Transliteration:( Wa lanuzeeqan nahum minal 'azaabil adnaa doonal 'azaabil akbari la'allahum yarji'oon )
43. From it there is a hint to prove the punishment of the grave. It is lighter and before the punishment of the Day of Judgement. It should be remembered that in the grave will be the punishment of Hell but being away from it, in that the smoke and heat will come from it, while after the Day of Judgement the punishment will be meted out by going into Hell.
Thus, the punishment of the grave, in comparison, will be much lighter than the punishment that will be meted out after entry into Hell. It should be remembered that the infidel would be punished in the grave until the Day of Judgement, while the punishment of the grave for the believer will be temporary, which is removed from the prayer, etc. of the living believer. Some scholars have stated that, here, punishment denotes worldly punishment and the infidels of Makkah because they were inflicted with severe famine, murder, etc. in the world.
44. So that the infidels on hearing about these two types of punishment can turn away from their infidelity, so that those infidels, seeing these punishments of the world, could accept faith.
The tafsir of Surah Sajdah verse 21 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Sajdah ayat 18 which provides the complete commentary from verse 18 through 22.
(32:21) We shall certainly have them taste some chastisement in this world in addition to the greater chastisement (of the Hereafter); perhaps they will retract (from their transgression).[33]
33. “The greater punishment” is the torment of the Hereafter, which will be imposed on the guilty ones in consequence of disbelief and disobedience. “Nearer punishment”, in contrast, implies those calamities which afflict man even in this world, e.g., diseases in the life of individuals, deaths of the near and dear ones, serious accidents, losses, failures, etc. and storms, earthquakes, floods, epidemics, famines, riots, wars and many other disasters, in collective life, which affect hundreds of thousands of the people simultaneously. The reason given for sending these calamities is that the people should take heed even before they are involved in the “greater torment” and give up the attitude and way of life in consequence of which they will have to suffer the greater torment ultimately. In other words, it means this: Allah has not kept man in perfect security in the world so that he may live in full peace, and become involved in the misunderstanding that there is no power above him, which can cause him harm. But Allah has so arranged things that He sends disasters and calamities on individuals as well as on nations and countries from time to time, which give man the feeling that he is helpless and that there is about him an All- Powerful Sovereign Who is ruling His universal kingdom. These calamities remind each individual and groups and nation that there is another Power above them Who is controlling their destinies. Everything has not been placed at man’s disposal. The real Power is in the hand of the Sovereign. When a calamity from Him descends on man, you can neither avert it by any artifice, nor can escape from it by invoking a jinn, or a spirit, or a god or goddess, or a prophet or saint. Considered in this light, these calamities are not mere calamities but warnings of God, which are sent to make man conscious of the reality and to remove his misunderstandings. If man learns a lesson from these and corrects his belief and conduct here in the world, he will not have to face the greater torment of God in the Hereafter.
[1175]- i.e., the disasters and calamities of this world.
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