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The heretics also cast doubt upon His words:
“This is a Day on which they will not speak—”
…and then pointed to another verse:
“Then, indeed, on the Day of Resurrection you will dispute before your Lord” (Sūrat al-Zumar 39:31).
They said, “How can such verses be considered clear and decisive? He says, ‘This is a Day on which they will not speak,’ yet elsewhere He says, ‘Then, indeed, on the Day of Resurrection you will dispute before your Lord.’ The statements undermine one another, so the Qur’an must contain contradictions.”⦗1⦘
The explanation of “This is a Day on which they will not speak” is that, at the very first stage after the creatures are raised—an interval lasting roughly sixty years—they will be unable to speak. They will not be granted permission to offer any plea; only later will they be allowed to do so, and then they will speak.
(1) Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Concerning the divine statement: “This is a Day on which they will not speak, and no permission will be given to them so that they might offer excuses” (al-Mursalat 77:35–36), this noble verse shows that the people of Hell will neither speak nor put forward any plea. Yet other verses indicate that they will in fact speak and plead, such as: “By Allah, our Lord, we were not idolaters” (al-Anam 6:23); “They will submit: ‘We were not doing anything evil’” (al-Nahl 16:28); “Rather, we used to call upon nothing before” (Ghafir 40:74); “By Allah, we were indeed in manifest error when we made you equal with the Lord of the worlds; it was only the criminals who led us astray” (al-Shuara 26:97-99); and “Our Lord, it was these who misled us” (al-Araf 7:38), in addition to many other verses.
The reconciliation is as follows:
1. The Day of Resurrection comprises several stages: in some they will speak, in others they will remain silent.
2. They will not utter anything that could benefit them; speech devoid of benefit is tantamount to silence.
3. After Allah says to them, “ikhsa’u fiha wa la tukallimuni (Remain abased therein and do not address Me)” (al-Muminun 23:108), their speech ceases completely, and nothing is heard from them except sighing and roaring. Allah also says: “And the Word will be fulfilled against them for the injustice they committed, and they will not speak” (al-Naml 27:85). This third explanation ultimately returns to the first.
See: Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti, Daf‘ Iham al-Idtirab ‘an Ayat al-Kitab, vol. 10, p. 205, appended to his tafsir Adwa al-Bayan.
شك الزنادقة في قوله:
{هَذَا يَوْمُ لا يَنطِقُونَ}
...
ثم قال في آية أخرى:
{ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُونَ}
[الزمر: ٣١]
.
فقال:
كيف يكون هذا من الكلام المحكم؟ ...
قال:
{هَذَا يَوْمُ لا يَنطِقُونَ}
ثم قال في موضع آخر:
{ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ القِيَامَةِ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُونَ}
[الزمر: ٣١]
.
فزعموا أن هذا الكلام ينقض بعضه بعضًا فشكوا في القرآن١.
أما تفسير:
{هَذَا يَوْمُ لا يَنْطِقُونَ}
.
فهذا أول ما تبعث الخلائق على مقدار ستين سنة لا ينطقون،
ولا يؤذن لهم في الاعتذار فيعتذرون، ثم يؤذن لهم في كلام فيتكلمون،
١ قال الشيخ محمد الأمين الشنقيطي رحمه الله: قوله تعالى: {هَذَا يَوْمُ لا يَنْطِقُونَ، وَلا يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ} هذه الآية الكريمة تدل على أن أهل النار لا ينطقون ولا يعتذرون، وقد جاءت آيات تدل على أنهم ينطقون ويعتذرون، كقوله تعالى: {وَاللَّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ} [الأنعام: ٢٣] وقوله: {فَأَلْقَوْا السَّلَمَ مَا كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ مِنْ سُوءٍ} [النحل: ٢٨] وقوله: {بَلْ لَمْ نَكُنْ نَدْعُو مِنْ قَبْلُ شَيْئًا} [غافر: ٧٤] وقوله: {تَاللَّهِ إِنْ كُنَّا لَفِي ضَلالٍ مُبِينٍ، إِذْ نُسَوِّيكُمْ بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَمَا أَضَلَّنَا إِلاَّ الْمُجْرِمُونَ} [الشعراء: ٩٧-٩٩] وقوله: {رَبَّنَا هَؤُلاءِ أَضَلُّونَا} [الأعراف: ٣٨] إلى غير ذلك من الآيات.
والجواب عن هذا من أوجه:
الأول: أن القيامة مواطن، ففي بعضها ينطقون، وفي بعضها لا ينطقون.
الثاني: أنهم لا ينطقون بما لهم فيه فائدة، وما لا فائدة فيه كالعدم.
الثالث: أنهم بعد أن يقول الله لهم: {اخْسَئُوا فِيهَا وَلا تُكَلِّمُونِ} [المؤمنون: ١٠٨] ينقطع نطقهم، ولم يبقَ إلا الزفير والشهيق، قال تعالى: {وَوَقَعَ الْقَوْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ بِمَا ظَلَمُوا فَهُمْ لا يَنطِقُونَ} [النمل: ٨٥] وهذا الوجه الثالث راجع للوجه الأول.
انظر: دفع إيهام الاضطراب عن آيات الكتاب "٢٠٥/١٠" ملحق تفسير أضواء البيان.