Subtleties and Allusions

The role of remembering the Hereafter in guiding and nurturing humankind

The Qur’an is the book of guidance and nurturing of the human being: “This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for the God-conscious.” (2:2) And since the most important factor in guiding the human being is belief in the Resurrection and remembrance of the Hereafter, and forgetting the Day of Reckoning is the most fundamental cause of wickedness and affliction with punishment—“They will have a severe punishment because they forgot the Day of Reckoning” (38:26)—in many verses of the Noble Qur’an, the Hereafter and Resurrection are mentioned.

Forgetting the Day of Reckoning, even belief in the absolute lordship of God—glory be to Him—and that He nurtures the entire universe, is not compatible with the aim of purifying the soul. But, if the human being considers himself accountable before the Lord of the Worlds and believes that one day he must answer for all his deeds, this belief is effective in promoting his refinement and purification.

In Sūrah al-Ḥamd, alongside divine mercy, there is mention of God’s sovereignty on the Day of Judgment (mālikiyyat yawm al-dīn) in order to nurture human beings between fear and hope. If God, the Glorified, was only introduced as the All-Merciful (al-Raḥmān) and the All-Compassionate (al-Raḥīm), and there was always talk of God’s mercy, it would pave the way for human transgression and arrogance. However, if God, the All-Merciful and All-Compassionate, is also known by the attribute “Master of the Day of Judgment” (Mālik Yawm al-Dīn), human beings move between fear and hope, because they know that on the Day of Recompense, there is both a paradise full of mercy and a burning hell in which there is no mercy at all: “an abode in which there is no mercy” (dār laysa fīhā raḥma).(232)

God, the Glorified, nurtures human beings using both fear and hope. Therefore, in the context of encouraging the acquisition of knowledge, He does not initially speak of praising knowledge and the inequality between the learned and the ignorant. Rather, He speaks of devotion, supplication, earnest pleading, and lamenting in the darkness of the night, as well as prostration (sujūd) and standing (qiyām) during it. He mentions the fear of the Hereafter and attachment to the mercy of the Lord, and then He says, “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?” (hal yastawī alladhīna yaʿlamūna wa-lladhīna lā yaʿlamūn; 39:9).(233) Knowledge is a tool for work, not a goal, and its value and sanctity come after self-purification and detachment from the world, and this detachment is achieved by moving between fear and hope.

Human beings can never be sure of their attaining a positive end and rely on this hope, because if someone is not mindful of themselves and does not entrust themselves to God, it is possible that in a moment,(234) their faith may be lost and they may become a disbeliever. Just as it is possible that due to awakening, in the final moments, a heart may turn toward the Truth, and a disbeliever may become a believer in God. Therefore, one must fear the outcome of one’s actions and also have hope in God’s mercy.

Another verse that expresses the divine nurturing of man as a result of movement between fear and hope is this: “Say, ‘Shall I take as a guardian [anyone] other than God, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, who feeds and is not fed?’ Say, ‘Indeed I have been commanded to be the first of those who submit [to God], and [it was said to me], “Do not be among the polytheists.”’ Say, ‘Indeed I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day.’” (6:14-15)

These two noble verses express the same tripartite division that has been mentioned in narrations about worshippers: a group of worshippers worship God out of fear of Hell, another group out of desire for Paradise, and a third group, who are the freemen (aḥrār), out of love.

In this verse, the first mention is of the third group, that is, the freemen who choose God as a guardian because He is the “Originator of the heavens and the earth,” not because He has given them blessings or will punish them if they oppose and disobey Him. This is the worship of the freemen who live under the guardianship (wilāya) of God.

The second group remembers God with the phrase “who feeds and is not fed,” and they worship Him because He nurtures His servants, both in this world and in Paradise, with food and blessings. This worship is due to the desire for blessings and an ambition to attain Paradise.

The third group, whose worship is fearful and slave-like, say: If we are disobedient, we fear the punishment of the great Day of Resurrection.

Therefore, in religious teachings, fear and hope are mentioned together. Other beautiful names of God such as “Lord of the Worlds” (Rabb al-ʿĀlamīn), “the Compassionate” (al-Raḥmān), and “the Merciful” (al-Raḥīm) inspire eagerness in man, while “Master of the Day of Judgment” (Mālik Yawm al-Dīn) inspires dread, because it indicates that if someone takes the path of disobedience and becomes tainted with impurity, they will face a punishment that will manifest on the Day of Judgment. And their punishment will be in the hands of a God who, in order to threaten and frighten,(235) introduces Himself to those who claim the divinity of Jesus (a.s.) in this way:

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘God is the Messiah, the son of Mary.’ Say, ‘Then who could prevent God at all if He had intended to destroy the Messiah, the son of Mary, or his mother or everyone on the earth?’” (5:17)

The point is that one should fear a God whose absolute ownership manifests in this way on the Day of Judgment and who completely and utterly transforms the entire cosmic order in the blink of an eye.

The result is that, in addition to being the middle term of the argument for proving the confinement of praise to God the Glorified and also being a link for the previous verses with the subsequent ones, the blessed name “Master of the Day of Judgment” (Mālik Yawm al-Dīn) is mentioned alongside “the Compassionate, the Merciful” (al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm), so that man’s worship and inclinations are not one-sided, but rather he always moves between fear and hope.

Real and Conventional Ownership

Ownership (mulk), which is the source of the owner’s desire, has different types; as a result, ownership also has multiple aspects:

Conventional Ownership

Conventional ownership is a type of ownership that is based on social conventions, such as a person’s ownership of their clothes or house. This type of ownership exists within the realm of conventional affairs and is based on rational contracts. It can be changed through buying, selling, and other transactions. For example, the owner of a house, after selling it, only owns its price and is no longer the owner of the house.

Limited Real Ownership

Limited real ownership is superior to conventional ownership. An example is a person’s ownership of their own limbs and organs. A person can use their will to control their organs, such as their eyes and ears. This is a real ownership. However, since the human being is a limited being, their ownership will also be limited.

Absolute Real Ownership

Absolute real ownership is superior to the previous two types. It is the unlimited ownership of God Almighty over the universe. Just as a complete cause owns all aspects of the existence of its effect, God Almighty is the Sustainer of the entire system of existence and the Owner of all its aspects. All beings are His possession, effect, and dependent on Him.

The ownership that is discussed in human social relations and attributed to humans, such as “Do not consume your wealth among yourselves unjustly” (4:29), is the same conventional ownership, and its convention is for the order of social affairs. However, when it comes to the relationship between man and God, unlimited real ownership is at issue. Therefore, the Holy Qur’an says: “and spend from that in which He has made you successors” (57:7), and “give them from the wealth of God which He has given you” (24:33). So, wealth really belongs to God, who has put it at the disposal of man, and man is God’s vicegerent with regard to wealth. Deriving this point from the first verse may be difficult, but it is easy from the second verse.

Therefore, in economic matters that are regulated based on social relations, whoever earns wealth through legitimate means is its owner, and others cannot dispose of it without his permission. However, in the relationship between humans and God the Glorified, all property and owners are owned by God.

Imām ʿAlī (a.s.) says in the exegesis (tafsīr) of “There is no power or strength except through God” (lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh): “God is the Owner and He has made us owners. So as long as His property is at our disposal, we have a duty, and with the continuation of that ownership, this duty remains: ‘We do not own anything alongside God, and we do not own except what He has made us own. So when He makes us own what He owns more than us, He assigns us a duty, and when He takes it from us, He removes His duty from us.’”(236)

The Manifestation of Absolute Ownership on the Day of Resurrection

The Qur’an, in several verses, attributes the dominion and ownership of the world of creation to God the Glorified, such as: “Do you not know that to God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and that you have none besides God as guardian or helper?” (2:107), and “What will make you realize what the Day of Judgment is? Again, what will make you realize what the Day of Judgment is? It is the Day when no soul will have power over any other soul, and the command that Day will belong to God.” (82:17-19) The first verse is about God’s rule over the heavens and the earth, and the second verse, which absolutely affirms the dominion and ownership of the Day of Judgment for God, with expressions indicating the greatness of the Day of Resurrection, states: On that Day, there will be no ownership for anyone in any matter. No one will own their own actions and their command will not be effective in them, nor will they own the actions of others or have authority over their affairs. Rather, the ownership of all affairs and the management of all matters will belong to God.

Therefore, whether on the Day of Judgment or not, sovereignty and dominion belong exclusively to God the Exalted, and no one shares or partners with Him in this. It is not the case that, in the realm of reality, sovereignty or dominion have been divided or apportioned. Rather, this ḥadīth only pertains to the realm of affirmation. That is, today we do not know in whose hands affairs lie, but on the Day of Resurrection, which is the day of the manifestation of truth—“That is the True Day” (78:39)—it will become known that affairs were in the hands of another. Sometimes man would deceive himself under the pretext of self-confidence, and sometimes he would take refuge in others under the pretext of thanking the creation. But tomorrow he will realize that affairs have always been, and are, solely in the hands of God, and that the apparent causes and means are all aspects of the agency of God the Exalted. We only see the middle of the chain and are heedless of its beginning.

Therefore, we imagine ourselves or others to be the agents, and in order to give a religious color to our reliance on other than God, we thank others under the pretext that one cannot be grateful to the Creator without thanking the creation.(237)

Based on this, “yawmaʾidhin” (on that day) in the verse “And the matter on that day belongs to God” (wa-l-amr yawmaʾidhin lillāh) refers to the occasion of the unveiling of the truth, not the occasion of exclusivity or ownership. This verse is concerned with the station of affirmation and unveiling, not the station of establishment and realization. This is the same approach as the unity of actions (tawḥīd afʿālī), according to which the human being and every other agent is a degree among the degrees and a mode among the modes of the agency of God, the Glorified. Water and food that quench thirst and hunger, fire that provides heat, and medicine that heals—all are among the active modes and degrees of God’s agency and have no independence whatsoever in their influence and agency, because matters have not been delegated to them. The agency and station of action of the True, Exalted, is unlimited, and therefore all matters, including healing, can be attributed to Him: “And when I am ill, it is He who cures me” (26:80), because God, the Glorified, in the station of action (and not in the station of essence) heals the sick through medicine. The human being, too, in his actions, is a degree among the degrees of the agency of God, the Glorified.(238)

Therefore, on the Day of Resurrection it will become clear that God, the Glorified, has been, is, and will be the absolute sovereign. This point can also be deduced from other verses, such as:

a) “The day when they will be exposed, not hidden from God is anything of them. To whom belongs the dominion this Day? To God, the One, the Irresistible!” (40:16) On that day it will be asked: To whom does the dominion and sovereignty belong? This does not mean that yesterday it belonged to someone else. The answer is that sovereignty belongs exclusively to God, the One, the Irresistible.

b) “So exalted is God, the True King” (20:114). This noble verse introduces God as the absolute King, and based on this, it is not assumed that He is not the King and the Enforcer in this world. He who is the Owner of the kingdom and sovereignty, sometimes grants this sovereignty and sometimes takes it away; for example, He makes man the owner of eyes and ears: “Or, who controls hearing and sight” (10:31). The true Owner of man’s eyes and ears is God, the Glorified, and man’s ownership of his own organs and limbs is by divine bestowal, and in the moment that He wills to take it back, He will no longer allow man to even close his open eyes, and although closing the eyes is apparently the simplest of tasks, some people are unable to perform this act at the time of death and die with their eyes open.

Therefore, God’s absolute influence and dominance becomes manifest in the Hereafter, not originated; although for some people this reality is evident today as well. The perfect monotheist observes now what others will see after death. The supplications of the infallible Imāms (a.s.) indicate that they saw the reality of “and that Day, the command will belong entirely to God” (82:19) in this world, and this is the effect of the unity of actions (tawḥīd afʿālī). Imām al-Riḍā (a.s.) would say to God in prostration during prayer: In the favors that You have bestowed upon me, neither I nor others had a role... and every good that has reached me has been from You: “Praise belongs to You if I obey You, and I have no excuse if I disobey You, and neither I nor anyone else has any role in Your benevolence, and I have no excuse if I do wrong. Whatever good reaches me is from You, O Generous One. Forgive those in the east and west of the earth, from among the believing men and women.”(239)

c) “To God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth” (5:17) (24:42) (42:49) (45:27) (48:14) (57:2) (57:5)

The previous verses expressed the ownership and sovereignty of God, the Glorious, in the language of affirmation. Some verses also express this same truth in the language of negation, such as:

a) “And He has no partner in sovereignty.” (17:111) If we do not derive the exclusivity of dominion and sovereignty for God, the Glorious, from verses such as “To God belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth” which are in the language of affirmation, it is well derived from verses like “And He has no partner in sovereignty.”

b) God, the Glorious, says about the believers and true monotheists: They are those who do not ascribe any partners to God in any way—“They worship Me, not associating anything with Me.”(240) (24:55) And since God has no partners in dominion, necessarily dominion, sovereignty and influence belong to Him alone.

c) God, the Glorious, says to the Prophet (s.a.w.): “Say, ‘I hold no power to benefit or harm myself, except as God wills.’” (7:188) This verse, which is more explicit than the previous verses, clearly indicates the restriction of absolute ownership to God, the Glorious.(241)

d) The Qur’an addresses the polytheists saying: If anything other than God has any capability in the system of creation, it can be conceived in four ways:

First, that it independently owns some atom of the particles of existence.

Second, that it is a partner with God in the ownership of something.

Third, that in managing affairs, it is a supporter and assistant of God, not an owner or partner in its own right.

Fourth, that as an intercessor, it only has the right to supplicate and can accomplish something in the world through intercession. It then considers the first three assumptions impossible and deems the fourth permissible, but only by God’s permission and through individuals such as the prophets, Awliyāʾ and Angels.

“Say, ‘Invoke those whom you claim [as deities] besides God. They do not possess an atom’s weight [of ability] in the heavens or on the earth, and they do not have therein any partnership [with Him], nor is there for Him from among them any assistant. And intercession does not benefit with Him except for one whom He has permitted.’” (34:22-23)

Say to the idol worshippers: Call upon the idols that you worship instead of God, for they do not own even an atom’s weight in the heavens or the earth (negating the first assumption), and there is no share for your gods in the heavens or the earth (negating the second assumption), and none of your earthly or heavenly deities will be a supporter of God (negating the third assumption).

Thus, other than God, no one possesses even an atom’s weight, neither independently, nor in partnership, nor as a manifestation. However, the path of intercession is open for those who are permitted by God Almighty. This means that as a result of the supplication and pleading of the intercessor, God’s justice is combined with His mercy, and people’s accounts are settled by the combination of justice and mercy. Otherwise, enduring the pure justice of God, the Glorified, is difficult. That is why we say in supplication, “O God, treat us with Your grace and do not treat us with Your justice.” O God, treat us with the beautiful names of justice and grace, not with justice alone. Thus, intercession and mediation of some beings in the realm of possibility, by the permission of God, the Glorified, is not impossible, and God, the Glorified, has given such permission to His prophets, Imāms, and awliyāʾ, not to the idols that are incapable of doing anything.

The point is that God is the Owner both in this world and in the Hereafter, and on the Day of Resurrection, this reality will become fully apparent. The Day of Resurrection is the occasion for the manifestation of God’s ownership, not the occasion for His taking possession.

Based on the verses that have been discussed so far, it becomes clear that the meaning of the noble verse “So today no one will have power over another for benefit or harm” (25:25) is not that you only lack ownership of benefit and harm in relation to each other on the Day of Resurrection while possessing it in the world. Rather, it means that on the Day of Resurrection, the reality of God’s absolute ownership and His transcendence from any partner in ownership will become evident to all. Although even in this world, this undeniable truth is unveiled and evident for the one who says, “If the veil were lifted, I would not increase in certainty”(242) and his true disciples.

According to what has been stated, Pharaoh’s improper statement about his own rule (“Is not the kingdom of Egypt mine?”) (43:51) indicates that he did not recognize the Lord of the Worlds. And whoever says, “Today matters are in our control and tomorrow they will be in God’s control,” has a Pharaonic mindset, not a monotheistic one, because God’s ownership is the same for today and tomorrow. This is a reality that will become clear to everyone on the Day of Resurrection, and understanding it is difficult for some people in this world.(243) Upon analysis, it becomes apparent that many deviant thoughts and beliefs are Pharaonic in nature.

One who considers himself an owner or king in any aspect is not a true monotheist (muwaḥḥid). A monotheist is someone who makes a covenant with God, and this covenant means selling one’s life and property to God and then saying, “I do not possess for myself [the power to cause] harm or benefit.” Selling something is incompatible with owning it after the sale. Just as we no longer consider ourselves the owner of goods after selling them, we should not consider ourselves the owner of ourselves after selling and pledging ourselves to God.

The true Muwaḥḥid (monotheist) who does not consider himself the owner of any benefit or harm, if he wants to make use of his own faculties like his eyes and ears, he must seek permission from the true Owner. This is because he considers himself sold and does not consider himself an owner, otherwise such an act would be a disposal of someone else’s property without the owner’s permission. Of course, the expressions of selling, buying, reward, and the like in religious texts are meant as encouragement, otherwise we do not inherently own anything to sell it to God, nor do we have any claim on Him to take from Him, nor have we done Him any favors to deserve reward and recompense from Him.

Reminder: The Day of Judgment is not only the occasion for the manifestation of God’s ownership, but also the occasion for the manifestation of all His attributes, both the attributes of beauty such as sovereignty, and the attributes of majesty such as holiness. On the Day of Judgment, it will become clear that God, the Glorified, has always been and is the Holy, the Peace, the Faithful, the Guardian, and so on.

On the Day of Judgment, God, the Glorified, will manifest both as the “Most Merciful of the merciful” (arḥam al-rāḥimīn) and as the “Severest of punishers” (ashadd al-māqibīn). Of course, the comprehensive knowledge of all the beautiful names of God is not possible for anyone, but the principle of tawḥīd (monotheism) and the transcendence of God from any kind of partner will become completely known on the Day of Judgment.

The Day of Judgment Exists Now

In the previous exegetical discussion, it was mentioned that the Day of Judgment exists now. This claim can be proven with rational arguments and textual evidence, some of which will be mentioned:

The Qur’an refers to the heedlessness of the evildoers regarding the Hereafter as “negligence” (ghafla): “You were certainly in negligence (ghafla) of this, but We have removed your veil from you, so your sight today is sharp.” (50:22) The evildoer is brought before the court of divine justice, made aware of the Day of Resurrection and its punishment, and told: “You were negligent of this reality, meaning the severance of means and lineages and the return of all things to the Overpowering Origin on the Day of Resurrection.” They themselves will say: “O woe to us! Indeed we were in negligence (ghafla) of this.” (21:97) Negligence occurs when something exists but is not paid attention to, otherwise the term negligence is not correct regarding the non-existent.

In another place, it states: “They know the outward aspect of the life of this world, but they are heedless of the Hereafter.” (30:7) The worldly people have only fixed their eyes on the outward, which is the life of this world, and are negligent of its inward, which is the Hereafter.

Secondly, the noble verse “No! If you knew with the knowledge of certainty, you would surely see the Hellfire. Then you will surely see it with the eye of certainty.” (102:5-7) clearly indicates the witnessing of Hell for those who possess the knowledge of certainty, and this refers to witnessing in this world, otherwise after death, all people will witness it, whether they attained the knowledge of certainty in this world or not.

The veil that prevents attaining the knowledge of certainty and witnessing Paradise and Hell is the veil of sin, and the people of the inward who are free from sin currently see Hell and Paradise, as well as the immersion of the evildoers in Hell and the blessings of the people of Paradise in the embrace of its blessings. They also currently see the salvation of the people of Hell from Hell as a result of repentance, and the fire-eating of those who wrongfully consume the property of orphans: “Indeed, those who consume the property of orphans unjustly are only consuming fire into their bellies.” (4:10)

Third: The Prophet (s.a.w.) saw Paradise and Hell up close during his ascension (miʿrāj) and became aware of the food and drink of each of the pious and the wicked. If Paradise and Hell did not exist before the end of the worldly system, the Prophet would not have observed these realities during his ascension. Some narrations from the Prophet’s Household (a.s.) also state that whoever denies the current existence of Paradise and Hell is not from us: “They are not from us and we are not from them...”(244)

Fourth: Ḥāritha b. Mālik, in response to the Prophet (s.a.w.) who asked him, “How have you woken up?” said, “I have woken up with certainty.” Then the Prophet asked, “What is the sign of your certainty?” He said, “...It is as if I see the people of Paradise benefiting from the blessings of God... and it is as if I see the people of Hell being tormented in it and crying out. It is as if I can hear the screaming of the Fire in my ears now...” The Prophet (s.a.w.) also confirmed his words with the phrase “a servant whose heart God has illuminated” and prayed for him.(245) Although in Ḥāritha’s expression, “as if” (kaʾanna) is used, not “that” (anna), it should be noted that one cannot say this about something non-existent (kaʾanna) either, because something non-existent is neither actually visible nor seemingly visible.(246)

Fifth: The intermediary realm (barzakh), which is a world between this world and the Hereafter, is certainly located between two existing things. If the third world (the Hereafter) were non-existent and only two worlds (this world and the intermediary realm) existed, then the intermediary realm would not truly be an intermediary realm, because it would not be located between two worlds.

Barzakh is a bridge that connects this world to the world of the Greater Resurrection, and its reality is either an effect of the waves of the fire of Hell or a breeze from the gardens of Paradise. Therefore, the actual existence of Barzakh, as it is, is itself a sign of the actual existence of the Resurrection. On this basis, in many verses of the Noble Qur’an, there is talk of preparing and making ready Paradise and Hell, such as:

“And hasten toward forgiveness from your Lord and a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the God-fearing.” (3:133)

“So fear the Fire whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.” (2:24)

The expression “prepared” indicates existence, and since the preparation is expressed in the past tense, and interpreting it as the present tense metaphorically with the justification that the certain future is equivalent to the past has no external evidence, it follows that Paradise and Hell exist now.

Sixth: It is mentioned in the states of Imām al-Sajjād and Imām al-Ṣādiq (a.s.) that while reciting Sūrah al-Ḥamd, they would faint due to repeating the noble verse “Master of the Day of Judgment” (Mālik yawm al-dīn). With the addition of this premise that sometimes after prayer they would say: “The great fire had preoccupied me”,(247) and this indicates witnessing the “Day of Judgment” (yawm al-dīn) and “the fire of God kindled, which reaches over the hearts” (104:6-7), otherwise mere words and concepts do not cause fainting. True insight is for a person to see Hell right now, not to establish a rational proof for the existence of the Resurrection:

The true insight of the perceptive is to see the fire manifestly, Not merely to talk about the smoke over the fire.

The conclusion is that heaven and hell currently exist, but from our perspective in the flow of time, we have not yet reached them. Our not having reached them does not prove their non-existence. Those who have transcended the earth, time, past and future, can clearly observe the Day of Judgment even before the worldly system is dismantled, and we too are gradually moving toward it. If the Qur’anic and narrated expressions apparently indicate the occurrence of the Day of Judgment in the future, it means that humans will reach it later, not that it is currently non-existent and will be found later.

The Day of Judgment, the Day of the Manifestation of the Reality of Religion

In this world, God, the Glorified, has shown people the outward aspects of religion, such as the necessity of obedience and avoidance of sin, but has only alluded to a small part of the secrets of religion. For example, He has introduced backbiting as the food of the dogs of hell: “Beware of backbiting, for it is the food of the dogs of the Fire.”(248) On the Day of Judgment, the reality and inner aspects of backbiting and other sins, and in fact the entire reality of religion, including retribution and other matters, will become manifest. This is because the term “religion” has been used in many instances to mean the divine law (sharīʿa) and nation (milla), which encompasses belief, ethics, and action.

Therefore, in the Noble Qur’an, the Day of Judgment is introduced as the Day of Religion (yawm al-dīn), such as:

“Indeed, the wicked will be in Hell, burning therein on the Day of Recompense (yawm al-dīn). And never therefrom will they be absent. And what can make you know what is the Day of Recompense? Then, what can make you know what is the Day of Recompense? It is the Day when a soul will not possess for another soul [power to do] a thing; and the command, that Day, is [entirely] with God.” (82:14-19)(249)

“Indeed, the Judgment (al-dīn) is going to occur.” (51:6)

“They ask, ‘When is the Day of Recompense (yawm al-dīn)?’” (51:12)

The aforementioned verses introduce the occurrence of religion (Judgment Day) as definite and real. Religion, in addition to recompense, has numerous realities such as tawḥīd (divine unity), prophethood, wilāya (divine guardianship), the inner reality of human beings, the inner reality of religious duties, and the secrets of worship. On the Day of Judgment, the inner reality of all these matters will be manifested.

Regarding the manifestation of the inner meaning (bāṭin) of the Qur’an on the Day of Judgment, God, the Glorified, states: “The Day its interpretation (taʾwīl) comes.” (7:53) The taʾwīl of the Qur›an is its objective and external reality. The extensive teachings of the Noble Qur›an will be manifested on the Day of Judgment in such a way that there will remain no room for disagreement on any matter. Inevitably, the falsehood of all [other] schools of thought will become evident, and from among the various legal opinions (fatāwā), the true opinion, and from among the various schools of thought, the true school will become manifest. Similarly, on that day, there will be no room for disbelief and polytheism. In this world, it is possible for someone to return dissatisfied even after referring to an Islamic court, and for the matter to be unclear to them as to whether the judge has judged according to the truth or not. However, on the Day of Judgment, all veils will be removed, and the reality of the matter will not be unclear to anyone.

The Manifestation of All Qur’anic Teachings and Dimensions of Religion on the Day of Resurrection

The manifestation of all the teachings of the Qur’an and all dimensions of religion on the Day of Resurrection is the same as what has been mentioned in the Noble Qur’an with the expression of “fulfillment of religion”: “On that day, God will pay them in full their true religion, and they will know that God is the manifest Truth.” (24:25). The fulfillment of the true religion is to reveal all the secrets within the religion to everyone. If religion only meant reward and punishment, instead of saying “they will know that God is the manifest Truth” at the end of this noble verse, it would have said: “they will know that God is the Dominant Avenger”; meaning that on the Day of Resurrection, they will become aware of God’s domination and vengeance. On the Day of Resurrection, people will understand that God was a clear truth, but they did not see it. Although the truth is also clear in this world, because God, the Glorified, who is the light of the heavens and the earth, meaning the manifestation of the heavens and the earth is through Him: “God is the light of the heavens and the earth” (24:35), He has no veil, and deprivation from witnessing Him is due to a veil that man has hung upon himself.(250) That is why the Noble Qur’an considers the eyes of the infidels of Hell to be in a cover and veil: “Those whose eyes were under a cover from My remembrance” (18:101), and it introduces the inner eye of a group as blind: “It is not the eyes that are blind, but it is the hearts within the breasts that are blind.” (22:46)

It is also beneficial to mention this Qur’anic point at the end of this discussion that disagreement in this world has no end, and even during the time of the reappearance of Imām al-Mahdī (a.s.), there will still be disagreement. This is because although disbelief, hypocrisy, Judaism, and Christianity are silent and under the rule of the Islamic government, and the Jews and Christians pay jizya (a tax levied on non-Muslims under Islamic rule), they are still present and active. And in the end, Imām al-Mahdī (may God hasten his noble reappearance) will be martyred at the hands of his opponents, as all his predecessors were before him.

The survival of Jews and Christians until the Day of Judgment is inferred from some verses of the Noble Qur’an: “So We have stirred up enmity and hatred between them until the Day of Resurrection” (5:14) and “And We have cast among them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection” (5:64). Therefore, the day of the appearance of the universal reformer (muṣliḥ kull) is also not the day of the complete manifestation of truth. Rather, it is only on the stage of the Day of Judgment that God will fulfill the entire truth of religion, in such a way that everyone will openly witness the truth.