Surah al-Ghāshiyah (The Overwhelming Event)

Shaykh al-Islām said:

Section

Regarding His words:

“Has there come to you the account of the Overwhelming Event?
Faces on that Day will be humbled,
toiling and weary,
burning in a scorching Fire,
given drink from a boiling spring.”

There are two interpretations of these verses. The first is that they mean: faces humbled, toiling and weary in this world will burn in a scorching Fire on the Day of Resurrection. This refers to devotees among the disbelievers, such as monks and devotees of idols. These verses have sometimes also been interpreted as referring to followers of innovation, such as the Khawārij.

The second interpretation is that on the Day of Resurrection they will be humbled—that is, abased—and will toil and grow weary. I say: This is the correct interpretation, for several reasons.

First, on this understanding, the adverbial expression relates to what immediately follows it. That is: on the Day of the Overwhelming Event, faces will be humbled, toiling, weary and burning. On the first interpretation, however, it can relate only to