al-Ghāfir

إِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْأَشْهَادُ

يَوْمَ لا يَنْفَعُ الظَّالِمِينَ مَعْذِرَتُهُمْ وَلَهُمُ اللَّعْنَةُ وَلَهُمْ سُوءُ الدَّارِ

51. Indeed We will truly make triumphant Our Messengers and those who believe in this mundane life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth [to bear witness],
52. The [same] Day when wrong doers’ excuses will be of no use. Theirs will be the curse, and theirs will be the evil abode.

It is Divine practice to render support to Messengers and believers. It is a Divine Promise that Truth becomes victorious over falsehood. Verse 51 is saying:

Such support is emphatically unconditional and boundless; as a consequence of which it entails different triumphs, including becoming victorious in arguments, battles, sending down Divine torment upon opponents and causing their perdition, and also sending down invisible succors invigorating hearts and souls through Divine Favor. In Verse 51 we come across a new expression concerning the Day of Resurrection - the Day when the witnesses will stand forth [to bear witness]. The word ashhad is the plural form of shahid (“witness”).

Different interpretations have been produced as to the identity of such witnesses which are all consistent with each other:

1. Angels recording deeds,

2. Messengers bearing witness concerning their peoples,

3. Angels, Messengers, and believers who bear witness to deeds of mankind.

The expression is worthy of attention referring to the point that on that Day when all people shall gather together, witnesses shall rise to bear witness. Being disgraced on that Day is the worst as victory on that Day is the best. God shall support His Messengers and believers on that Day and shall make them more prestigious. Nonetheless, that Day is the day of disgrace and misfortune for disbelievers and wrong doers as reflected in Verse 52:

Firstly, their excuses before witnesses shall be of no avail and they shall be disgraced at that great tribunal; secondly, they shall be deprived of Divine Mercy and Divine curse shall befall on them; thirdly, they shall suffer physical chastisement and torment in the worst abode, in Hellfire. It would be of interest to make mention of some Qur’anic Verses concerning Messengers and Divine Succor bestowed upon Messengers and believers in order to provide further exposition for :

Noah’s (as) deliverance:

Abraham’s (as) deliverance:

Lot’s (as) deliverance:

Joseph’s (as) deliverance:

Shu’ayb’s (as) deliverance:

Salih’s (as) deliverance:

Hud’s (as) deliverance:

Jonah’s (as) deliverance:

Jesus’ (as) deliverance:

The Noble Prophet of Islam’s (S) deliverance:

Believers’ deliverance:

Answering the prayers of Noah, Jonah, Zachariah, and Job (as)¹⁹; Answering the invocations of righteous believers:

Divine Deliverance of Prophets and believers manifests itself in diverse forms as follows:

Therefore, man is in need of Divine deliverance at all times.