[Pooya/Ali Commentary 56:7] There will be a sorting out of good and evil. There will be three main classes: (i) The people of the right hand are those who made mistakes but turned in repentance to Allah within reasonable time and thereafter lived a pious life. Their rewards are described in verses 27 to 40. (ii) The people of the left hand are those who did not believe in Allah, His book and His last Prophet lived in sin and died in disbelief. Their agony and torment is described in verses 41 to 56. (iii) "The foremost in faith" are those who were always the quickest and readiest to accept Allah's message and to give life, property and position in the service of Allah. They reached the highest degree in submission to Allah's will and spiritual understanding, such as the messengers and prophets of Allah and their divinely chosen successors. Refer to the commentary of Bara-at: 100 and Saffat: 40. When the Holy Prophet made known his mission Ali ibn abi Talib and Khadijah Kubra were the foremost in accepting the truth. They were the first two who prayed salat behind the Holy Prophet. Refer to the commentary of Ali Imran: 52 and 53 for the event of "the feast of the relatives". Ali was the first man who agreed to help the Holy Prophet in his mission and throughout his life fulfilled his undertaking. The commentary of several verses so far read by you confirm the historical facts that in Badr, Uhad, Khandaq, Khaybar, Hunayn and all the battles the Holy Prophet had to fight in self defence Ali was not only in the forefront but also the exclusive hero who won every battle he fought. The commentary of Baqarah: 124 makes clear the fact that he alone was the person who did not worship any ghayrullah (other than Allah) and in wisdom, mercy and guidance he was with the Holy Prophet all the time. Ahmad bin Hanbal says in his Musnad that the foremost in faith were three men (i) mumin of ali Firawn (ii) mumin of ali Ya Sin (iii) Ali ibn abi Talib. The well-known commentator, Thalabi, reports on the authority of Ibn Abbas that Ali ibn abi Talib said: "I am the servant of Allah, the brother of the Holy Prophet, the siddiq al akbar, the greatest testifier (of the Holy Prophet), He who claims this title is an impostor." Therefore Ali is the highest example of the foremost (sabiqun). There are others according to the degree they attain. Those who spent a long life in worship of idols, and even after accepting Islam, ran away from the battles, deserting the Holy Prophet, and deviated from the path shown by him can never be included in the category of the foremost. Imam Ali said: "The Holy Prophet told me that my devotees (shi-ahs) will be the first to enter the paradise." The devotees of Ali are those who reflect Ali's character (like Salman and Abu Dhar). The light of faith will make their faces radiant on the day of resurrection. They will be nearest to Allah, enjoying the highest bliss. Aqa Mahdi Puya says: The people of "the right hand" in verse 8 are those who incline towards the absolute, and the people of "the left hand" in verse 9 are those who incline towards the illusory gains, and the foremost in verse 10 are those whose obedience to the absolute is total and exclusive. Refer to my note in the commentary of Maryam: 71. These are those referred to in Anbiya: 101 (freed from all afflictions in the hereafter), in Fatir: 32 (the inheritors of the book). The number of the foremost between the time of Adam and the advent of the Holy Prophet are many because in the terms sabiqun and muqarrabun (the foremost and the nearest to Allah) all the prophets and their divinely commissioned successors (awsiya) are included. The Holy Prophet said: "The guides (leaders) after me are twelve". Therefore the foremost among the followers of the Holy Prophet are very few. According to Sahih Bukhari, the Holy Prophet said: "He who does not recognise the Imam of his age and leaves this world dies the death of ignorance." In verse 34 furush literally means carpet, or anything spread on the ground. In Dhariyat: 48 it has been used for the earth. Figuratively it has been used here for wives as the Holy Prophet has used it when he said: "The child belongs to the farash (bed-wife) and the wife belongs to the husband." Verse 35 supports this interpretation. The reward and punishment, the pleasure and torment, are described in terms of the physical world. The physical world is the manifestation of the spiritual world. The enjoyments and torments described in the terms of the physical world are figurative to give an idea of the real world. See my note in the commentary of Maryam: 61.