Surah 75

Surah 75:24

"and (other) faces that Day will be scowling,"
Seeing Allah in the Hereafter Verses 75:16-25
Show Full Scripture Context (75:16-25) — 10 Verses
Verse 16

لَا تُحَرِّكۡ بِهِۦ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعۡجَلَ بِهِۦٓ

Do not move your tongue with it to hurry it.

Verse 17

إِنَّ عَلَيۡنَا جَمۡعَهُۥ وَقُرۡءَانَهُۥ

Surely on Us (depends) its collection and its recitation.

Verse 18

فَإِذَا قَرَأۡنَٰهُ فَٱتَّبِعۡ قُرۡءَانَهُۥ

When We recite it, follow its recitation.

Verse 19

ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيۡنَا بَيَانَهُۥ

Then surely on Us (depends) its explanation.

Verse 20

كَلَّا بَلۡ تُحِبُّونَ ٱلۡعَاجِلَةَ

By no means! No! You love this fleeting (world),

Verse 21

وَتَذَرُونَ ٱلۡأٓخِرَةَ

and neglect the Hereafter.

Verse 22

وُجُوهٞ يَوۡمَئِذٖ نَّاضِرَةٌ

(Some) faces that Day will be radiant,

Verse 23

إِلَىٰ رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٞ

looking to their Lord,

Verse 24

وَوُجُوهٞ يَوۡمَئِذِۭ بَاسِرَةٞ

and (other) faces that Day will be scowling,

Verse 25

تَظُنُّ أَن يُفۡعَلَ بِهَا فَاقِرَةٞ

thinking that a calamity will be visited on them.

he taught you to recite it.
{Then it is for Us to make it clear.} meaning, ‘after memorizing it and reciting it, We will explain it to you, clarify it and inspire you with its meaning according to what We intended and legislated.’
Imam Ahmad recorded from Ibn ‘Abbas that he said that the Messenger of Allah used to struggle very hard to grasp the revelation and he used to move his lips (rapidly with the recitation). The narrator, Sa'id, then said, “Ibn ‘Abbas said to me, 'I will move my lips like the Messenger of Allah used to move his lips (in order to show you).' ” Then, the subnarrator said, “And Sa'id said to me, “I will move my lips like I saw Ibn ‘Abbas moving his lips (in order to show you).’ ” Then Allah revealed,
{Move not your tongue concerning to make haste therewith. It is for Us to collect it and that it be recited.}

Ibn ‘Abbas said, “This means He will collect it in his chest to recite it.
{And when We have recited it to you, then follow its recitation.}

meaning, listen to it and pay attention.
{Then it is for Us to make it clear (to you).}

So after this, when Jibril would leave, he would recite it as Jibril had taught him to recite it.”
This has also been recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim. Al-Bukhari’s wording says, “So whenever Jibril would come to him he would be silent, and when Jibril had left he would recite it just as Allah, the Mighty and Sublime had promised him.”
The Cause of rejecting the Day of Judgement is Love of the World and Heedlessness of the Hereafter
Concerning Allah’s statement,
{But no! Rather you love the present life of this world. And neglect the Hereafter.}

meaning, the only thing that has caused them to reject the Day of Judgement and oppose the true revelation and the Mighty Qur’an Allah revealed to His Messenger is that their only concern is the present worldly life. They are preoccupied and distracted from the Hereafter.
Seeing Allah in the Hereafter
Then Allah says,
{Some faces that Day shall be Nadirah.}

which comes from the word Nadarah, which means splendid, radiant, glowing, delighted with goodness.
{Looking at their Lord.} meaning, they will see Him with their very eyes. This is just as was recorded by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih,
“Verily, you all will see your Lord with your own eyes.”
The believers seeing Allah in the abode of the Hereafter has been confirmed in the authentic Hadiths from numerous routes of transmission with the scholars of Hadith. It is not possible to deny this or refuse it. Examples would be the Hadiths of Abu Sa'id and Abu Hurayrah, and they are both recorded in the Two Sahihs. They both mentioned that some people said, “O Messenger of Allah! Will we see our Lord on the Day of Judgement?” The Prophet said,
“Are you harmed by seeing the sun and the moon when there are no clouds beneath them?”
They replied, “No.” The Prophet then said,
“Then you will surely see your Lord like that.”
In the Two Sahihs it is recorded from Jabir that he said, “The Messenger of Allah looked at the moon on a night when it was full, and he said,
“Verily, you will see your Lord just as you see this moon! So if you are able to avoid missing a prayer before the rising of the sun (Fajr prayer) or before its setting (‘Asr prayer) then do so.”
Among the Hadiths, which Muslim was alone in recording, is a narration from Suhayb that the Prophet said,
“When the people of Paradise enter the Paradise, Allah will say, ‘Do you want me to give you anything extra?' They will say, ‘Haven't you whitened our faces? Haven’t you entered us into Paradise and saved us from the Fire?' Then He will remove the veil and they will not be given anything more beloved to them than looking at their Lord, and that will be the extra (Ziyadah).” Then he recited this Ayah,
{For those who have done good is the best and extra (Ziyadah).}
Also among the Hadiths, which Muslim was alone in recording, is the Hadith of Jabir in which the Prophet said,
“Verily, Allah will appear before the believers while He is laughing.”
This will take place on the open plains of the Resurrection place. In some of these Hadiths, it mentions that the believers will be looking at their Lord on the open plains and some mention that this will occur in the Gardens of Paradise.
If it were not due to fear of taking up a lot of space, we would present all of these Hadiths with their routes of transmission and wordings from those that are in the Sahih collections, the collections of good narrations, the Musnad collections and the Sunan collections. However, we have mentioned this in separate places in this Tafsir, and Allah is the Giver of success.
This issue is something that the Companions, the Successors and the Salaf of this nation have agreed upon, and all praise is due to Allah. It is something that is agreed upon between the Imams of Islam and the guides of all mankind.
Blackening of the Faces of the Disobedient People on the Day of Judgement
Allah says,
{And some faces that Day will be Basirah. Thinking that some calamity is about to fall on them.}

These are the faces of the sinners that will be Basirah on the Day of Judgement. Qatadah said, “This means gloomy.” As-Suddi said, “Their (the faces) color will change.”
{Thinking} meaning, they will be certain.
{that some calamity is about to fall on them.}

Mujahid said, “A disaster.” Qatadah said, “An evil.” As-Suddi said, “They will be certain that they are going to be destroyed.” Ibn Zayd said, “They will think that they are going to enter into the Hellfire.” This situation is similar to Allah’s statement,
{On the Day when some faces will become white and some faces will become black.}
Similarly Allah says,
{Some faces that Day will be bright. Laughing, rejoicing at the good news. And other faces, that Day will be dust-stained; darkness will cover them, such will be the disbelieving, wicked.}
Allah also says,
{Some faces, that Day will be humiliated. Laboring, weary. They will enter in the hot blazing Fire.}
until Allah says,
{(Other) faces that Day will be joyful. Happy with their endeavor. In a lofty Paradise.}
And there are other similar Ayat and discussions (in the Qur’an).

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.