Surah 14

Surah 14:51

"so that God may repay everyone for what he has earned. Surely God is quick at the reckoning."
The Condition of the criminals on the Day of Resurrection Verses 14:49-51
Show Full Scripture Context (14:49-51) — 3 Verses
Verse 49

وَتَرَى ٱلۡمُجۡرِمِينَ يَوۡمَئِذٖ مُّقَرَّنِينَ فِي ٱلۡأَصۡفَادِ

and you will see the sinners on that Day bound together in chains,

Verse 50

سَرَابِيلُهُم مِّن قَطِرَانٖ وَتَغۡشَىٰ وُجُوهَهُمُ ٱلنَّارُ

their clothing (made) of pitch, and the Fire will cover their faces,

Verse 51

لِيَجۡزِيَ ٱللَّهُ كُلَّ نَفۡسٖ مَّا كَسَبَتۡۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَرِيعُ ٱلۡحِسَابِ

so that God may repay everyone for what he has earned. Surely God is quick at the reckoning.

Quoted Scripture
"49. And you will see the criminals that Day, Muqarranun (bound together) in fetters."

"50. Their garments will be of Qatiran (tar), and fire will cover their faces."

"51. That Allah may requite each person according to what he has earned. Truly, Allah is swift at reckoning."

Allah said.

Quoted Scripture
"On the Day when the earth will be changed to another earth and so will be the heavens"

'and the creations will be brought before their Lord, and you, O Muhammad, will witness the criminals who committed the crimes of Kufr and mischief,'

{Muqarranin} bound together, each with his or her like, just as Allah said,

{Assemble those who did wrong, together with their companions.} [37:22]

{And when the souls are joined with their bodies.} [81:7],

{And when they shall be thrown into a narrow place thereof, chained together, they will exclaim therein for destruction.} [25:13] and.

{And also the Shayatin from the Jinn (including) every kind of builder and diver, and also others bound in fetters.} [38:37-38]
Allah said next,

Quoted Scripture
"Their garments will be of Qatiran (pitch),"

that is used to coat camels. Qatadah commented that Qatiran (tar) is one of the fastest objects to catch fire. Ibn 'Abbas used to say that the Qatiran, mentioned in the Ayah, is dissolved lead. It is possible that this Ayah reads as:

refering to heated lead that has reached tremendous heat, according to Mujahid, 'Ikrimah, Sa'id bin Jubayr Al-Hasan and Qatadah. Allah said next,

{and fire will cover their faces}, which is similar to His other statement,

{The Fire will burn their faces, and therein they will grin, with displaced lips.} [23:104]

Imam Ahmad recorded that Yahya bin Abi Ishaq said that Aban bin Yazid said that Yahya bin Abi Kathir said that Zayd bin Abi Salam said that Abu Malik Al-Ash'ari said that the Messenger of Allah said,

«Four characteristics from the time of Jahiliyyah will remain in my Ummah, since they will not abandon them : boasting about their family lineage, discrediting family ties, seeking rain through the stars, and wailing for their dead. Verily, if she who wails, dies before she repents from her behavior, she will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection while wearing a dress of Qatiran and a cloak of mange.»

Muslim collected this Hadith.

Allah said next,

Quoted Scripture
"That Allah may requite each person according to what he has earned."

meaning, on the Day of Resurrection. Allah said in another Ayah,

{That He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done.} [53:31] Allah said here,

Quoted Scripture
"Truly, Allah is swift at reckoning."

when He wills to reckon a servants of His, for He knows everything and nothing ever escapes His observation. Verily, His power over all of His creation is the same as His power over one creature,

{The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as a single person.} [31:28]

And this is why Mujahid said,

{swift at reckoning}, means "keeping count."

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.