God narrates from Prophet Shuʿayb: Our Lord! Judge (iftaḥ, from fatḥ) between us and our people with truth; and Thou art the best of deciders (). And He relates concerning His messengers: And they asked for judgment (istaftaḥū, from fatḥ) and every insolent tyrant was disappointed ().
(3) The occurrence of some punishment from God that one can neither prevent nor escape. This would force them to believe in order to protect themselves from the imminent excruciating punishment. However, such belief cannot save them because belief is beneficial only if one freely chooses it out of his own volition. This can be inferred from these verse: Then, when they saw Our punishment, they said: We believe in Allah alone and we deny what we used to associate with Him. But their belief was not going to profit them when they had seen Our punishment; (this is) Allah’s law, which has indeed obtained in the matter of His servants, and there the disbelievers are lost ().
These three things—that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some of the signs of your Lord should come—are events that come with a just and conclusive judgment between them. Since the obstinate disbelievers do not benefit from any admonition, and since no argument is effective in them, they are effectively just waiting for such a final judgment. They may not be conscious of its coming, but that does not change the reality that is facing them, whether they know it or not.
Some exegetes have said: The rhetorical question in this verse implies derision and mockery. The polytheists used to challenge the Prophet to make them see their Lord, to make the angels descend upon them, or to bring a sign for them like what the ancient prophets brought. Hence it is as though the verse is saying: “They are not really after a proof, but they only want the events that they demanded.”
This can be a possible interpretation for the first half of the verse. However, it does not quite match the second half of the verse: On the day when some of the signs of your Lord shall come…. Moving on to explain the facts and expound on the events does not comply with a context of derision and mockery.
… On the day when some of the signs of your Lord shall come, its belief shall not profit a soul which did not believe before, or earn good through its belief. Say: Wait; we too are waiting: Here the verse explains the quality of the day when the above events shall occur—which is in fact the quality of these very signs. Believing at that point will not benefit anyone who did not believe willingly and voluntarily prior to that. It shall also be of no avail if one was a believer before but did not earn good through his belief—meaning that he did not do righteous deeds, but plunged into sin and disobedience. Such a person cannot repent at that point. God says: And repentance is not for those who go on doing evil deeds, until when death comes to one of them, he says: Surely now I repent ().
Therefore, this verse applies to two kinds of people: (1) those who did not believe out of willingness and satisfaction before that day; and (2) those who believed in God but not in His communications. The latter are those who had no regard for any of God’s laws, who freely indulged in sins, and who did not earn any righteous deeds in their state of belief. Once these groups behold God’s punishment, if they desperately resort to īmān (belief, faith) in order to avert the punishment from themselves, that will not profit them; and His punishment cannot be averted from the guilty [].
The verse repeats “your Lord” three times—a graceful expression that gives it an elegant rhythm. This expression is meant to support the Prophet against his opponents: the polytheists. They used to boast about their lords and pride themselves about their idols. In response, the verse comforts the Prophet by his Lord, as a means of strengthening his heart and pacifying his soul. He will either triumph in his mission, or his Lord will judge decisively between him and his opponents.
… Say: Wait; we too are waiting: This stresses the previous sense of consoling the Prophet. It means: “You wait for what they are awaiting; tell them that you are waiting for it; and tell them to also anticipate it, because it is a serious promise, not something frivolous.”
Therefore, this verse genuinely threatens the Prophet’s opponents with a punishment that could really occur. It is not merely a superficial threat that is not really meant. As we said, some exegetes have said that the rhetorical question in this verse implies derision and mockery [in response to their defiant request of certain events as miracle]. One exegete has responded to this view by saying:
The three events mentioned here are things that they [the polytheists] are actually facing; it is only a matter of time before their occurrence. Therefore, some of the signs of your Lord cannot mean any of their requested miracles, because it is God’s perennial custom that if He grants the requested signs of any nation but they still do not believe, then He will eradicate them by exterminating punishment. However, God would never exterminate the nation of the Prophet of Mercy. Because of this mercy, He would never grant their defiant requests.
The problem with this view is that the Prophet’s nation is also subject to the just judgment and decisive decision of God. The verses of the Qur’an are more than explicit about this, such as: And every nation had a messenger; so when their messenger came, the matter was decided between them with justice, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly. And they say: When will this threat come about, if you are truthful? Say: I do not control for myself any harm, or any benefit except what Allah wills; every nation has a term… And they ask you: Is that true? Say: Aye! By my Lord! It is most surely the truth, and you will not escape ().
Based this verse, some have argued that mere īmān (belief, faith) is not beneficial for a person, unless it is accompanied by good deeds. This is true overall, but not unconditionally. The verse is specifically about two conditions: (1) the condition of one who has the opportunity to believe in God but does not; and (2) the condition of one who has the opportunity to believe and to do righteous deeds, but only believes without doing any righteous deeds. If they do not believe or do righteous deeds despite having the chance, then believing desperately at the time of facing God’s severe punishment will not avail them. This is not applicable to one who believes willingly but dies right away and does not get the chance to do righteous deeds or earn good through belief. On the contrary, it can be inferred from the verse implicitly—or even explicitly—that what shall profit a person is voluntary belief that is not ruined by sin or contaminated by evil.
… its belief (īmānuhā) shall not profit a soul which did not believe before, or earn good through its belief (īmānihā)…: In the Arabic text of the verse, the word īmānuhā (its belief) has been interjected between nafsan (a soul) and its quality of which did not believe before, or earn good through its belief, which is not a natural order of expression. This is because of two considerations: (1) It prevents a long separation from the subject of the sentence—“its belief” (īmānuhā)—and its verb [which is shall not profit]. (2) It prevents the consecutive mention of “its belief” (īmānuhā and īmānihā).
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَ كانُوا شِيَعاً لَسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ إِنَّما أَمْرُهُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِما كانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ ١٥٩
(6:159) Surely they who divided their religion into parts and became sects. You have nothing to do with them; their affair is only with Allah, then He will inform them of what they used to do.
The previous verses were about the polytheists who divided their pure religion. This implies that they who divided their religion into parts and became sects are also the polytheists. Meanwhile, the previous verses are also applicable to the People of the Book partially, and perhaps they even involve some allusion to them. Hence, the group mentioned here includes not only the polytheists, but also the Jews and the Christians because of their common quality of dividing and disagreeing in God’s religion.
This verse apparently follows the previous verses that explained God’s universal commandments, starting with prohibition of polytheism and ending with prohibition of deviating from His way []. Given this connection, the current verse is an application of the above theme, where it sets the Prophet apart from they who divided their religion into parts and became sects. Therefore, the use of past tense here —in divided their religion—is not meant to limit the meaning to some event in the past, but it only indicates the occurrence of this quality, whether in the past, the present or the future.
Here the Prophet is separated from those who deviated in religion and divided into sects, where each sect follows a different leader. The Prophet is apart and distinct from them because he is a Messenger who calls to the word of truth and the religion of monotheism. He is a perfect example that represents Islam by his very existence, and invites others to it through his practice. Therefore, saying that you have nothing to do with them is tantamount to saying: “They are not following the religion that you propagate, and are not on the same path that you pursue.”
The meaning is: “Those who divided their religion through disagreement and disintegration into sects are not on your path which is founded on unity, solidarity and avoidance of division. Their division in religion was despite having knowledge, only out of transgression amongst themselves []. Their affair with regards to this division is solely up to their Lord. You shall not be touched by any of that. On the Day of Resurrection God will inform them of what they used to do, its reality will be unveiled to them, and they will be held hostage to it.”
Given the above, it should be clear that there is no evidence to restrict the verse’s meaning to any particular group, such as: (1) the polytheists; (2) the Jews and the Christians; and (3) the followers of denominations and sects in this nation [of Islam]. Rather, the verse’s message is universal: it exonerates the Prophet from all of these groups.
مَنْ جاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثالِها وَ مَنْ جاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلا يُجْزى إِلاَّ مِثْلَها وَ هُمْ لا يُظْلَمُونَ ١٦٠
(6:160) Whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it, and whoever brings an evil deed, he shall be recompensed only with the like of it, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.
This verse has a complete meaning on its own. It talks about God’s favor and grace upon His servants, where He rewards good deeds tenfold, but does not recompense evil deeds more than their equivalent. In other words, each good deeds counts for ten, while each evil deed counts for one. God does not wrong anyone in retribution, meaning that He does not pay a lesser reward for good deeds than ten times, and does not mete out a greater punishment for evil deeds than their size. If the conditions allow, He may reward good deeds by more than ten times, as mentioned in the verse: The parable of those who spend their property in the way of Allah is as the parable of a grain growing seven ears (with) a hundred grains in every ear; and Allah multiplies for whom He will (). Similarly, given the circumstances, it is possible that He may pardon evil deeds and not count them even as one.
Meanwhile, this verse is connected to the previous verses, has appeared in the same context, and follows their thread. The last verse was about being united and gathered around the truth, versus being divergent and deviating with regards to it. Hence, it is as if this verse refers to these two qualities as good deeds and evil deeds, respectively, where each shall be rewarded accordingly, without any injustice. It says that one’s reward will match one’s action. If one brings a good deed, then he will receive the like of it and more. If one brings an evil deed—in this case the deviation that is prohibited—then he will not be recompensed more than the like of it. Such a person should cut his hopes from receiving anything good in reward [for his evil deed of digression from the truth]. Therefore, the main message of the verse is the same as: And the recompense of evil is punishment like it (). This means that the verse is not primarily about the size, extent or quantity of retribution, but about its type, nature and quality. It does not mean to say that evil deeds will receive only one punishment and not more, but it means to say that the consequence of an evil deed will be evil alike, nothing desirable.
Examining Narrations
- Concerning on the day when some of the signs of your Lord shall come, its belief shall not profit a soul which did not believe before (), it is narrated from Imams al-Bāqir and al-Ṣādiq: [The signs are:] (1) the sun rising from the west; (2) the coming of the creature; and (3) the smoke [in the sky]. If these signs occur while one has been insistently sinning and has not acted according to belief, then his belief at that point will not profit him.
Author’s comment: Insistently sinning is an interpretation of or earn good through its belief, as we discussed above. The next narration also confirms this.
- Concerning or earn good through its belief (), it is narrated from either Imams al-Bāqir or al-Ṣādiq: This refers to a disobedient believer whose many sins and few good deeds veiled him from [benefiting from] his belief. Thus he did not earn any good through his belief.
- Concerning on the day when some of the signs of your Lord shall come () Imam al-Bāqir said: When the sun rises from its setting point, anyone who believes on that day, his belief will not profit him.
- Concerning on the day when some of the signs of your Lord shall come () the Prophet said: [It means] the rising of the sun from its setting point.
Author’s comment: Apparently this narration provides one particular application of the verse. It could also be an interpretation of the verse’s meaning [in general]. Either way, it refers to a day when God’s wrath will manifest in a way that will force people to believe, but their belief will not avail them. The rise of the sun from its setting point has been mentioned in very many narrations, reported through Shia chains of transmission from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, and also through Sunni chains from many Companions including: Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, Ibn Masʿūd, Abū Hurayrah, ʿAbd-Allāh b. ʿUmar, Ḥudhayfah, Abū Dharr, ʿAbd-Allāh b. ʿAbbās, ʿAbd-Allāh b. Abī Awfá, Ṣafwān b. ʿAssāl, Anas, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAwf, Muʿāwiyah, Abū Umāmah, ʿĀʾishah and others. However, the content of these narrations varies a lot.
From the point of view of modern scientific theories, there is nothing inherently impossible with a reversal of the earth’s current rotation toward the east. It is also possible that the north and south poles may swap their positions either gradually, as astronomical observations have detected, or suddenly due to a universal cosmic event. These possibilities would be relevant assuming that the expression [about the sun rising from its setting point] is meant literally, as opposed to being a symbolic allusion to a secret reality.
Other signs mentioned in the narrations are: (1) the coming of the creature from the earth (dābbat al-ardh); (2) the smoke (al-dukhān); and (3) the coming of Gog and Magog. These are events that are mentioned in the Noble Qur’an. There are also other signs that are found in the narrations [but not in the Qur’an], such as: (1) the coming of the Mahdi; (2) the decent of Jesus son of Mary; and (3) the rise of al-Dajjāl. These are events that will occur at the end of time, but it is not clear if they will close the gate of repentance.
- Imam al-Ṣādiq said: As long as the earth exists, God shall have a proof (ḥujjah) on it who knows what is lawful and what is unlawful, and who calls [the people] to the way of God. God’s proof shall not be cut off from the earth except for forty days before the Day of Resurrection. When the proof is lifted, then the gate of repentance shall be locked, and “its belief shall not profit a soul which did not believe before the proof was lifted.” Those are the worst of God’s creatures, and they are the ones upon whom the Resurrection shall befall.
- Concerning Surely they who divided (farraqū) their religion into parts and became sects () Imam al-Ṣādiq said: By God these people deserted (fāraqū) their religion.
Author’s comment: That is, “they deserted their religion by diverging into denominations.” We also have already discussed the famous narration about the Muslim nation dividing into seventy-three sects.
- Imam al-Ṣādiq said: [Imam] ʿAlī used to recite this [verse] as “deserted their religion” (fāraqū dīnahum).
Author’s comment: This recitation is also narrated from him [Imam ʿAlī] through some Sunni chains of transmission, as reported in al-Durr al-manthūr and other books.
- Zurārah says: Once I was with Imam al-Ṣādiq when someone asked him about the verse whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it (), saying: “Does this apply to those who do not acknowledge this matter [of your wilāyah (authority, guardianship)]?”
He replied, “This is exclusively for the believers [in our wilāyah].”
I asked, “May God be your aid! What if someone fasts, prays, abstains from sins, has good self-restraint, and neither acknowledges [you] nor insults [you]?”
He replied, “God will let such people enter paradise by His mercy.”
Author’s comment: This narration suggests that one’s reward [in the hereafter] will be according to one’s knowledge (maʿrifah). There are other narrations through both Shia and Sunni chains of transmission that convey this idea.
There are also many other narrations concerning this verse—Whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it… ()—reported by both Shia and Sunni sources as an interpretation of the verse. However, they, rather, present certain examples and applications such as fasting, prayer and so on. We shall not quote them here.
In other words, when something or someone comes to a person, it becomes present and manifest after being absent and hidden from the person. It is in this sense that the appearance of God’s reality and presence on the Day of Resurrection is called your Lord should come. (Trans.) ↩︎
See volume 3 of the English translation, pp. 135ff. The suggested view can be confirmed by verse . (Trans.) ↩︎
See verses , , and . (Trans.) ↩︎
Therefore, the belief of one who dies right after believing will be beneficial to him, because he died with a pure belief, uncontaminated by sin. This means that “doing good” is not a condition for the effectiveness of faith, but “doing evil” is an impediment for it. (Trans.) ↩︎
The natural order, rendered into English, would be: “A soul which did not believe before, or earn good through its belief, its belief shall not profit.” As one can see, this is less fluent than the current translation of the verse, which corresponds to deviating from the natural order. (Trans.) ↩︎
This is based on verses . (Trans.) ↩︎
Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, on the authority of Zurārah, Ḥumrān and Muḥammad b. Muslim. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, on the authority of Abū Baṣīr. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ṣafwān, on the authority of Ibn Muskān. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Aḥmad, ʿAbd b. Ḥamīd’s Musnad, al-Tirmidhī, Abū Yaʿlá, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Abū al-Shaykh and Ibn Mardawayh, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī. ↩︎
See , and . (Trans.) ↩︎
Tafsīr al-burhān, on the authority of al-Barqī, via his chain of narration, on the authority of ʿAbd-Allāh b. Sulaymān al-ʿĀmirī. This has also been narrated from Imam al-Ṣādiq through another chain of transmission by Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī in Manāqib-i Fāṭimah. ↩︎
That is, the general Muslim community. (Trans.) ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Naḍr, on the authority of al-Ḥalabī, on the authority of Muʿallá b. Khunays. ↩︎
The author has discussed this narration under verse ; volume 6 of the English translation, pp. 275ff. (Trans.) ↩︎
Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, on the authority of Abū Baṣīr. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-burhān, on the authority of al-Barqī, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Naḍr, on the authority of Yaḥyá al-Ḥalabī, on the authority of Ibn Muskān. ↩︎