وَلَو أَلقىٰ مَعاذيرَهُ
Though he should offer his excuses.
EXEGESIS
Alqā (he should offer) is the causative form four of the verb laqiya, meaning to come face-to-face with something. From there it has taken the meaning of seeing or experiencing anything first-hand, such as in the verse, We have certainly encountered (laqīnā) much fatigue on this journey of ours (18:62). Its usage for ‘encountering’ God (liqāʾ allāh) is similarly figurative, intending an unprecedented experience of God, His mercy, and His justice.
In its causative form, as in the verse under review, it fundamentally means to present, to offer, or to put forward an idea, a plea, an excuse, or even an item. This is illustrated in the verse, O Moses! Either you will throw down (tulqiya), or we shall be the first to throw (alqā) (20:65).
Maʿādhīr (excuses) is the plural of maʿdhirah, deriving from the root ʿadhara, which originally means to find something that can remove the effects and traces of a wrongdoing. It may be something true and real, or it may simply be an excuse. The usage in this verse is clearly the latter.
EXPOSITION
The Day of Judgement is presented as the moment of ultimate truth, where a person’s inner and outer realities converge and become fully apparent. However, a central theme is the continuity of a person’s character from this life into the next. Those who lived in rebellion against God and truth will continue this pattern of denial even when faced with irrefutable evidence of their sins, to the extent that they will falsely deny their polytheism: On the day when We gather them all together, We shall say to those who ascribed partners [to Allah]: ‘Where are your partners that you used to claim?’ Then their only excuse will be to say: ‘By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists.’ Look, how they forswear themselves (6:22-24).
They will present all kinds of excuses for their wrongdoing, such as blaming others for their deviation (34:31, 38:60), pleading to be sent back and given another chance (63:10, 6:27), or denying doing anything wrong altogether (16:28, 6:23). Yet the evidence against them is complete and excuses will not avail them, The day when the excuses of the wrongdoers will not benefit them (40:52).
For some, it is only when they enter hell that they will they finally admit that they were wrong: Whenever a group is thrown in it, its keepers will ask them: ‘Did there not come to you any warner?’ They will say: ‘Yes, a warner did come to us, but we impugned [him] and said: “Allah did not send down anything; you are only in great error.”’ And they will say: ‘Had we listened or applied reason, we would not have been among inmates of the blaze.’ Thus they will admit their sin (67:8-11).
It seems that the choice of wording, using the verb alqā (he should offer), is purposefully drawing the reader’s attention to the significance of the moment when these excuses are presented: the moment of liqāʾ allāh, when one must stand in the presence of God to be judged. What should be a moment of clarity and confrontation with reality is twisted by these corrupt individuals, and as was their habit in this world, they will not accept reality and truth, and instead of facing the truth, they try to face a corrupt narrative of it produced in their own minds. Because of this, they are able to present excuses even at such a moment. Even such a moment cannot change the habits of such individuals (if they were able to change they would not have been condemned to eternal hell), it merely exposes the utter absurdity of their behaviour.
Some might wonder if this verse is in contradiction with the verse in Sūrat al-Mursalāt: This is a day wherein they will not speak, nor will they be permitted to offer excuses (77:35-36). There is no contradiction of course, but in order to appreciate that, we must understand the timeline in which events unfold on the Day of Judgement, as it consists of many different stages. After the actions of the wrongdoers have been brought present before them, they will begin their usual reaction of denial, obfuscation, justification, and other excuses. After presenting these excuses, their mouths will be sealed, and then their bodies will begin to give testimony against them; Today We shall seal their mouths, and their hands shall speak to Us, and their feet shall bear witness concerning what they used to earn (36:65). During this time they will not be able to talk or interrupt the testimony of their own body. Once that process is completed, their ability to speak shall be returned to them, whereat they will immediately assault their own body with accusations, asking, Why did you bear witness against us? (41:21).
The moral lesson of this verse is clear: a person is aware of his own flaws, sins, and mistakes. He should not make excuses for those to himself or try to find justification for them. The person who makes such excuses in this life might find himself doing so in the next as well, where excuses will avail him not.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Ṭūsī has understood this verse to also intend man’s behaviour in this world and how he presents excuses in front of people. This is not in contradiction to what we said, as the kind of person that one is in this life is reflected in the hereafter.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- ‘Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”’
Note: This parable tells of how those who are invited to the kingdom of heaven, yet present excuses because their interests lie in worldly affairs, will be denied entry to it.
[1] Raghib, p. 745, l-q-y.
[2] Tibyan, 10/195. Zamakhsharī argues that the actual plural of maʿdhirah is maʿādhir, not maʿādhīr; he asserts that maʿādhīr is a collective noun (ism jamʿ). He compares this to manākīr and munkar (Zamakhshari, 4/661. Also Tantawi, 15/201). Ālūsī points out that Zamakhsharī has a habit of making this argument regarding collective nouns, adding that maʿādhīr is not per the form of collective nouns (Alusi, 15/156). A collective noun is not the plural, but a noun that indicates plurality of a thing. It is like in English the plural of ‘man’ is ‘men’, but ‘mankind’ is a collective noun.
[3] Raghib, p. 555, ʿ-dh-r; Lisan, 4/545, ʿ-dh-r.
[4] Nemuneh, 25/293.
[5] See also 58:18. For a detailed discussion on the matter of the wrongdoers speaking on the Day of Judgement, see Tabatabai’s commentary on 11:105 (Mizan, 11/9-17).
[6] See also the commentary on 77:35-36 in Mizan, 20/154; Nemuneh, 25/421.
[7] See for example Tibyan, 10/195.
[8] Luke 14:18-24.