[Pooya/Ali Commentary 1:4] MALIKI YAWMID DIN Allah is the master of the day of faith, or the day of the final judgement. He who sits in judgement is known as a judge. The Arabic word is qadi. Here the word qadi is not used because qadi is not the law-giver or lawmaker, but only an executor of the law made and enforced by some other authority, and therefore, is restricted by the judicial system in force. The malik or the master is the law-maker as well as the executor of His own laws. With the supreme powers of a law-maker He uses His discretion not only in passing the judgement but also in carrying it out, according to the merits of each individual case and in view of His own satisfaction, in the light of explanations given by the accused. When an accused is proved guilty, the qadi cannot grant pardon or remission of punishment but the malik can grant amnesty to the petitioner at His own independent discretion which cannot be challenged. A master, who is also the beneficent, the merciful and the Lord-nourisher, would naturally be just as well as kind and compassionate when He sits in judgement over His own created, nourished and protected creatures. The justice, strict application of law to requite according to the deeds, will be modified by blending mercy with it. Only those, found unpardonable, not deserving to receive the benefit of His benevolence, will suffer the penalty. This aspect of the nature of the master of the day of final judgement has been revealed through the holy name rabb, to keep man alert against the strict justice and at the same time keep him hopefully expectant of the divine mercy. The maliki yawmiddin gives fair warning to mankind to anticipate strict justice, the rahmanir rahim rabbul alamin gives hope to expect mercy. So Islam prevents terror and cruelty and give currency to love and sympathy in order to change man's conduct for the better. The divine plan had been set in motion through the Holy Prophet as the "mercy unto the worlds". "Say: O My servants who have been inordinately immoderate in their actions to hurt themselves, despair not of the mercy of Allah. Verily Allah forgives all sins. Verily He is the oft-forgiving, the merciful." (ZUMAR: 53) Ali, the first holy Imam, has composed several prayers, masterpieces of literature, to be recited to invoke the merciful Lord. One such masterpiece is the well-known Dua al Kumayl. O my Allah, my master, my RABB! Can Thou really see that I am thrown into the fire, notwithstanding my belief in Thy unity; inspite of Thy awareness thoughtfully perceived by me, Thy praise eloquently pronounced by me, my soul abounding with Thy love; and despite my sincere confession and invocation, stooping low before Thy Lordship? Far be it from Thee! Thou art too generous to abandon him whom Thou has nourished. (AL KUMAYL) Aqa Mahdi Puya says: The actual malik (master) is He who exercises absolute authority over everything in His possession. Everything owes its existence to Him He is the absolute. Therefore, the use of the term "master" for the possession and the right of possession (malikiyyat), or power and authority (mulukiyyit) is true and real in the case of Allah only. For others it would be only figurative and unreal. This is also strictly applicable to all His other attributes. YAWMIDDIN What man today, in this life, believes and disbelieves, will be laid bare on the day of faith. The believers and the disbelievers will witness the truth manifested before them. His reward to the righteous believers and His punishment to the wicked disbelievers will be announced. Both will thereafter live through the recompense requited by the maliki yawmiddin. Therefore, the day of faith, in fact, is the day of judgement, or the day of reckoning. There will be a day of judgement or requital, but it does not exclude Allah's authority to reward and punish while life, prior to the promised day, goes on. It is one of the aspects of the infinite mercy that the act of judging is continuous. This aspect serves as a warning to keep man on the right path, or to encourage him to return to it if he drifts or goes astray. The day of judgement is the day of final requital. The life after death is the continuation of the life in this world, to be lived in paradise or hell, in view of the good or evil done here. As you sow so shall you reap. At every stage of existence the divine judgement stays operative. The Holy Prophet advised his followers: Keep on judging your conduct to make yourself ready for the (final) judgement and assess your deeds continuously ahead of the (final) assessment. Aqa Mahdi Puya says: Yawm (day), mentioned in the Quran, is not, on every occasion, the day of the earth, from sunrise to sunset. It can be a moment or a period of time extending even to fifty thousand years as per verse 4 of al Ma-arij. Therefore, according to the context in which it is used, the day may be of an indefinitely small or long period of time, not what we understand in terms of the orbit of the earth around the sun. A thorough study of the Quran shows that whenever movement is mentioned, the downward course, or things descending from Allah to the terrestrial realm, are described as "night"; and the upward course, or things ascending towards Allah, are described as "day". The descending course is also described as nuzul. The blowing of the trumpet (nufkhus sur; will breathe (spirits) into forms. All the creatures will take their final shape. The influence of time and space which separate one creature from the other will be removed. All will be brought together. It was He from whom everyone had come forth and unto Him every one shall return through the agency of the grace and guidance of (His) rububiyat. Each shall take up the position he or she is entitled on merit. Din is stipulated as such with reference to the yawmid din. Thus the masterdom of the malik assumes complete manifestation. O man! Verily you are striving unto your Lord (with) a striving and are about to meet Him. (INSHIQAQ: 6) And what will make you know what yawmiddin shall be? And what will make you know what yawmiddin is? (It is) a day on which no soul shall own anything (helpful) for any (other) soul; the absolute (supreme) command on that day shall be Allah's. (INFITAR: 17 - 19) The ultimate, absolute and real authority belongs to Allah who is the first as well as the final cause of all creation. All the other authorities are unreal and imaginary. Therefore, the normal course to be adopted by man is that which has been stated above - striving unto the Lord. This is the day when people will stand before Allah, the Lord cherisher of the worlds (TATFIF: 6). This day cannot be taken as a day of any duration. It shall be a day which will not be followed by any night. The human beings would discard virtue and indulge in evil, employing immorality and tyranny to perpetrate all kinds of heinous crimes and destroy peace and harmony, essential for a normal and orderly life in this world, if they do not know and believe that there is an all-just authority to question, judge and punish the evil-doers. Therefore belief in the life after death and the yawmiddin is rooted in the basis of Islamic teachings. What! Do those who commit evil suppose that We shall make them as those who believe and do good, that equal shall be their life and their death? Bad is their judgement. And Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth, and that every soul shall be recompensed (according to) what it has earned. And they will not be unjustly treated. (JATHIYAH: 21, 22)