COMMENTARY ON THE QUR`AN
Chapter 56: Surat Al-Wâqi'ah
The Event

By: Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

In the name of Allah,
the Beneficent, the Merciful

Everything in existence is so by virtue of the Name of Allah. The bismillâh (in the name of Allah) opens every chapter in the Qur`an but one. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful has a literal meaning that is always the same, though its message differs according to the meaning of the chapter with which it is connected. Those who believe and whose belief has been confirmed by varying degrees of personal awakening and experience perceive the one reality behind everything which is manifest, as well as that which is not manifest. They recognize the subtle cause behind the gross effect. Everything has the label of reality on it. Whatever one does or does not cognize, every attribute or action is determined by its cause.

In the Name of Allah is the gate, which, if opened properly, will lead one into the garden of the surâh (chapter) it heads. The recitation of its verses is said in the Name of Him Who has bestowed the very power of recitation. This opening phrase is a declaration and an experience of unity (tawhîd) as one allows it to flow into the chapter as one thought.

1. When the Great Event comes to pass –

2. There is no denying that it will come to pass –

3. Abasing some and exalting others.

The event which concerns man here is the promised event of the Day of Resurrection (Yawm al-Qiyamah), when the next phase of man's experience begins. It is the main point of reference and of the greatest importance. Whatever exists in the next cycle of creation is not based on the physical world in which there is confusion of body and soul; it is not subject to the vicissitudes of space-time. But whatever exists or can be experienced from the moment of the Great Event onward has its origin in this life.

For example, in the Qur`an, the Fire that is promised in the next life is referred to as the Great Fire (al Nâr al Kûbra), implying that one experiences small fires in this life. We ask ourselves, what form does this small fire take? Can it be anything other than the emotions of anger, disappointment, agitation and unfulfilled desires? As the reflection of the next life's Fire exists in this physical realm so does the reflection of the Garden. The desired experience of the Garden lies potentially within man in the life of this world. Likewise, the experience of the Great Event, the Day of Reckoning, also lies dormant within man in this life.

The occurrence of a significant event in one's life can cause one to begin to witness and awaken. Such an event brings the light of recognition into the passage of time. Man is propelled by the powers of nature, guided or misguided by habits of the past, circumstances of the present and projections into the future. He is wrapped in a cocoon. If there is a crack that widens and explodes, then a major event (wâqi'ah) has occurred for the one who has experienced it. But when the greatest event (the Day of Resurrection) occurs, then nobody can deny it. Everyone is subject to its overwhelming power. It abases some and exalts others; it lifts up and brings down, blowing up some aspects of the cosmos and collapsing others. One creational movement ends and another begins. The cosmic entities are compelled to move in opposite directions. A 'Major uplifting and collapsing will occur.

At this time, the hearts that have already been enlightened are lifted up, and the hearts that have hardened and are dark are brought down. The believer (mu`min) is elevated and the denier (kâfir) or hypocrite (munâfiq) is degraded. The Day of Reckoning is the final sorting out, the final phase of experiences. There will be no grey areas of doubt or uncertainty. One's state will be either joy or misery according to how one has directed oneself and what one has earned during the brief span of life. Those who have followed the path of truth will be rewarded in the next life, and those who have degraded themselves will be appropriately debased. The next consciousness is timeless, and therefore it will have the stamp of permanency. That is why it is called the final abode, for in it there is no movement of time, only steady continuation.

4. When the earth is shaken with a severe shock,

5. And the mountains are crumbled to powder,

6. So that they will be as scattered dust.

Everyone desires peace, equilibrium and stability, whether in the home, in relationships, emotions, wealth or material wellbeing. But those who seek reliable stability find that it only exists when there is complete faith in Allah and abandonment to the divine will. Every other stability is relative.

The seeker knows that the world and the cosmos are on a journey and that the foundation upon which he has built his relative security may be shaken and pulled out from under him. At the time of this shaking, the flimsy relative foundation, having served its purpose in the creational cycle, is terminated. For the sensitive seeker of reality, reflecting upon such a calamity can reveal direct evidence of the love of Allah for him. He therefore looks for some better foundation until he discovers the essence and source of all foundations – Allah Himself.

The solid mass of earth which came to equilibrium after its cooling, giving it relative stability, will crumble to dust, then vanish into the void. The fortunate one who has intellect comes to realize that what he perceives as the solidity of his own personal security is only an illusion of the mind. Nothing in this world endures, whether it be health, wealth, progeny or just a state of mind. Once that is recognized, the awareness, immediacy and urgency of the quest become the major preoccupation in life. All other needs become secondary by virtue of their transiency. After the apparently solid foundation has been shaken and destroyed, a new and much firmer base can be constructed, based on the essence beyond time and space.

Worldly experiences are all measured according to specific space-time factors. If the heart is not caught in the grip of this continuum, then the perception of the world is altered. It is all a matter of attitude. The dislodging of the heart from this world is truly a major event; it is a prelude to the experience in which the heart enters a state beyond freedom, for freedom is only meaningful within the realm of restriction and limitation. Man is capable of grasping this state intellectually and experientially in varying degrees of clarity.

7. And you shall be three kinds.

When the final event occurs there will be patterns and streams into which everything is channeled. In this world the streams are not clearly delineated, because we perceive things relatively, and that relativity blurs the fine delineations.

8. As for the companions of the right hand, what of the companions on the right hand?

The final event will induce a filtering process that occurs in much the same way as it occurs in this life. In one group there will be those who have faith and trust (îmân), either through intellectual reasoning or faith and a belief in Reality. Another group will consist of those who are at a loss, who are confused and in denial. They are the people whose egos dominate Reality. There are occasions when individuals leave the stream of loss and confusion to join the stream of those in deep, unshakeable trust, which is based upon the knowledge of the self and its essence.

The people of the right hand believe in Allah and His divine mercy upon His creation. They believe that the purpose of creation is to recognize the Creator and abandon one's will and self to the will of the universal self. Faith begins by outer submission and ends with the recognition that one's purified, selfless will and what is decreed by Allah are the same: they emanate from the One, are sustained by the One, and will return to the One. At this stage, man realizes the source of inner joy, for there is no longer any resistance or discord.

The people of the right hand have succeeded and won the day. In Arabic culture, the right hand is the hand of willful and knowledgeable transaction, while the left is the hand of giving up and discarding, the hand of negation.

9. And as for the companions of the left hand, what of the companions of the left hand?

These are the people of failure and rejection; they have wronged themselves.

One may feel at a loss, unhappy and confused, yet there is still the possibility of freedom through awakening. Thus we have no option other than to continue to strive.

10. And the foremost are the foremost.

11. They are drawn near.

Here Allah refers to the state of ultimate success of those who have experienced the zone beyond time-space. According to some traditions, the foremost ones (al-sâbiqûn) are those who in earlier times were among the faithful, such as the son of Adam, who was murdered; the first man among Pharaoh's people who embraced the path of submission, Islam; Habib al Najjar, who followed Jesus; and `Alî ibn Abî Tâlib and other foremost disciples of the Prophet Muhammad.

Foremost (al-sâbiqûn) derives from the root sabaqa, which means to precede. Musâbaqa is a race or competition, hence the verse implies that the foremost ones are those who will precede others in the race to the Garden.

12. In gardens of delight.

13. Many from among the first,

14. And a few from among the latter.

The foremost also implies that they will be in the Garden without question, having already experienced that state in this life. They are the ones near to Allah, those who have triumphed. Traditionally, commentators have said that the foremost are the prophets. The Prophet Muhammad said, 'This refers to those who are close to my way.' Those who have fully taken on the Muhammadan path have no account to render in the next life, because they were constantly accountable during their earthly sojourn. They had already surrendered themselves into a complete state of abandonment.

Often one fails to perceive the positive side of an experience. If man were to see all that comes to him in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, then he would recognize the mercy behind every event and every situation. Otherwise, one observes from one's personal point of view, which encompasses a very limited vista. The believer sees the positive no matter how it appears to others. If he truly believes that the controller of this creation is merciful, he will detect the operation of Allah's mercy behind every event. For this reason, the believer's heart is never in doubt, shocked or confused. He or she acts in the best way, both as actor and when acted upon. Outwardly, the believer will respond to an emergency, while inwardly he will be content, knowing that it is from Reality. If one dislikes what happens, it is because one has judged it according to expectations, desires and other concepts.

Allah reminds us that 'It may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you and that you love a thing which will cause you harm' (2:126). For example, a child may want to eat limitless amounts of sweets, whereas an adult with knowledge will recognize that too many sweets can damage one's health. A youth may not realize the affliction and responsibility that comes with wealth unless and until he earns it. Then he understands the difficulty of acquiring it, keeping it and disposing of it correctly. An ignorant person has a romantic desire for possessions without knowing the danger and trouble that may accompany them.

Those who came to the knowledge of Reality 'among the first' preceded in the sense that they arrived at the state of the Garden before death, having achieved joy, tranquility and abandonment in this life. They already knew the meaning of bliss and had direct knowledge of unity in this world. Those who have not realized this knowledge directly can only keep on the path of sincere prayer and other spiritual endeavors in the hope that they will obtain it when the chains of the body and the world are removed by death. No matter how great one's faith and perception of unity are there is still the pull of the self and the physical body. It is another of Allah's reminders that one is fettered to this realm of existence; no matter to what extent one is immersed in total abandonment, duality and loss are still experienced, recognized and dealt with.

If one is concerned about time, one is concerned about the chronology of events. If the light of the intellect enables one to pierce through to beyond time, even for just an instant, then 'among the first' implies those who simply got the essential message, regardless of when. Those whose main concern is to live a life of unity are inclined to place less importance upon time and the chronology of events. One who seeks unification seeks to obtain the knowledge of Abraham and the company of the Prophet Muhammad. He desires the guidance, counsel and companionship of the gnostic saints, the select and the élite. He wishes to be close to their states which are expounded in the Qur`an and the Prophetic way. If one has gained access to their state, one is living in their presence.

15. In beautiful, elevated places,

16. Reclining therein face to face.

The word surur means an elevated place of relaxation, such as a divan, and is derived from the root sarra. Also from the same root come many other words that form an interesting pattern of meanings. In its most classical sense, sarra means to cut the umbilical cord. One meaning of this is the severing of attachment to, and dependence upon the creation. From this abandonment comes another derived meaning, joy (surûr), and yet another which is 'secret' (sirr), implying that the source of joy is a secret that can only be revealed to  oneself by oneself. Such a secret cannot be divulged. If one is happy, happiness is itself the explanation of that state; but one cannot give the source of that state to someone else, for it relates to another level of consciousness.

Pleasure however can be shared, for it is of this world and related to attachment. Whereas joy is its own source, pleasure is the result of something that has occurred. A person is lonely, then finds someone who echoes much of what he believes in; that is pleasure. Someone is hungry, and then fed; that is pleasure. Pleasure is the result of equilibrium and balance.

Joy, however, can occur after what was considered to be desirable is recognized as illusion. Joy is inherent within the nature of man, and for that reason all seek it. One may know pleasure, for it is purchasable, but one does not readily know the way to joy. Unhappiness results from needing a certain thing to be happy, and constantly chasing after it. As soon as one catches the object of desire, another desire crops up, and so on.

The door to the abode of joy is the recognition of how to untie the knots of ego-self. That is why it is said that the source is a secret within a secret. An object of desire is in itself an illusion. Recognizing this illusion results in its negation. Genuine negation allows the root of joy to be nourished from within. From this root, the tree of contentment grows. Contentment is a tree that cannot be grafted on to another. One must, through one's own labor, sprout its seed by negation, nurture it so it can grow.

Joy cannot be given to others; it must be earned. If one had access to the way of its attainment, then one would constantly seek it. The attainment of joy has nothing to do with time or place. Often, the unrealized person will return to a place where he had spent an enjoyable time, thinking that he can relive the moments of the past. He yearns for joy. Artists and composers often return to the same idyllic spot to recapture or reproduce the inspiration of their creative moments. But these moments are related to insight and inner openings, not to place or time. One mistakenly thinks joy is prescribable or reproduceable, but it is not; it is 'The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors, not of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray' (1:7).

One must carefully observe what has caused one trouble and kept one from inner joy: attachments, expectations, desires and fears. The reward of guarding against these agents of despair is the perpetual inner or secret garden.

As mentioned earlier, the root of surur also means to cut the umbilical cord of a newborn baby. This is joyful because the infant is no longer dependent on the womb. The cutting heralds the infant's outer dependence and leads him further towards the understanding that he is dependent upon Allah. It is the beginning of the journey of the self during which one may come to recognize that one is a child of truth and reality, born and sustained by the grace of Allah. The mother was merely the instrument within whom one dwelt before birth. The potentiality of one's existence lay in Allah's knowledge only, and became an expression, a manifestation, upon conception.

17. Round about them move eternal youths,

18. With goblets, ewers, and a cup from a pure spring.

19. Their minds will not be clouded nor will they become exhausted.

20. And fruits such as they choose,

21. And the flesh of fowl such as they desire.

The paradisical realm of experience is beyond time. Man can only understand it from the reference point of his present experience which is based on transiency and existential needs. The metaphor of the eternal youths implies that the non-time zone of the Garden is not subject to decay or need.

The availability of desirable fruits and fowl in the Garden is a metaphor indicating that the nourishment of the next life is of the highest and most subtle source.

22. And pure, beautiful ones,

23. Like hidden pearls.

24. A reward for what they used to do.

The virgins (hûr) of paradise are described as pearls, hidden (maknûn) and highly treasured. They are forever preserved in their translucency and purity.

The state of the Garden is the reflection of one's actions in this world: 'A reward for what they used to do'. One's reward is the action itself. Action has its own reward within itself in this life. In the next life, where there is no time, actions are manifest again in the form of meaning which the soul experiences.

The common man expects that, having done a good turn for someone, he will be requited years later. He who is possessed of insight derives joy at the time of the action itself, not caring for the outcome, which is secondary. He is like a skilful gardener who, seeing a plant nourished, can visualize the entire cycle of growth and maturity. Only the anxious or greedy person looks only for the fruit. The gardener who is totally absorbed in the joy of the gardening process has already envisaged the fruit and derived his pleasure therefrom. The man of knowledge who has abandoned himself instantly recognizes the reward of his action. And yet, there are also fruits that appear materially, but their unfolding is in time. The real seeker, however, is most concerned with the next life.

The quality of his reward is proportionate to the source of his action, which is his intention. The being who has awakened and is in a state of awareness sees that rewards and actions are not separate.