from their graves for the Lord of the worlds, in the constitution of the next world that we mentioned in the discussion of the intermediate realm in the preceding chapter. They also stand when the Real comes to distinguish and judge, “and the angels, rank upon rank” [al-Fajr 89:22]. God Most High said, “The day when people stand for the Lord of the worlds” [al-Mutaffifin 83:6], meaning for the sake of the Lord of the worlds when He comes. He used the name “the Lord” because the lord is the owner, who has the attributes of subjugation and mercy. He did not use the name “the All-Merciful,” because wrath must occur on that day, as will be related in this chapter. There must also be reckoning, the bringing forth of Jahannam, and the scales. None of these belongs to the attributes of absolute mercy called for by the name “the All-Merciful.” Yet He, glory be to Him, used a divine name in which mercy predominates, the name “the Lord,” because it conveys setting things right and bringing them to maturity. Thus the bounty of mercy in the owner and master prevails over the attribute of subjugation. His mercy precedes His wrath, and many of most people’s evil deeds are pardoned.
I shall first explain and recount what God has said about that day. I shall speak of the stretching out of the earth, the taking up of the heaven and its fall upon the earth, the coming of the angels and of the Lord on that day, and where the creatures will be when the earth is stretched out and its form changed. I shall speak also of the coming of Jahannam and what will happen to it. Then I shall relate the report of the stations of the Resurrection over fifty thousand years and the report of intercession.
Know, my brother, that when people rise from their graves as we shall relate, God willing,
Notes
Translator’s note TN1240-1: The author links qiyāmah, “Resurrection,” with qiyām, the people’s rising and standing before their Lord. He then explains why the name al-Rabb, “the Lord,” fits a scene that joins judgment with mercy.
