Escaping from death is impossible (L-571)
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قُلْ مَتَٰعُ ٱلدُّنْيَا قَلِيلٌ وَٱلْءَاخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِّمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰ وَلَاتُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلًا77b. أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُوا۟ يُدْرِك كُّمُ ٱلْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنتُمْ فِى بُرُوجٍ مُّشَيَّدَةٍ 78a. |
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77b. Qul mataa- ‘uddunyaa qaliil. Wal- ‘aakhiratu khayrul-li-manittaqaa wa laa tuzlamuuna fatiilaa. 78a.
‘Ayna maa takuunuu yud-rik-kumul-mawtu wa
law kuntum fii buruujim-mushayyadah.
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77b. .”Say, “The enjoyments of this life are brief, but the Hereafter is better for the righteous, and you will not be wronged one bit.” 78a. Wherever
you may be, death will catch up with you, even if you were in fortified
towers. |
Mataa-‘un – (benefit, wealth, the provision; by which one may reap advantage and enjoy.
Wa laa tuzlamuuna – (and you will not be wronged), it has been derived from zalama, which means ‘to tease or tyrannize any person, to seize someone’s right ’.
Fatiilaa – (the thread, the husk upon a date-stone), here it means that your right will not be seized even equal to a very little piece of thread.
Buruujim-mushayyadah – (the lofty towers, dignified forts), Burj is singular of buruuj which means ‘a fort and a magnificent palace’. Mushayyadah means ‘made of cooked lime’. The aim of this verse is to tell the people that escaping from the death is not possible, whether they hide themselves in even very solid forts.
It was
mentioned in the previous part of the verse (77a) that - when Jihad was
prescribed and the battle accessed their heads, then some people began to
tremble due to fear of war and they beseeched in the Royal Court of God, “Our
Lord! Why have You ordained us to fight? If only You would have given us
respite yet a while, then it was better, if we would have remained living for
some more days and be saved from the death”. In short, the love of the world
overcame upon their hearts and they began to fear from death. They have been
warned in this verse, “Say {to them, O Muhammad (ﷺ)}: The provision
(relishes and pleasure) of this world is very little and only for a few days;
nevertheless delight and comfort of the Hereafter will be better for him who
takes care of the Will of God and wards off evil. Commit to your mind! The
person, who will do good with such thought, will be given full retribution and
reward. Moreover, effort of any person to please God and to abstain from His
disobedience will not be useless; even that none will be wronged equal to the
husk upon a date-stone. In the world, such circumstances are confronted that a
person wants something but his desire is not fulfilled. He works hard but does
not obtain its fruit. In addition, whatever he gets a little; that is over
within a few days. For the Hereafter, what will be done according to the
commandment of God, its remuneration will be given in full scale. That will not
be for a few days but forever. Now about the death, so none should be afraid of
it. Nobody can escape from it. There is no place in the entire world, where
someone can acquire refuge. At last, he/she has to die a day, who has come in
this world. It is useless to have passion to live forever in the world. If
someone did not die today, will die tomorrow. Strong underground chambers,
lofty forts and palaces cannot save any creature from the death. To be slain
for the Cause of God and earning comfort, pleasure and satisfaction for ever is
better than dying by rubbing heels. In these some words of Holy Qur’an,
how much great reality has been explained very easily? This advice cannot take
place in the heart so deeply even from the hourly speeches of great preachers
as it settles down by meditating a while in this very small verse. These are
the forceful words, by listening to which, the Muslims completed so much magnificent
tasks in the beginning that the world praises them till today.
