وَيَومَ القِيامَةِ تَرَى الَّذينَ كَذَبوا عَلَى اللَّهِ وُجوهُهُم مُسوَدَّةٌ ۚ أَلَيسَ في جَهَنَّمَ مَثوًى لِلمُتَكَبِّرينَ

On the Day of Resurrection you will see those who attributed lies to Allah with their faces blackened. Is not the [final] abode of the arrogant in hell?

EXEGESIS

The address you in this verse is apparently directed at Prophet Muhammad (s), but just like other similar Quranic addresses, it could also include anyone who comes on the Day of Resurrection with seeing eyes.^{‎[1]Alusi, 12/274.}

Muswaddah: blackened.^{‎[2]Raghib, under s-w-d.} This refers to the day when [some] faces will turn white and [some] faces will turn black (3:106) and describes a state of abasement and wretchedness on that day: For those who have committed misdeeds, the requital of a misdeed shall be its like, and they shall be overcast by abasement. They shall have no one to protect [them] from Allah. [They will be] as if their faces were covered with dark patches of the night. They shall be the inmates of the fire, and they shall remain in it [forever] (10:27).

Mathwā: place of settlement, establishment, and residence.^{‎[3]Raghib; Tahqiq, under th-w-y.} The Quran has used it the most when speaking about the abode of the wrongdoers and arrogant individuals in hell.

EXPOSITION

Attributing lies to God could have many examples and applications: 1. Ascribing a partner, a spouse, or a child to God (10:68-69). 2. Saying that something is lawful while God has made it unlawful (2:75, 2:78, 2:93-94, 5:103, 10:59-60, 16:116). 3. Claiming religious authority (at any level) while God has not assigned such position to the person. 4. Denying a God-sent authority (4:49-50, 61:6-7). 5. Distorting His words or their interpretation.^{‎[4]Kashif, 6/428-429, with some elaboration; Qaraati, 8/194.} See Insights from Hadith for some of these examples in the narrations. The verse may also refer to an implicit lie attributed to God in verse 57: Had Allah guided me I would have surely been among the God-wary!

The blackening of faces on that day is described in different terms elsewhere in the Quran: Some faces on that day will be covered with dust, overcast with gloom (80:40-41; see also 10:27). Connecting these verses together shows that what is meant by having one’s face blackened on that day is a state of gloom, sorrow, failure, and humiliation.

It is more than obvious that this verse does not express a racist view, because the blackening of faces here does not concern the apparent skin colour of individuals. The Quran has clearly defined its position on such matters in the famous verse: O mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify yourselves with one another. Indeed the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most God-wary among you. Indeed Allah is all-knowing, all-aware (49:13). The Day of Resurrection is not a day of apparent skin colours, but it is a day when the secrets are examined (86:9; see also 100:10). It is a day of truth (78:39), when the truth will become evident and everyone’s beliefs and actions will be weighed on the scale of truth (7:8). Therefore, the blackness of one’s heart (83:14) will manifest as the blackening of the face.^{‎[5]Alusi, 12/292.}

Alternatively, those who covered the truth, denied God, and rejected His signs in this world will be veiled from the light of truth in the hereafter. This is referred to as the blackening of faces in this verse. That is because Allah is the truth (22:6, 22:62, 31:30) and each person’s share of light on that day will be according to his proximity to God, who is the light of the heavens and the earth (24:35). Therefore, the blackening of faces refers to the state of being veiled from the truth and its consequent feeling of shame and humiliation.

Yet another possibility is that blackness in these verses means lacking light, as opposed to the believers whose faces will shine with a light by which they will find their way to salvation and paradise. This is seen in verses 57:12-13 and 66:8. This light again is a manifestation and reality of the light of faith and guidance that God provided for them in this world for their belief and God-wariness (57:28).

The first and the second halves of the verse show that those who attributed lies to Allah are the same as the arrogant. This is a clear match, because attributing lies to God is a deliberate act of defiance and arrogance against the truth. In other words, if one denies God possesses a quality that He deserves, or attributes a quality to Him that does not befit Him, then this alone is not sufficient to make the person among those who attributed lies to Allah. Otherwise, most Muslims would fall under this verse because of all the opposing views about God’s qualities. The word arrogant at the end of the verse as well as the very meaning of lying, clarify that what makes one subject to this verse is if he knowingly attributes lies to God.^{‎[6]Razi, 27/468-469, with some elaboration.} Imam Ali (a) said: ‘One who aims at the truth but misses is not equal to one who aims at falsehood and hits!’^{‎[7]Nahj, saying 61.}

This verse complements verses 32 and 59. The end of verse 32 was exactly the same as the end of this verse, except that here it says the arrogant instead of the faithless. Thus the two verses together show that the abode of the faithless arrogant individuals will be in hell; may God keep us away from it.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. There are several narrations by Imam al-Bāqir (a) and Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) that interpret this verse as follows: it is about anyone who claims to be an Imam while he is not an Imam, even though he may be from the descendants of Imam Ali (a) and Lady Fatimah (a).^{‎[8]Qummi, 2/251; Kafi, 1/372, h. 1 and 3; Thawab, p. 214; Tabrisi, 8/788; Daqaiq, 11/325-326.}

Note: The verse has its general meaning, and these narrations provide examples and applications of that meaning. ‘Imam’ here is not used in its general sense, but as the religious authority selected by God (2:124). Therefore, one who claims such authority for himself or anyone else without God’s assignment is attributing lies to God.

2. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Whoever narrates a tradition from us we shall ask him about it one day. If he attributes a truth to us, then he has indeed attributed a truth to God and His Messenger; and if he attributes a lie to us, then he has indeed attributed a lie to God and His Messenger. This is because when we speak we do not narrate from so-and-so or so-and-so, but we only narrate what God and His Messenger said.’ Then the Imam recited: On the Day of Resurrection you will see those who attributed lies to Allah with their faces blackened …^{‎[9]Tabrisi, 8/787-788.}
3. It is narrated that the Prophet said: ‘How is it that some people perform the prayer and recite the Quran but then they suppose that God has assigned sins to His servants [by force]? They are indeed those who attribute lies to God, and God shall blacken their faces.’^{‎[10]Razi, 27/468.}

Note: This narration shows a link between this verse and the previous verses. One example of attributing lies to God is denying one’s mistake and responsibility by claiming that Had Allah guided me I would have surely been among the God-wary! (verse 57). It is a clear lie because it implies that God did not send His means of guidance to His servants.^{‎[11]Razi, 27/468; Alusi, 12/274.} However, given the heated and extensive polemical debate between Asharites and Mutazilites concerning this issue, there are strong grounds to doubt the authenticity of this narration, although what it says is true. Rāzī has quoted it from al-Kaʿbī (a Mutazilite) and has then refuted his stand. See Review of Tafsīr Literature under verse 62.

4. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘There is a valley in hell for the arrogant called saqar [54:48, 74:26-27, 74:42]. It once complained of its intense heat to God and asked permission to breathe. God gave it the permission. When it breathed, hell was set afire.’^{‎[12]Qummi, 2/251.}

Note: This is apparently a symbolic description of a profound reality: hell is the place of the arrogant; what fuels the fire of hell is one’s pride, defiance, and arrogance.

5. The Prophet said: ‘The arrogant shall be brought on the Day of Resurrection in the form of ants due to their humiliation in the sight of God. They will be trampled by the people until God finishes judging everyone, and then they will be taken to hell.’ There are several versions of this tradition with minor differences.^{‎[13]Suyuti, 5/333.}

Note: We seek refuge with God from the evils of our souls and from inequities in our deeds.

6. It is narrated from the Prophet and from several Imams that: ‘One in whose heart is as much as an atom’s weight of arrogance will not enter paradise.’^{‎[14]Ahmad, 1/399, 412, 416, 451; Ibn Majah, 1/23, h. 59; Tirmidhi, 3/244; Kafi, 2/310, h. 6; Tuhaf, p. 396; Maani, p. 241, h. 1; Amali.T, p. 538.} In some of these narrations, the Prophet was then asked: ‘[Then we are all doomed, O Messenger of God!] Indeed one likes to have good clothes and good shoes.’ The Prophet replied: ‘[That is not what I meant, for] indeed God is beautiful and loves beauty. But arrogance is to transgress the truth and disdain others.’^{‎[15]Muslim, 1/65; Ibn Abī Jumhūr al-Aḥsāʾī, ʿAwālī al-Laʾālī, 1/436-437, h. 150; Kanz, 3/527-528, h. 7747.}

Notes: 1. There are many narrations similar to this, which essentially confirm: Is not the [final] abode of the arrogant in hell? Paradise is not the place of the arrogant. There is a fundamental incongruity between the two. This is because arrogance keeps one’s soul at a distance from God, which is the real meaning of hell. 2. Since our base soul inclines toward beauty and luxury, we should be very cautious lest we deceive ourselves into following our desires on the pretext of ‘Indeed God is beautiful and loves beauty’. Given the first part of the hadith, it is better to be safe than sorry. The same applies to verse 7:32.^{‎[16]Jawādī Āmulī, audio lectures on tafsīr of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf, lectures 61-62.}

7. God says: ‘Grandeur is My robe and magnificence is My cloak. Whoever competes with Me in these two, I will throw him into the fire.’ This sacred tradition is narrated in several sources with slight differences.^{‎[17]Ahmad, 2/248, 414; Ibn Majah, 2/1397-1398, h. 4174-4175; Tanbih, 1/198; Daylami, 1/189; Kanz, 3/526-527, 534-535.}
8. The longest sermon in Nahj al-Balāghah is called al-Qāṣiʿah (sermon 192 in Ṣubḥī al-Ṣāliḥ edition), and it revolves around the topic of arrogance (kibr, takabbur, istikbār). It is incumbent upon anyone who wishes to eradicate this evil trait from his soul to carefully study this sermon and apply it to himself. Here we shall present only a few passages that are very instructive in this regard:
   ‘Take lesson from how God treated Satan, for He rendered his long records of deeds and his diligent efforts fruitless due to a single act of arrogance. This is while he had worshipped God for six thousand years – whether by the years of this world or the hereafter is not known. So given Satan’s example, is there anyone who can commit the same sin as he did, yet remain secure from God[’s punishment]? Never! God, glorified is He, would never let a human being enter paradise by an act for which He expelled an angel from it [referring to Satan, who was among the angels]. Indeed He has the same rules for the inhabitants of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth. In addition, God has no favouritism towards any of His creatures so that He exempts him from what He has made illegal for everyone else … So extinguish in your heart the flames of prejudice and enmity that were common [among you] during the Age of Ignorance, because such prejudice is not found in a Muslim except as a result of Satan’s commands, deceptions, perturbations, and inspirations. Instead, place a crown of subservience upon your heads and throw vanity under your feet. Take off the yoke of arrogance from your necks, and set humility as a barricade between you and your enemy Satan and his troops … Take refuge in God from the causes of pride as you take refuge in Him from the calamities of the world … If God were to sanction pride to any of His servants, He would have sanctioned it to His special prophets and saints. But He, glorified is He, made conceit repulsive to them, and instead He approved of humility for them. Thus they made their cheeks touch the earth, placed their faces on dust, and lowered their wings [in humility] to the believers. Truly God tried them by hunger, tested them by hardship, examined them by fears, and purified them by difficulties … Indeed God, glorified is He, tests His servants who are proud in themselves by His saints who are abject in their eyes … [After describing God’s placement of the Kaaba in a coarse land with unfavourable weather in order to test His servants:] Had the foundations of this house and its building blocks been out of green emerald, red ruby, and brilliant lights, then the breasts [of people] would not have been challenged by doubt, there would have been no need to fend off Satan from one’s heart, and the tumults of uncertainty would have deserted the people. However, God tries His servants by a variety of difficulties, makes them subservient to Him by various struggles, and tests them by many kinds of hardships, so that pride may leave their hearts, and subservience may settle in their souls, and so that He may make these [trials] wide-open gates towards His blessings, and accessible means towards His forgiveness. Allah! Allah! [Be wary of Him] concerning the prompt consequence of transgression, the eventual dreadful consequence of oppression, and the evil result of arrogance. For indeed it is the greatest trap of Satan and the biggest of his plots, which penetrates the hearts of mankind like a lethal poison. It is a poison that never fails to act, and does not miss anyone: neither a scholar due to his knowledge, nor a poor man in his ragged clothes. It is for this reason that God has protected his faithful believers by prayer, almsgiving, and obligatory fasting, so that their limbs may be calmed down, their eyes may be lowered, their egos may be humbled, their hearts may be softened, and conceit may depart from them; as these worships involve rubbing the noblest part of the face on dust in humility, placing the best parts of the limbs on the earth in modesty, and the sticking of the fasting stomach to the back in mortification – not to mention almsgiving, which directs what has grown out of earth towards the people of privation and impoverishment.’^{‎[18]Nahj, sermon 192.}

TOPICAL ARTICLES

See Topical Article: Determinism and Free Will.

[1] Alusi, 12/274.
[2] Raghib, under s-w-d.
[3] Raghib; Tahqiq, under th-w-y.
[4] Kashif, 6/428-429, with some elaboration; Qaraati, 8/194.
[5] Alusi, 12/292.
[6] Razi, 27/468-469, with some elaboration.
[7] Nahj, saying 61.
[8] Qummi, 2/251; Kafi, 1/372, h. 1 and 3; Thawab, p. 214; Tabrisi, 8/788; Daqaiq, 11/325-326.
[9] Tabrisi, 8/787-788.
[10] Razi, 27/468.
[11] Razi, 27/468; Alusi, 12/274.
[12] Qummi, 2/251.
[13] Suyuti, 5/333.
[14] Ahmad, 1/399, 412, 416, 451; Ibn Majah, 1/23, h. 59; Tirmidhi, 3/244; Kafi, 2/310, h. 6; Tuhaf, p. 396; Maani, p. 241, h. 1; Amali.T, p. 538.
[15] Muslim, 1/65; Ibn Abī Jumhūr al-Aḥsāʾī, ʿAwālī al-Laʾālī, 1/436-437, h. 150; Kanz, 3/527-528, h. 7747.
[16] Jawādī Āmulī, audio lectures on tafsīr of Sūrat al-Aʿrāf, lectures 61-62.
[17] Ahmad, 2/248, 414; Ibn Majah, 2/1397-1398, h. 4174-4175; Tanbih, 1/198; Daylami, 1/189; Kanz, 3/526-527, 534-535.
[18] Nahj, sermon 192.