This is an argument from Him, exalted is He, for resurrection after death by reference to something far greater: He is the One who created the heavens and the earth, despite their immensity and vastness and the perfection of their creation, without being troubled by it or wearied by creating them. How, then, could bringing you back to life after your death be beyond Him, when He has power over all things?
⦗784⦘
(34-35) “On the Day those who disbelieved are exposed to the Fire, they will be asked, ‘Is this not the truth?’ They will reply, ‘Yes, by our Lord!’ He will say, ‘Then taste the punishment for your disbelief. So be patient, as the messengers of firm resolve were patient, and do not seek to hasten it for them. On the Day they see what they were promised, it will be as though they had remained only an hour of a day. This is a message. Will any be destroyed except the defiantly disobedient people?’”
The Exalted informs us of the dreadful state of the disbelievers when they are exposed to the Fire which they used to deny. They will be rebuked and asked, “Is this not the truth?”—now that they have come to it and seen it with their own eyes. “They will reply, ‘Yes, by our Lord!’” Thus they will confess their sin, and their falsehood will become manifest. “He will say, ‘Then taste the punishment for your disbelief’”—that is, an abiding, perpetual punishment, just as disbelief had been an abiding characteristic of yours.
The Exalted then commanded His Messenger to remain patient in the face of the harm caused by those who denied him and showed him hostility, to continue calling them to Allah, and to emulate the patience of the messengers of firm resolve. They were the noblest of creation, endowed with resolute determination and lofty aspirations; their patience was immense and their certainty complete. They are therefore the people most worthy of being emulated, of having their footsteps followed, and of being guided by their beacon.
The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—obeyed his Lord’s command and displayed a degree of patience that no prophet before him had displayed. His enemies united against him as though shooting from a single bow. Together they sought to prevent him from calling to Allah and did everything within their power to oppose and fight him. Yet he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—continued openly proclaiming Allah’s command, steadfastly striving against Allah’s enemies and patiently enduring the harm that befell him, until Allah established him in the land, caused His religion to prevail over all other religions, and caused his nation to prevail over all other nations. May Allah bless him and grant him abundant peace.
His words, “Do not seek to hasten it for them,” mean: do not seek to hasten the punishment for these deniers who themselves demand that it be hastened. Their demand arises only from their ignorance and foolishness. Do not let their ignorance provoke you, nor let their demands for the punishment to be hastened lead you to invoke Allah against them for it. Everything that is coming is near. “On the Day they see what they were promised, it will be as though they had remained” in this world “only an hour of a day.” So do not be grieved by their brief enjoyment, for they are destined for a grievous punishment.
“This is a message.” That is, this world—with all its enjoyments, desires, and pleasures—is merely a tainted provision sufficient to pass the brief span at hand.
Alternatively, this mighty Quran, in which We have provided you with a complete explanation, is a message for you and a provision for the Hereafter. What an excellent provision and sustenance it is: a provision that brings one to the Abode of Bliss and safeguards one from the painful punishment. It is the finest provision that creation can take with them and the greatest blessing Allah has bestowed upon them.
“Will any be destroyed” by punishments “except the defiantly disobedient people?” That is, those in whom there is no good, who have departed from obedience to their Lord and have not accepted the truth brought to them by the messengers.
Allah has left them no excuse and has warned them. If, after all this, they persist in their denial and disbelief, we ask Allah to protect us.
End of the commentary on Surah al-Ahqāf. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all creation.