Tell them that it is not like what you think (that you can do whatever you like and no one would question you). I call to witness the period of Qiamat (when the consequences of your deeds shall manifest themselves).

And I call to witness the person who is ashamed when he realizes his mistake5 (12:53); that Allah's Law of
Mukafat is an absolute reality; and that it brings out the result of every human deed, whether it manifests itself in this world or in the hereafter.

Does man think that after his death he would not be brought back to life again? (36:78; 37:16) (And that he would be saved from facing the consequences of his bad deeds?) Does he think that the foundation on which the whole structure of life is raised will wither away with death and that it cannot be assembled again? There he is wrong!

For Us to do so is not difficult at all. We have the power to reconstruct the faculties which establish his
life and which give him control over the use of other things.

The fact is that the man does not deny the concept of life hereafter because he believes it to be impossible. Rather it is because the consequence of this belief is that he has to take every step with full responsibility. He should realize his responsibility and not do anything wrong. However, man shirks this responsibility and wishes that he should be left unchecked for the remaining period; as he has already spent his life (the years gone by) with utter irresponsibility. His desire to escape from the consequences of his erroneous deeds is the biggest hurdle stopping him from accepting the concept and reality of life after death.

That is why when he is reminded about the Day of 'Qiamat' that he immediately starts to question
"When will it be the Day of Qiamat?" (What self-deception! Would man be saved from the consequences
of his deeds just because he does not believe in the Divine Law of Mukafat? Whether he believes in it or not, the law will continue to work. There will be life after death and he will have to face the consequences of his deeds, irrespective of whether he believes in it or not.)

(As for the occurrence of Qiamat only the Almighty has knowledge about it. But this much can be said
with certainty that) When it does happen, the eyes shall be dazzled. (You should remember that one “Qiamat” occurs in this world as well, when one’s deeds manifest as results. The other “Qiamat” occurs after death when the results of deeds manifest there. The ‘Qiamat’ here appears as conflicts between nations, or (in various other ways in life. When this conflict takes place here, the opponents shall be shocked; and)

5 It is commonly said that every person has a power within himself to distinguish between right and wrong (the voice of conscience). This is not right. Man has no such power that distinguishes between absolute truth and absolute falsehood. This distinction can only be done by Divine Wahi. If any one does something against his own conscience and is ashamed of it; that does not mean that what he thinks is right is right in reality or that what he considers false is false in reality (12:53).

The moon will darken (as the authority and ignorance of Arabs would end)2.

The sun and the moon would be brought together (the forces of Persia and Arabia would merge together)6.

(On the Day of Accountability, whether it occurs in this world or in the hereafter) Man will say in utter
bewilderment, "To which place can I flee and find refuge?"

On that Day there shall be no place for escape or refuge.

At that time the journey's end would be the court of your Rabb. Man will not be able to escape.

On that Day, the result of all of his deeds, including whatever he had sent ahead and everything that he
has left behind, will come before him.

On that Day, man will be a witness against his own self. (No external evidence or proof will be required.
His own ‘self’, which would be carrying the imprints of his every action, will bear the evidence.)

At present, his self-deceptive mind produces many excuses in support of his erroneous deeds and tries to
cover up the reality. But at that time all his deeds shall be unveiled and no excuse whatsoever will be of any avail!

All the people looking for excuses will be told, "There is no use of moving your tongue in such haste.
Do you think that with this sharp talk the matter will be sorted out? No. The matter will not be settled in this way!7

We have undertaken the responsibility upon Ourselves to collect the entire stock of his deeds, past and
present, and to preserve it with extra care.

So (O mankind) when We have collected (your deeds) and preserved them carefully, you have to
follow their outcome. You have to go in the direction they take you.

In this way, We will bring forth to you the results of your deeds.

6 The flag of pagan Arabs had an imprint of moon and the Persian Empire’s flag had that of the sun. If these verses point to the little ‘Qiamat’ that occurred in this world, then that would be the revolution in Arab ignorance and the political life of Persia, due to the advent of Islam.

7 If the explanations of verses 16-19 are considered to be in continuation of the previous verses, then it would be as has been noted above. However, if we consider that a new subject starts in verse 16, then the explanation of these verses would be:

Oh Rasool! You should not hurry into taking action on any matter. You should wait until the whole programme has been revealed to you by Wahi (20:114). You need not worry about the fact that this Quran is being revealed to you gradually. Its collection and preservation is Our responsibility. Your responsibility is to follow these laws and injunctions. To do so it is important that their meanings are understood very clearly. We have taken that responsibility as well. We repeat every subject many times and thus explain it fully. This is the way to understand the Quran.

You are so averse to the concept of life after death because you only have the immediate gains in your mind.

You think that the objective of life is only to have worldly gains;

And neglect the future;

Although the pleasures of future life are far superior than the immediate worldy gains. Those who attain
these pleasures have faces which are fresh and shining with happiness.

They will enjoy the sights, the bounties and blessings of their Rabb.

On the contrary, the faces of those who will not get any of these things will be sad and desperate,

As they would be apprehensive about the great calamity that is bound to befall them.

(They should be in absolutely no doubt about the life hereafter.) The fact is that when a man is breathing
his last, and his breath gets stuck in the throat,

Everyone says that whatever is possible should be done to help him. (And if no medicine is working then)
Let some wizard or magician recite some charms or amulets.

From this the dying person realizes that the end is near.

Then the anguish and hardships start befalling one after the other, on him and on those who will be left behind.

At that time the person will be driven from all sides towards the court of your Rabb.

(In the light of these facts) Tell the person who does not testify to Our Law of Mukafat; who does not take
the straight path; (who)

Instead belies and tries to escape from it; and (who)

With pride and arrogance goes back to his people:

"Woe to you, O unfortunate person! How good it would have been for you (had you followed the Divine Law)?

“Alas! You could have understood how useful this course would have been for you.”

The biggest mistake of man is that he thinks that life has neither any objective, nor a destination. He thinks that life has neither any established path, nor any directives guiding him to the right way. He believes he has been left alone (like a stray camel) to do whatever he chooses and go wherever he likes. Consequently man only works towards the physical gains of life, without trying to develop his own personality. Thus all his life’s efforts go to waste (despite the fact that life is the integration of short term and long term gains). (In other words, it is the integration of the worldly objectives and the principles of Deen. If Deen and worldly life; the spirit and matter; and permanent values as well as political and social ways are not integrated properly, then the purpose of human life cannot be achieved. Divine guidance teaches such integration and thus makes human effort meaningful.)

He should bear in mind that he has passed through various stages of evolution to attain the human
form. In the beginning he was a drop of semen which was dropped in the womb;

Then in the mother's womb He formed it into an embryo that was suspended and by various
combinations, and fashioned it into an excellently proportioned shape; (and)

Due to its distinction into sexes, male and female were paired.

Therefore, can He not bring the dead back to life again? Is He not capable of doing that? (If one accepts
the concept of life after death, then it is not difficult to believe Wahi and the Law of Mukafat. This is the
foundation stone of the entire Divine Programme.)