Transliteration:( Wa law taraaa iz yatawaf fal lazeena kafarul malaaa'ikatu yadriboona wujoohahum wa adbaarahum wa zooqoo 'azaabal hareeq )
118. Here in if you could see' Muslims in general are being addressed, while by infidels is meant all those infidels who were slain in the Battle of Badr, and by angels is meant Hazrat Izraeel and angels under him, because all of them take out the souls.
119. This tells us that the hiding by the angels to the dying infidels is due to Divine
punishment. Believers are protected from this. At the time of death of the believers the angels show them respect as well as moderation.Â
120. From this we learn that punishment of fire is meted out to the infidels at the time of death and in their graves.
However they will only be sent into Hell at the Day of Qiyamah. Thus this can serve as a proof for the punishment of the grave. This is proven from other verses as well.
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50. And if you could see when the angels take away the souls of those who disbelieve (at death); they smite their faces and their backs, (saying): “Taste the punishment of the blazing Fire. ” 51. “This is because of that which your hands forwarded. And verily, Allah is not unjust to His servants.”
Allah says, if you witnessed the angels capturing the souls of the disbelievers, you would witness a tremendous, terrible, momentous and awful matter,
(they smite their faces and their backs), saying to them,
(“Taste the punishment of the blazing Fire.”)
Ibn Jurayj said that Mujahid said that,
(and their backs), refers to their back sides, as happened on the day of Badr. Ibn Jurayj also reported from Ibn `Abbas, “When the idolators faced the Muslims ﴿in Badr﴾, the Muslims smote their faces with swords. When they gave flight, the angels smote their rear ends.”
Although these Ayat are describing Badr, they are general in the case of every disbeliever. This is why Allah did not make His statement here restrictive to the disbelievers at Badr,
(And if you could see when the angels take away the souls of those who disbelieve (at death); they smite their faces and their backs,)
In Surat Al-Qital (or Muhammad chapter 47) there is a similar Ayah, as well as in Surat Al-An`am,
(And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the agonies of death, while the angels are stretching forth their hands (saying): “Deliver your souls!”) ﴿6:93﴾
The angels stretch their hands and smite the disbelievers by Allah’s command, since their souls refuse to leave their bodies, so they are taken out by force. This occurs when the angels give them the news of torment and Allah’s anger. There is a Hadith narrated from Al-Bara’ that when the angel of death attends the disbeliever at the time of death, he comes to him in a terrifying and disgusting shape, saying, “Get out, O wicked soul, to fierce hot wind, boiling water and a shadow of black smoke.” The disbeliever’s soul then scatters throughout his body, but the angels retrieve it, just as a needle is retrieved from wet wool. In this case, veins and nerve cells will be still attached to the soul. Allah states here that angels bring news of the torment of the Fire to the disbelievers. Allah said next,
(This is because of that which your hands forwarded.) meaning, this punishment is the recompense of the evil deeds that you have committed in the life of the world. This is your reckoning from Allah for your deeds,
a(And verily, Allah is not unjust to His servants.)
Certainly, Allah does not wrong any of His creatures, for He is the Just, who never puts anything in an inappropriate place. Honored, Glorified, Exalted and Praised be He, the All-Rich, Worthy of all praise. Muslim recorded that Abu Dharr said that the Messenger of Allah said;
(Allah, the Exalted, said, `O My servants! I have prohibited injustice for Myself, and made it prohibited to you between each other. Therefore, do not commit injustice against each other. O My servants! It is your deeds that I am keeping count of, so whoever found something good, let him praise Allah for it. Whoever found other than that, has only himself to blame.)
This is why Allah said,
(8:50) And if you could only see when the angels took away the souls of the unbelievers, striking them on their faces and backs, saying: ‘Taste the torment of burning.
There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.
[453]- This sentence is left incomplete for additional effect. Its conclusion is left to the imagination of the reader or listener and estimated as "...you would see a dreadful sight."
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