أَفَمَن يَتَّقي بِوَجهِهِ سوءَ العَذابِ يَومَ القِيامَةِ ۚ وَقيلَ لِلظّالِمينَ ذوقوا ما كُنتُم تَكسِبونَ
What! Is someone who fends off with his face the terrible punishment [meted out to him] on the Day of Resurrection …? And the wrongdoers will be told: ‘Taste what you used to earn.’
EXEGESIS
This verse continues the contrast between the two groups discussed in the last two verses. Hence, the rhetorical question in the verse is: is the person described here the same as those described in the last verse? Is someone who is cast in the fire better off, or someone who arrives safely on the Day of Resurrection? (41:40). The question with which the verse starts is left incomplete by the interruption of the subsequent part, all of which make the censure and criticism involved in the verse sharper and more serious.
Yattaqī: protect, preserve, bar. One naturally uses his hands and feet to protect his face from any damage. When it comes to preserving the body, the face has top priority. Therefore, someone who fends off with his face the terrible punishment describes the utmost helplessness of a person, for he is even incapable of the most instinctive reaction, which is to protect one’s face with one’s limbs. This is how early exegetes such as Ibn Abbas and Mujāhid have understood the verse.
If one does not protect himself against God’s wrath in this world, he would have to fend off with his face the terrible punishment [meted out to him] on the Day of Resurrection. The hands and limbs that fail to perform righteous deeds in this world will be unable to save one’s face from the punishment on the Day of Resurrection.
Dhūqū: taste, in the most general sense, not necessarily by the tongue. The derivatives of this root are most frequently used in the Quran when discussing unpleasant events. Taste what you used to earn is itself a punishment (spiritual and psychological) because of the severe rebuke and humiliation that it involves.
EXPOSITION
This verse depicts a horrifying scene of those who will be cast into it [hell] on their faces (26:94). May God protect us all from His wrath, for it would be a real disgrace and a dreadful punishment. This verse can be closely matched with the following verse: And whoever brings vice – they shall be cast on their faces into the fire [and told]: ‘Shall you be requited except with what you used to do?’ (27:90). It is vital to identify what could cause such terrible punishment so that we can avoid it. The cause can be logically deduced from the Quran as follows:
- God’s punishment is concomitant with misguidance (see 34:8, where punishment and misguidance are used interchangeably). 2. Furthermore, what is there after the truth except misguidance? (10:32). 3. Finally, We have sent down the book to you with the truth (verse 2). Putting the last two premises together, it follows that the Quran is a book of guidance (2:185, 46:30, 72:1-2) because it is a book of truth. Furthermore, it can be deduced that if one turns his face away from the Quran, which is God’s guidance and the word of truth, then he falls into misguidance and error. And according to the first premise, God’s punishment is a necessary implication of misguidance and error. Therefore, turning one’s face away from the Quran is equivalent to confronting God’s terrible punishment with one’s face. Conversely, if one’s skin quivers when confronted with the best speech sent by God, then he will not confront the punishment of hell with his face on the Day of Resurrection.
And the wrongdoers will be told: ‘Taste what you used to earn.’ This is apparently a statement by the guardian angels of hell. The dreadful punishment described in this verse is only meted out to the wrongdoers. Not only that, but it is the existential consequences of their own deeds, not some punishment that is assigned to them based on mere legislation or convention. This reemphasises that Indeed Allah does not wrong people in the least; rather it is people who wrong themselves (10:44).
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
The first part of the verse can have a completely contrary interpretation to what was presented earlier. It could be that wajh (face) means one’s entire being. This usage has Quranic evidence and is based on the face being a symbol of a person as a whole. Then the verse would mean: is one who avoids the terrible punishment on the Day of Resurrection with all his being the same as the wrongdoers who will be told: ‘Taste what you used to earn’? It could also be that wajh (face) means one’s direction, indicating one’s path and conduct in life. Thus, the verse would mean: is one who avoids the terrible punishment on the Day of Resurrection through his true beliefs and righteous deeds the same as the wrongdoers who will be told … What strengthens these interpretations is: 1. The Quran has always used taqwā and its derivatives when talking about self-restraint, piety, and God-wariness. 2. Yattaqī is in a verbal form that indicates voluntary protection and preservation, which contradicts the idea of being helplessly thrown in fire on one’s face. 3. This meaning would create a contrast between the first and second halves of the verse, which would make the verse very compatible with verse 22.
This, however, is not a likely possibility and is not the apparent meaning of the verse, as some exegetes have pointed out. As with the three points: 1. What was discussed earlier (in Exegesis and Exposition) are not against the Quranic or the lexical meanings of taqwā and its derivatives. 2. Even though the verbal form indicates voluntary preservation, in this case it serves to emphasise the helplessness of the individual, for he has no means of fending off the fire except by his face. In other words, they are incapable of fending off for themselves on that day. 3. Having no contrast between the two halves of the verse would make the verse compatible with verse 19.
[1] Lisan, under w-q-y.
[2] Tabari, 23/136.
[3] Tibyan, 9/22, narrated from al-Mubarrad.
[4] Tabrisi, 8/773.
[5] Qaraati, 8/162-163.
[6] Mizan, 17/257; Furqan, 25/328-329.
[7] Razi, 26/448.