يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكَفَرْتُم بَعْدَ إِيمَٰنِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ
<p>Commentary</p><p>The meaning of 'bright' and 'dark' faces:</p><p>This expression appears in the Holy Qur'an at several places, for instance:</p><p>وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ تَرَ‌ى الَّذِينَ كَذَبُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ وُجُوهُهُم مُّسْوَدَّةٌ</p><p>On the day of Doom, you shall see those who lied against Allah (with) their faces blackened. (39:60)</p><p>وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُّسْفِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿38﴾ ضَاحِكَةٌ مُّسْتَبْشِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿39﴾ وَوُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَلَيْهَا غَبَرَ‌ةٌ ﴿40﴾ تَرْ‌هَقُهَا قَتَرَ‌ةٌ ﴿41﴾</p><p>Some faces on that day shall shine, laughing, joyous. Some faces on that day shall be dusty, overspread with darkness. (80:38-41)</p><p>وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَّاضِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿22﴾</p><p>Faces on that day shall be radiant, looking towards their Lord. (75:22)</p><p>In these verses, several words such as, بْيَضُّ 'bayad', اسْوَدَّ 'sawad', غَبَرَ‌ةٌ 'ghabarah', قَتَرَ‌ةٌ 'qatarah', and نَّاضِرَ‌ةٌ 'nadirah', have been used to carry the same sense. In the English translation, where applicable, they appear in italics. According to the majority of commentators, 'brightness' signifies the brightness of the light of Faith, that is, the faces of believers shall be resplendent with the light of Faith, fresh and smiling due to happiness (as a result of rewards bestowed upon them by Allah). 'Darkness' signifies the darkness of disbelief, that is, the faces of the disbelievers will be covered with the gloomy anguish of disbelief and the added soot of sin and transgression would turn them still darker.</p><p>Who are these people?</p><p>Commentators have explained the identity of the people with 'bright and 'dark' faces variously. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، says that the faces of the followers of Sunnah shall be 'bright' and those of the followers of Bid'ah (innovation in the revealed Faith, not intended by Allah and His Messenger, nor by his learned dark Companions). Hadrat ` Ata' (رح) says that the faces of the Muhajirin and Ansar shall be 'bright' and the faces of the Bani Qurayzah and Bani Nadir shall be 'dark' (Qurtubi).</p><p>Imam Tirmidhi narrates a hadith from Sayyidna Abu Umamah ؓ which identifies these as relating to the Khawarij, )the oldest sect of rebels), that is, the 'dark' faces shall belong to the Khawarij, and the 'bright' faces to those whom they shall kill. The hadith is given below:</p><p>قال ابو امامہ کلاب النار شرقتلی تحت ادیم السماء، وخیر قتلی من قتلوہ ثم قراَ : يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ</p><p>When Sayyidna Abu Umamah ؓ was asked if he had heard the hadith from the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، he replied, while counting on his fingers, that he would not have narrated this hadith had he not heard it from the Holy Prophet ﷺ seven times (Tirmidhi).</p><p>Sayyidna ` Ikrimah ؓ says that 'dark' faces shall belong to those from among the people of the Book who did confirm the coming of the Holy Prophet ﷺ before he was ordained. But when he had been given prophethood they did not accept and support him. On the contrary, they started falsifying him (Qurtubi)</p><p>There are other explanations as well, other than those cited above, but they all lead to the same conclusion, and are not contradictory. Imam al-Qurtubi has said in his Tafsir that the expression يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ in the verse means that the faces of sincere Muslims shall be 'bright' but the faces of all those who may have altered their religion, or may have become apostates and disbelievers, or may be concealing their hypocrisy in their hearts, shall be 'dark'.</p><p>Some special notes:</p><p>In the verse Allah Almighty has mentioned the بْيَضُّ bayyad first, and the سْوَدُّ sawed or darkness after it. But, in the verse which follows: فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ (As for those whose faces turn dark), sawed or darkness has been made to appear before بْيَضُّ bayyad or brightness, although the sequence of 'the original statement required that the mention of brightness appear first at this place as well. This reversal of the order seems to indicate that Allah Almighty has pointed out to His main purpose of creation. That purpose is to bless His creation with His mercy; punishment is not the objective. So, those with bright faces come first as they deserve the mercy and merit from their Lord. People with dark, anguished faces were mentioned later as the ones who deserve punishment. Towards the close of the verse, the statement ففی رحمۃ اللہ (They rest in Allah's mercy) is meant to stress upon the great mercy of the Creator. One cannot miss observing that those deserving of mercy were identified immediately at the beginning of the verse and again, at the end of the verse, and very affectionately indeed. The mention of those whose faces shall turn dark remains in between. All this points out to His limitless, endless mercy, clearly suggesting that human beings were certainly not created to serve as an exhibit or manifestation of Divine punishment; instead, they were created to flourish under the sunshine of Allah's mercy.</p><p>About the statement, فی رحمۃ اللہ 'they shall rest in Allah's mercy', the blessed Companion Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ says that 'rahmah' or 'mercy' in the verse means جَنَّت 'Jannah' or 'paradise'. Here too, the wisdom behind giving the name 'mercy' to 'paradise' is, quite obviously, that man, no matter how worshipful and pious he may be, shall not enter Paradise unless it be through the sole mercy of Allah Almighty. The reason is that being devoted in acts of worship is no feat of human excellence as such. On the contrary, the very ability to do so is, in itself, a gift of Allah. So, عبادہ 'ibadah' or worship does not, in itself, create an inherent right to enter Paradise. It is Allah's mercy alone through which one can enjoy the bliss of Paradise. (al-Tafsir al-Kabir)</p>
CommentaryThe meaning of 'bright' and 'dark' faces:This expression appears in the Holy Qur'an at several places, for instance:وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ تَرَ‌ى الَّذِينَ كَذَبُوا عَلَى اللَّـهِ وُجُوهُهُم مُّسْوَدَّةٌOn the day of Doom, you shall see those who lied against Allah (with) their faces blackened. (39:60)وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُّسْفِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿38﴾ ضَاحِكَةٌ مُّسْتَبْشِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿39﴾ وَوُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَلَيْهَا غَبَرَ‌ةٌ ﴿40﴾ تَرْ‌هَقُهَا قَتَرَ‌ةٌ ﴿41﴾Some faces on that day shall shine, laughing, joyous. Some faces on that day shall be dusty, overspread with darkness. (80:38-41)وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَّاضِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿22﴾Faces on that day shall be radiant, looking towards their Lord. (75:22)In these verses, several words such as, بْيَضُّ 'bayad', اسْوَدَّ 'sawad', غَبَرَ‌ةٌ 'ghabarah', قَتَرَ‌ةٌ 'qatarah', and نَّاضِرَ‌ةٌ 'nadirah', have been used to carry the same sense. In the English translation, where applicable, they appear in italics. According to the majority of commentators, 'brightness' signifies the brightness of the light of Faith, that is, the faces of believers shall be resplendent with the light of Faith, fresh and smiling due to happiness (as a result of rewards bestowed upon them by Allah). 'Darkness' signifies the darkness of disbelief, that is, the faces of the disbelievers will be covered with the gloomy anguish of disbelief and the added soot of sin and transgression would turn them still darker.Who are these people?Commentators have explained the identity of the people with 'bright and 'dark' faces variously. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، says that the faces of the followers of Sunnah shall be 'bright' and those of the followers of Bid'ah (innovation in the revealed Faith, not intended by Allah and His Messenger, nor by his learned dark Companions). Hadrat ` Ata' (رح) says that the faces of the Muhajirin and Ansar shall be 'bright' and the faces of the Bani Qurayzah and Bani Nadir shall be 'dark' (Qurtubi).Imam Tirmidhi narrates a hadith from Sayyidna Abu Umamah ؓ which identifies these as relating to the Khawarij, )the oldest sect of rebels), that is, the 'dark' faces shall belong to the Khawarij, and the 'bright' faces to those whom they shall kill. The hadith is given below:قال ابو امامہ کلاب النار شرقتلی تحت ادیم السماء، وخیر قتلی من قتلوہ ثم قراَ : يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌWhen Sayyidna Abu Umamah ؓ was asked if he had heard the hadith from the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، he replied, while counting on his fingers, that he would not have narrated this hadith had he not heard it from the Holy Prophet ﷺ seven times (Tirmidhi).Sayyidna ` Ikrimah ؓ says that 'dark' faces shall belong to those from among the people of the Book who did confirm the coming of the Holy Prophet ﷺ before he was ordained. But when he had been given prophethood they did not accept and support him. On the contrary, they started falsifying him (Qurtubi)There are other explanations as well, other than those cited above, but they all lead to the same conclusion, and are not contradictory. Imam al-Qurtubi has said in his Tafsir that the expression يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ in the verse means that the faces of sincere Muslims shall be 'bright' but the faces of all those who may have altered their religion, or may have become apostates and disbelievers, or may be concealing their hypocrisy in their hearts, shall be 'dark'.Some special notes:In the verse Allah Almighty has mentioned the بْيَضُّ bayyad first, and the سْوَدُّ sawed or darkness after it. But, in the verse which follows: فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ (As for those whose faces turn dark), sawed or darkness has been made to appear before بْيَضُّ bayyad or brightness, although the sequence of 'the original statement required that the mention of brightness appear first at this place as well. This reversal of the order seems to indicate that Allah Almighty has pointed out to His main purpose of creation. That purpose is to bless His creation with His mercy; punishment is not the objective. So, those with bright faces come first as they deserve the mercy and merit from their Lord. People with dark, anguished faces were mentioned later as the ones who deserve punishment. Towards the close of the verse, the statement ففی رحمۃ اللہ (They rest in Allah's mercy) is meant to stress upon the great mercy of the Creator. One cannot miss observing that those deserving of mercy were identified immediately at the beginning of the verse and again, at the end of the verse, and very affectionately indeed. The mention of those whose faces shall turn dark remains in between. All this points out to His limitless, endless mercy, clearly suggesting that human beings were certainly not created to serve as an exhibit or manifestation of Divine punishment; instead, they were created to flourish under the sunshine of Allah's mercy.About the statement, فی رحمۃ اللہ 'they shall rest in Allah's mercy', the blessed Companion Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ says that 'rahmah' or 'mercy' in the verse means جَنَّت 'Jannah' or 'paradise'. Here too, the wisdom behind giving the name 'mercy' to 'paradise' is, quite obviously, that man, no matter how worshipful and pious he may be, shall not enter Paradise unless it be through the sole mercy of Allah Almighty. The reason is that being devoted in acts of worship is no feat of human excellence as such. On the contrary, the very ability to do so is, in itself, a gift of Allah. So, عبادہ 'ibadah' or worship does not, in itself, create an inherent right to enter Paradise. It is Allah's mercy alone through which one can enjoy the bliss of Paradise. (al-Tafsir al-Kabir)