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yawma hum bārizūna lā yakhfā ʿalā llāhi minhum shayʾun li-mani l-mulku l-yawma li-llāhi l-wāḥidi l-qahhāri
The day when they will emerge [from their graves], nothing about them will be hidden from Allah. ‘To whom does the sovereignty belong today?’ ‘To Allah, the One, the All-paramount!’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Ghafir - Verses 15 - 16
15. [He is] the Owner of High Ranks and Degrees, the Owner of the Throne. He sends the angel of Revelation [Faithful Spirit, Gabriel] by His Command to any of His servants He wills that he may warn [people] of the Day of Mutual Meeting [and Resurrection].
16. The Day when they will come out, nothing of them will be concealed from Allah. [It shall be called:] “Whose is the sovereignty of this Day?” [A call shall answer:] “It is Allah’s, the One, the All-Subjugator!”
Exaltation and owning high ranks fall into two types:
1. Spatial, as in:
2. In terms of station, as in:
The preceding Verse called people to sincere devotion in matters of faith, but the present Verse is saying that God Almighty will exalt you in proportion to your degree of sincere devotion. He is the Owner of High Ranks and Degrees. This interpretation assumes that the word rafi’ designates “promoter, exalter.” However, a number of Qur’anic exegets maintain that the word in question indicates
Consequently, rafi’ al-darajat makes a reference to Divine Exalted Ranks and Degrees. He is Exalted in His Omniscience and Omnipotence. All His Perfect Attributes are so Exalted that they defy man’s limited knowledge and intellect. The blessed Verse adds:
i.e., He wields His Sway over all the world of existence. He has no rival in His Sovereignty which bears testimony to the fact that determination of His servants’ ranks are as per their merits and they rest within His Control. The contextual meaning of Throne was treated in the preceding Verse and there is no need to reiterate the exposition. The third Divine Attribute is that:
The Spirit in question is the Holy Qur’an and the rank of prophethood and Revelation that invigorates hearts and resembles human soul and body. His Omnipotence and Owning High Ranks and Degrees necessitate that He informs men of their duties. The expression is of interest as per which Revelation is likened to the Spirit that engenders life, motion, jihad, and development. Qur’anic exegets have presented different interpretations for
herein, but the contextual meaning of the word in this Verse and elsewhere, i.e.:
and
addressed to the Noble Prophet of Islam (S), all bear testimony to the fact that the word
ad hoc designates Revelation, the Holy Qur’an, and Divine obligations. The expression:
indicates that if the angel of Revelation responsible for proclamation is this Spirit, it is imparting Divine Word rather than its own. The expression
does not indicate that He vests the Bounty of Revelation to anyone without due measure, since Divine Will is the same as His Omniscience. The point is that He vests Revelation with the one whom He regards worthy of such state, as the same is reflected elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an:
As per a number of traditions narrated from Ahl al-Bayt (as), the word
in the Verse in question is interpreted as “The Holy Spirit” as belonging to the Noble Prophet (S) and the Infallible Imams (as); however, this interpretation is not inconsistent with the above since the Holy Spirit is the same sacred Spirit and the exalted spiritual rank vested perfectly in Prophets and the Infallible Imams (as) whose manifestations are many a time found in other people and whenever the manifestation of the Holy Spirit renders them aid, they may utter extraordinary words and carry out deeds of significance.
It is worthy of note that the preceding Verses treated of sending down rain and mundane provisions but the Verses in question make mention of sending down Revelation and spiritual sustenance. Now let us proceed to the question of the goal of sending down the Holy Spirit upon prophets. Why do they tread the long path which entails many vicissitudes? The answer is to be found at the end of the blessed Verse in question:
It is the Day on which servants meet their Lord through inward intuition, when the past and future generations, the oppressed and the oppressors, the wrong doers and the wronged, and men and angels meet. It shall be on this Day that man shall stand at Divine Tribunal with his acts, words, and deeds. The goal of sending down all Scriptures and Divine plans is to warn servants against the Day of great meeting. It is noteworthy that the unusual name
is employed in this Verse to designate the Day of Resurrection. Verse 16 provides further exposition for such a Day. The last two Verses treat of a number of characteristics of Resurrection each of which is more moving than the others. Verse 16 opens with the clause:
It is on this Day that all veils will be removed. All material obstacles like mountains shall be removed and according to a Qur’anic expression, the earth shall be:
All men shall leave their graves. It is a:
and
It is a Day:
It is:
On that Day human organs and even the earth on which deeds were taken place
In short, all men with all his being and identity shall appear on that great scene and nothing shall remain concealed:
In order to grasp what will happen on that Day, it would suffice to imagine such scene in this world, when nothing will be concealed from others. What chaos will prevail among people? How will the ties of relationship be severed? The blessed Verse further adds that:
In this mundane world nothing is concealed from God, the Omnipotent, the Omniscient. The One Whose Existence is Boundless is not restricted by any impediment in His Pure Essence and apparent and concealed and visible and invisible are on a par to Him. The other point is Divine Absolute Sovereignty as reflected in this blessed Verse:
The answer to the question is thus provided:
Who asks the question? A number of Qur’anic exegets main that it is God Almighty Who asks the question and all believers and disbelievers answer.44 Some also hold that God Almighty both asks the question and answers to it.45 A number of exegets also believe that the Divine Caller asks the question and produces the reply.
Footnotes