فَاعتَرَفوا بِذَنبِهِم فَسُحقًا لِأَصحابِ السَّعيرِ
Thus they will admit their sin. So away with the inmates of the blaze!
EXEGESIS
Iʿtarafū: iʿtirāf means to admit something based on knowledge. Thus, the inmates of the blaze will realise their guilt and thus they will admit it, though it will be too late.
Dhanb (sin) has been mentioned in singular form because it means the infinitive form of the verb, to sin. It may also be that it refers to a single sin, which is the root and source of all subsequent sins, and that is denying God’s messengers, as mentioned in the previous verses.
Suḥqan is from the root suḥq, which is used when something is crushed, worn out, or driven away. Here, suḥqan is a curse upon the inhabitants of hell – they are far away from God’s mercy and forgiveness. Its inflectional form indicates the omitted verb which it stresses: God has driven them away, such driving away. It has also been said that suḥq is the name of a valley in hell.
EXPOSITION
Once one’s life is over, the person loses the opportunity to add any good deeds to his book of actions or repent for any evil deeds. Confession, regret, and repentance are effective and helpful in this world: [There are] others who have confessed to their sins, having mixed up righteous conduct with other that was evil. Maybe Allah will accept their repentance. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful (9:102), but not after death: The day when the excuses of the wrongdoers will not benefit them, and the curse will lie on them, and for them will be the ills of the [ultimate] abode (40:52).
The perfection of humankind lies in accepting and following the truth with choice and free will. The whole purpose of creation of life and death is for mankind to be tested for righteous deeds: He, who created death and life that He may test you [to see] which of you is best in conduct (verse 2). When death overtakes a soul, the time of test will be over because one loses the means of being tested, which is free will and the power to exercise choice. From then on there will be no merit in repentance, embracing faith, or doing righteous action. Then, when they sighted Our punishment, they said: ‘We believe in Allah alone, and disavow what we used to take as His partners.’ But their faith was of no benefit to them when they sighted Our punishment – Allah’s precedent which has passed among His servants, and it is thence that the faithless will be losers (40:84-85); The day when some of your Lord’s signs do come, faith shall not benefit any soul that had not believed beforehand or had not earned some good in its faith (6:158; also see 10:90-91 and 63:10-11).
The confession or regret that one expresses upon death or when faced with the fire is a forced and involuntary one. The strong desire to return to this world to follow the truth is only an illusion – it is caused by an external situation, not an internal realisation: Were you to see when they [the disbelievers] are brought to a halt by the fire, whereupon they will say: ‘If only we were sent back [into the world]! Then we will not deny the signs of our Lord, and we will be among the faithful!’ Rather, now has become evident to them what they used to hide before. But were they to be sent back they would revert to what they were forbidden, and they are indeed liars (6:27-28).
Thus, the confession of the disbelievers on the Day of Judgement only serves as further punishment and grief for them, because the gates of going back to this world and making corrections are closed. As for the faithless there is for them the fire of hell: they will neither be done away with so that they may die, nor shall its punishment be lightened for them. Thus do We requite every ingrate. They shall cry therein for help: ‘Our Lord! Bring us out, so that we may act righteously – different from what we used to do!’ ‘Did We not give you a life long enough that one who is heedful might take admonition? And [moreover] the warner had [also] come to you. Now taste [the consequence of your deeds], for the wrongdoers have no helper’ (35:36-37); So taste [the punishment] for your having forgotten the encounter of this day of yours. We [too] have forgotten you. Taste the everlasting punishment because of what you used to do (32:14).
The verse might also be a reference to the fact that everything becomes evident and unveiled on the Day of Judgement (86:9, 50:22, 39:48, 100:10), such that the limbs and organs of the sinners will testify against them (24:24, 36:65, 41:20). They will manifestly see the truth and will realise their misguidance so evidently that they cannot deny it. Thus, they will judge their own damnation. We have attached every person’s omen to his neck, and We shall bring it out for him on the Day of Resurrection as a wide open book that he will encounter. ‘Read your book! Today you suffice as your own reckoner’ (17:13-14); They denied Our signs with a strong denial, and We have figured everything in a book. So [now] taste! We shall increase you in nothing but punishment! (78:28-30).
There are many verses in the Holy Quran concerning the speeches of the disbelievers and wrongdoers on the Day of Judgement. According to some verses, they are not allowed to speak (16:84, 77:35-36), and according to some verses they deny what they did (6:23-24, 58:18). This apparent disagreement between the verses may be because of different stages and stations in the hereafter or the different groups of people. There are some stations or people that are described by verses of confession (like this verse), and some that are described by the other verses.
The dreadful address So away with the inmates of the blaze could be a cosmic and existential address (takwīnī), which is concomitant with its realisation and occurrence. That is, a takwīnī address is that which brings forth something and makes something to be. In this case, So away with the inmates of the blaze would mean the actual distancing and deprivation of the disbelievers from God’s mercy. Other than being a takwīnī address, it could also be a means of censuring and blaming the disbelievers, which would be among their spiritual and psychological punishments. The inhabitants of paradise will call out to the inmates of the fire: ‘We found what our Lord promised us to be true; did you find what your Lord promised you to be true?’ ‘Yes,’ they will say. Then a caller will announce in their midst: ‘May Allah’s curse be on the wrongdoers!’ (7:44). The caller who says, So away with the inmates of the blaze could be an angel or one of the righteous servants of God who serves as a witness on the Day of Judgement. The sentence could also be a closure that God has made on the account of the inhabitants of hell. Answer your Lord before there comes a day for which there is no revoking from Allah. On that day you will have no refuge, neither will you have [any chance for] denial (42:47).
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- After praising God for opening the gates of repentance upon His servants, Imam al-Sajjād (a) prays to God, saying: ‘He has lifted up from us what we have not the strength to bear, charged us only to our capacity, imposed upon us nothing but ease, and left none of us with an argument or excuse. So the perisher among us is he who perishes in spite of Him and the felicitous among us is he who beseeches Him.’
- Imam al-Sajjād (a) supplicates to God, saying: ‘Thy argument is established, never refuted. Thy authority is fixed, never removed. Thus, permanent woe belongs to him who inclines away from Thee; forsaking disappointment belongs to him who is disappointed by Thee; and the most wretched wretchedness belongs to him who is deluded about Thee! How much he moves about in Thy chastisement! How long he frequents Thy punishment! How far is his utmost end from relief! How disappointed he is of an easy exit! [All of this] as justice from Thy decree, and equity from Thy judgement. Thou have made Thy proofs evident, and have left no excuse.’
Note: The above descriptions of God’s custom with His servants make it clear why the verse says So away with the inmates of the blaze!
- The Prophet said: ‘People are sleeping. When they die, they wake up.’
Note: This tradition, also narrated from Imam Ali (a), refers to how most people are unconscious of many realities that have an integral impact in their eternal life. It is only when they wake up – when it is too late – that they realise the severe pain and need that they had and to which they were inattentive.
Moan for yourselves, for you were in sleep,
It is worse than death, to sleep so deep.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
One reason for the confession of the disbelievers despite the disgrace that it involves is that they might still have the slightest hope of some respite, reduction of punishment, or even termination of their life (40:49, 43:77). Another explanation is that their punishment and disgrace has already been decreed and established, and therefore whether they confess or not does not make any difference to them: It is the same to us whether we are restless or patient: there is no escape for us (14:21). However, the best explanation is that the hereafter is not a realm of voluntary action based on free will. Rather, it is a realm of manifestation of one’s traits and actions. That is the day of truth (78:39); The day when the secrets are examined (86:9); And what is in the breasts is divulged (100:10). That is why their confession is only the appearance and manifestation of some truth on that day of truth.
[1] Tibyan, 10/62; Tahqiq, under ʿ-r-f.
[2] Qurtubi, 19/213.
[3] Raghib; Qamus, under s-ḥ-q.
[4] Qurtubi, 19/213; Razi, 30/589.
[5] Tabari, 5/29.
[6] Sahifah, supplication 1.
[7] Ibn Abī Jumhūr al-Aḥsāʾī, ʿAwālī al-Laʾālī, 4/73, h. 48; Bihar, 50/134.
[8] Rūmī, Mathnawī, vol. 6, line 801.
[9] Tibyan, 10/63.