Section: The friends of Allah fall into two categories: those who are foremost and brought near, and the companions of the right who take a middle course. Allah has mentioned them in several places in His noble Book: at both the beginning and the end of Surah al-Wāqiʿah, and in Surahs al-Insān, al-Muṭaffifīn, and Fāṭir.

In al-Wāqiʿah the Exalted speaks of the greater resurrection at the start of the surah and of the lesser resurrection at its close. He opens it with the words:

“When the Inevitable Event occurs, none can deny that it has occurred—bringing low, raising high. When the earth is shaken with a violent shake and the mountains are crushed to powder until they become scattered dust, you will be divided into three groups: those on the right—what of those on the right? those on the left—what of those on the left? and the foremost, the foremost: they are the ones brought near, in gardens of bliss, a multitude from the earliest generations and only a few from the later ones.” ⦗Q 56:1-14⦘

This is the division of humankind when the greater resurrection takes place, the Day on which Allah gathers together the first and the last, as He has described in several other passages of His Book.

Then, at the close of the surah, He says:

“Why, then—when the soul reaches the throat, while you look on, and We are nearer to him than you, though you do not perceive—why, if you will not be held to account, do you not restore the soul, if what you say is true? As for …” ⦗Q 56:83-87⦘