Interpretation of Fortress 89 (The Coming Appearance)
Dear student:
Thought is a precious jewel with which the Almighty graced humanity. It is the basis of attaining knowledge and the only means to achieve belief.
Anyone who neglects their ability to think to subside and become inactive, and allows their desire to overcome their thinking will be like a brute beast which knows nothing about anything other than eating and drinking.
How far from the humanist rank such a person will be, however if you fail to use the power of thought and incline to this world without recognizing your Creator – Who brought you into being on this land and allowed all the creatures to be at your service – then listen to what happened to the oppressive nations.
God exterminated them and left no trace of them, save some ruined monuments. This is so despite the fact that they had superior power and greater architecture than your nation. Therefore He says in admonishment:
Verse no. 6
6. “Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with (the tribe of) ‘Ad;”
The Almighty does not intend to ask a question by saying “Have you not seen”, but aims at reminding humanity of this event so as to let it settle in our minds, in order not to follow the conduct of those people.
“Ad” is one of the ancient Arab nations who dwelt in Al-Sham Countries in the north of the Arabic Island.
They set up buildings on the land and employed all their power to do so. When our master Hud (pth) was sent to them as an Envoy from their Provider, they opposed him. The noble Verse indicates this when God says: “They said: ‘Oh Hud! You have brought us no clear proof. We will not leave our gods for your saying, nor will we believe in you’.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 11, Hud, Verse 53
Therefore, the Almighty let loose on them a raging wind in disastrous days that snatched their souls and left them dead on the ground, as though they were the arched trunks of palm trees.
To allow you to imagine the power and the skill that they had in building, the Almighty says:
Verse no. 7
7. “(The people of) Iram, the many-columned city,”
That means that if you want to know where they lived and the power that they had, you should see “Iram, the many-columned city”.
“Iram” is meant to be Damascus city. It was so-called because it had been the center of power for this nation and the capital of their kingdom.
In Arabic, the word “Iram” is derived from ‘Aroomah’ which means the origin of something or its place of birth.
The authority and influence of those people came out of Damascus and covered all the countries under their control. Besides this, the Almighty called Damascus “Iram” because the Muslims will go there on the day of Armageddon. This place will be their location. That is what the Prophet (cpth) talked about when he said: “The refuge of the Muslims on the day of Armageddon will be on a land called Al-Gutta where there is a city called Damascus. On that day it will be the best home for the Muslims.” [18]
“The many-columned city” means a city with huge pillars.
Indeed, if you look at the huge columns which the excavations are finding in Damascus all the time, you will understand the lofty position which this city once enjoyed in its construction and size, just as you will be able to imagine the power which this group of people had during that era.
God wanted to tell you about the bliss in which this nation lived, and therefore He says:
Verse no. 8
8. “Whose like was never again created in any land?”
In fact, Damascus is regarded a paradise on earth, with its fresh air, abundant water, temperate climate and various seasons on one hand, and its rich land, fertile soil and numerous trees on the other.
There is no other location on earth that has attractions on all sides to the same extent as Damascus.
However comfortable your life is, and whatever affluence you enjoy, you can be sure that there were people before you who enjoyed their life as much as you do, and even more.
However, when they disobeyed the Envoy of their Provider and got involved into what was prohibited for them, nothing could help them: neither their constructions and cities nor their gardens and palaces were to any avail. Everything was lost to them and given to other nations by Allah, the Almighty.
After reminding us of the woe that afflicted those people, God reminds us of the people of Thamud.
He says:
Verse no. 9
9. “And with (the tribe of) Thamud, who brought rocks to the valley?”
”Thamud” is another ancient Arab nation who also lived in the north of the Arabian Island between Al-Hijaz countries and Al-Sham countries.
The Almighty God sent them our master Saleh (pth) as an Envoy in order to warn them of their error, and to call them to worship Allah and follow His Orders. However, this tribe asked him to bring a she-camel out of a mountain to prove the truth of his mission. God responded to their request and did as they had asked. However, despite this miracle, they caused grief to the she-camel – as previously mentioned in ‘Al-Shams’ Fortress – and did not observe the Command of their Lord. Moreover, they plotted to kill His Envoy. Allah foiled their plans and saved him, along with the believers who followed him (pth). A cry rang above these oppressors had left them crouching in their dwellings. This Verse was revealed to remind humanity of how these people, too, met their end. The statement “And with Thamud” means: behold also, human, what had happened to the people of Thamud!
The phrase “who brought rocks to the valley” is in reference to how the people of Thamud had cut rocks into pieces and then brought them into their valley.
A “rock” is a large, hard lump of stone.
A “valley” is the low place between mountains or hills that forms a watercourse or a river bed. The Almighty uses the words “brought rocks” in order to show us the power and the might of those people and how great and huge their buildings were.
The words “to the valley” refer to the place where they built their firm constructions.
They built them in the valley, which is a location marked by fresh air, different varieties of trees and abundant flowing water.
When these people opposed the Envoy of their Provider – thereby deserving to be destroyed – despite the great power they had, they could do nothing to protect themselves; nor did their wonderful buildings and towering castle help them at this time.
The Almighty cites another example for us when He says:
Verse no. 10
10. “And with Pharaoh, the owner of the stakes?”
The word “stakes” is used to indicate anything that is stuck into the ground to help to fix and stabilize something else.
In this Verse, the word “stakes” specifically refers to the foundations of the great buildings which Pharaoh had established in Egypt which are known as the Pyramids. These towering Pyramids were built using rocks of tremendous dimensions, to the extent that each was nearly as large as an entire room in the houses that people live in nowadays.
For them to stand firm, those Pyramids need to have deep roots in the ground to act like stakes for them.
Despite the fact that this king was very powerful and had great authority in the land, and despite his possession of these buildings, death took him away utterly when he deserved destruction, and nothing could help him.
Therefore, when you, human, remember what happened to ‘Aad and Thamud, remember the end of Pharaoh, too, so that you may take warning from this and learn a lesson from the consequences of their actions.
To acquaint us with the bad actions which entailed the destruction of these nations, the Almighty says:
Verse no. 11-12
11. “Who (all) transgressed all bounds in the land,”
12. “And made them teem with corruption.”
”Who (all) transgressed all bounds”: they exceeded all humanist boundaries in their actions.
To understand the word “corruption” mentioned in this Verse, which is the opposition of the word valid for example: the water is corrupted means that the water is invalid to use, and we have to distinguish between it and the word ‘disservice’. We say:
To do a disservice is to cause damage to others through a particular action. For example, anyone who lets water fall from the gutter of their rooftop over the wall of his neighbor’s house is doing a disservice to their neighbor through such an action.
Also, a person who raises a high building which allows the women of the houses next to it to be seen, and which blocks the sunshine, light and air is also causing damage to their neighbors. Thus any act that causes damage to one’s spirit or to other people is considered a ‘disservice’, and to backbite the others also considered a ‘disservice’.
As for corruption, it is the action which drives people to practice actions that result in damage and harm to themselves and to others at the same time.
To elucidate further, we say:
Any man who lets his wife, sister, or daughter walk in the streets without veiling her face is causing corruption by such a deed. That is because he is inspiring people to commit adultery, which will result in great harm for women, men and children, and even for human society as a whole in all its aspects: social, health and moral.
In no time such a woman will fall into the trap of moral degradation and become like a curse that no man would wish to take as his wife.
This will lead to great damage to her, and will make her suffer misery and need. Then, when she grows old, she will remain single and alone, with no sons or daughters to sympathize with her.
This also applies to the man. As for the children, how miserable their state will be! That is, if indeed they remain alive.
This is only one aspect of the outcomes of unveiling women. There are many others, such as teardown the relations among members of peaceful families living at ease, sowing seeds of dissension between husband and wife, breaking up and destroying marriages, and the like.
Similarly, putting on golden jewelry and wearing silk clothes, and putting up palaces and deluxe buildings are actions of corruption.
Through such actions, the rich provoke the poor to imitate them. However, since the poor do not have enough money to undertake such projects, they will end up hurting people by cheating, lying or swindling them in their dealings with others, and will begin to use unlawful methods to gain more money.
As a result, they will often fall into miserliness and tight-fistedness, so that they will deprive their relatives and others besides them from their entitlements. Such are the actions which the rich corruptor inspires the poor to fall in.
Returning to the Verse we are explaining, with respect to these nations mentioned by God as examples, we say that nothing drew woe upon them other than walking in the way of corruption.
Those who had been indulging in a life of luxury set to practicing these deeds, which in turn tempted the lower classes of society. They let women display their charms, raised high castles, and constructed amusement centers and parks.
They did everything that could whet people’s appetites. In this way they caused corruption to become widespread across the countries of the world.
That is a little of the meaning that is folded under the statement: “and made it teem with corruption.”
At this stage, the Almighty Allah destroyed them in order to put an end to their depravity and to cleanse the land. God says:
Verse no. 13
13. “Therefore your Provider poured a scourge of punishment down upon them,”
To “pour” is to let something come down strongly from above.
When the Almighty poured down torment upon these nations, they found no escape and no way to avoid what was sent to them.
The “scourge” is the whip. In this Verse, this word refers to the weakness of humanity, and the inability to bear even a little bit of torture.
The Almighty sent only a single scourge of torment and a light affliction down upon the people in question. Despite this, all of them perished and none could bear this woe.
The Almighty says: “Such is the Seizure of your Provider when He seizes the townships that have become wrongful. His Seizure is painful, (and) severe.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 11, Hud, Verse 102
You who have shunned your Provider! Do you think that you would be able to flee from Allah or find any way to escape if you exceeded the bounds of what is lawful and created corruption in the land?
Next, the Almighty reveals to us that He is continually observing all humanity. He says:
Verse no. 14
14. “Your Provider is Ever Watchful.”
This Verse denotes: Oh human! Your Provider, Who supplies you with life, is always with you. He sees you and watches your state exactly.
At every moment, He drives to you that which befits your state. However, when you reach a point where warnings will not work for you anymore, and there becomes no way for you to be guided and no way for you to recover from your love for this world, destruction will descend upon you and terrible torture will smite you.
Self-Activity:
Try to bring some photos of the ruined monuments which were built by the ancient nations like the pyramids in Egypt which was built by pharaohs or the Petra city which was built by Thamud in the south of Al-Sham lands, those folks who had been indulging in a life of luxury and putting all their ability and thoughts in it shunning the Almighty Al'lah, those who came to this life without fulfilling the purpose of their coming into it, which is to believe in Al'lah then to render good actions, finally the result will be the Paradise with abundant of blessings and happiness in it. But alas those lost people built those buildings without any thoughts that death would take them away utterly, they didn’t perceive that this life was not eternal and the life to come is the eternal one.
They were thrown out from the school of this life and the Almighty God keeps some of their ruined monuments just for us to take a lesson from those lost disbelieving nations.
Questions and Exercises:
1- The holy prophet (cpth) said: “The refuge of the Muslims on the day of Armageddon will be on a land called Al-Gutta where there is a city called Damascus. On that day it will be the best home for the Muslims.”
Why did the holy prophet (cpth) call the city of Damascus on that day “The refuge of the Muslims”?
2- What are the main reasons behind the destruction of the ancient nations such as A’d, Thamud and Pharaoh?
3- Explain and distinguish between the meaning of the word “disservice” and the word “corruption”?