How can the Unbelievers and the Polytheists Conceal the Truth from Allah on the Day of Judgement?
Brief description of the dubiety
Based on some verses of the Holy Quran such as Surah al-Nisa, verse 42; Surah Ghafir, verse 16; Surah Ale Imran, verse 30; Surah al-Noor, verse 24; and Surah Yaseen, verse 65, the unbelievers and the sinners will not be able to conceal any realities from Allah on the Day of Judgement. On the other hand, in verse 23 of Surah al-Anaam, it states that the polytheists will deny their polytheism by swearing to Allah on the Day of Judgement. There appears to be a discrepancy between these verses.
Detailed description of the dubiety
Contradictory Verses
Group of verses that indicate their inability to conceal the truth
In verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa, it has been revealed that: “On that day those who were faithless and [who] disobeyed the Apostle will wish that the earth was levelled with them, and they will not conceal any matter from Allah.” This verse clearly indicates that the polytheists will not be able to conceal anything from Allah on the Day of Judgement.
Of course, there are other verses that describe the Day of Judgement in a way that the possibility of denial or concealment can no longer remain. In Surah Ghafir, verse 16 Allah says: “The day when they will emerge [from their graves], nothing about them will be hidden from Allah. ‘To whom does the sovereignty belong today?’ ‘To Allah, the One, the All-Paramount!’”
Surah al-Noor, verse 24 reads: “On the day when witness shall be given against them by their tongues, their hands, and their feet concerning what they used to do.” Similarly, in Surah Yaseen, verse 65 we read: “Today We shall seal their mouths, and their hands shall speak to Us, and their feet shall bear witness concerning what they used to earn.’”
Finally in Surah Ale Imran, verse 30 Allah says: “The day when every soul will find present whatever good it has done; and as for the evil, it has done, it will wish there were a far distance between it and itself. Allah warns you to beware of [disobeying] Him, and Allah is most kind to [His] servants.”
Group of verses which indicate their concealment on the Day of Judgement
Concerning the state of the polytheists on the Day of Judgement, in verses 22 and 23 of Surah al-Anaam, it has been revealed: “On the day when We gather them all together, We shall say to those who ascribed partners [to Allah] ‘Where are your partners that you used to claim?’ Then their only excuse will be to say, ‘By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists.’” This verse clearly indicates that the polytheists will try to conceal and deny their polytheism by swearing to Allah.
Of course, there are other verses which follow this same theme of concealment of the truth by some people on the Day of Judgement. In Surah al-Mujaadilah, verse 18, we read: “The day when Allah will raise them all together, they will swear to Him, just like they swear to you [now], supposing that they stand on something. Look! They are indeed liars!”
Summary
According to some verses of the Holy Quran, there will be no possibility of concealment or denial for the unbelievers or polytheists on the Day of Judgement. On the other hand, in other verses, it mentions that the polytheists will conceal and deny their polytheism by swearing to Allah the Day of Judgement, and thus these appear to be in contradiction.
A summarized response
First of all, the denial of the polytheists is a lie from them which does not result in anything being hidden from Allah. Secondly, the verses that mention the denial and lies of the polytheists is in reality, regarding the last station of the Day of Judgement, where the polytheists think that they can be saved from Allah’s punishment by lying, and this action is a manifestation of their nature to lie in this world as well. However, after the awliya (the ones close to Allah), the angels and even their own body parts will bear witness against them, there will no longer be any way for them to deny their actions. Thirdly, another possibility is this that the verse which talks about the denial of the polytheists concerns those who were polytheists in this world, but considered themselves to be monotheists.
A detailed response
There are two possibilities which exist regarding the meaning of verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa, and once these two meanings are clarified, then based on each meaning, the contradiction in this verse with the verses that discuss the denial of the wrongdoers on the Day of Judgement will be analyzed.
An analysis of the meaning of verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa
Two possibilities exist regarding the translation of the text, (و َلَا يكْتُمُونَ اللَّهَ حَدِيثًا ) which is the point of discussion in this verse. The first interpretation is the literal meaning of the verse. The precise meaning word by word is: ‘and (on the Day of Judgement), they will not conceal any matter from Allah.’ Some translators of the Holy Quran have interpreted the text of this verse in this manner. However, a lot of other translators are of the belief that the literal meaning of the verse on its own, is not what is intended and with due attention to contexts, as well as the literal meaning, another interpretation can be lifted from the verse. The second interpretation is as follows: ‘and from Allah, nothing can be concealed.’ The difference between these two translations is that the first translation explains that on the Day of Judgement, any measures to try and hide or conceal mistakes will not be accepted; while the second translation does not discuss measures to conceal or lack thereof, but it mentions that concealment will be impossible and unsuccessful. This article does not seek to ascertain which translation is right. Based on each possibility, the contradiction and non-contradiction of this verse with the other verses will be analyzed.
Analyzing the contradiction based on the first interpretation of verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa
Premise: (the different stages after death)
Based on the original Islamic sources, man will pass through different stages and stations after death. After the moment of the passing away of a person, one will have to face the questions from the angels in the grave, and then one will enter into the world of barzakh (barrier or separation).
After this, the event of nafkh al-sur (the blowing of the trumpet by the archangel Israfeel that will signify the end of the world) will take place, and everyone will be brought forth to the arena of the Day of Judgement. Then, all of mankind will come face to face with the just court of Allah, and based on the evidence of the different witnesses - such as the Prophets of every nation, the Imams, the angels, the earth, the body parts of man and his scroll of deeds - a judgement will be passed on every person and after that, one will have to pass the station of sirat and then enter into either paradise or the hellfire. [1]
Denial of the polytheists is in relation to the first stages on the Day of Judgement
According to first interpretation of verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa, the assumption is that this verse indicates the inability to take measures to deny anything on that day. The claim is that with this assumption, there is still no contradiction among these verses. The same way that it was mentioned in the previous premise, man will be faced with various stations after death. There could only have been contradiction between the verses if all of them were discussed in regards to one station among the stations on the Day of Judgement - but this is not the case.
Verses such as verse 23 of Surah al-Anaam which talk about the concealment of the truth and the swearing of the wrongdoers, are in relation to the first stage on the Day of Judgement. It is in these first stages that the wrongdoers will hope that through denial and concealment, they may be able to reach salvation. With due attention to the contexts present within the verses - which will be made clear later on - the lying of the wrongdoers will be in relation to the station before the testimony is presented by the witnesses.
The opposition to verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa which talks about the inability to conceal the truth, is in relation to the latter stages of the Holy courtroom on the Day of Judgement; in other words, the time period after the witnesses would have brought forth their testimony against the wrongdoers. It is in this time period that naturally no one will try to deny or conceal because everything will become clear as day, and reasoning and testimony will already have been brought against the person.
What this claim wants to show is that verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa which talks about the inability of the wrongdoers to conceal and deny the truth, comes straight after the verses which talk about the testimony of the witnesses on the Day of Judgement.
Verses 41-42 of Surah al-Nisa say: “So how shall it be, when We bring a witness from every nation and We bring you as a witness to them? On that day those who were faithless and [who] disobeyed the Apostle will wish that the earth was levelled with them, and they will not conceal any matter from Allah.” With due attention to the arrangement of the subject matter in these two verses, it can be understood that after the testimony of the witnesses against the actions of mankind on the Day of Judgement, no one will be able to deny the actions that they carried out any longer. Based on this, naturally the polytheists will try to lie and deny, however after this, the testimonies will be brought against them which will leave no possibility whatsoever to conceal the truth. [2]
This point has also been mentioned in a narration from Imam Ali in which he describes the state of those at the mahshar (the gathering place of mankind on the Day of Judgement) in a long narration, and he says: “Then (the people of the mahshar) will be gathered in other places to talk, as it is wanted of them. They will say (as is in Surah al-Anam, verse 23) that: ‘By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists.’ Then Allah, the Almighty will seal their mouths and will seek words from their hands, feet and skin. (In a moment their body parts) will testify to any sin that was committed by that body part. Then He will remove the seal from their mouths. They will say to their skins, ‘Why did you bear witness against us?’ They will reply, ‘We were given speech by Allah, who gave speech to all things. He created you the first time, and you are being brought back to Him.’” [3]
This narration also explains that in the first stage, they will try and conceal their wrongdoings; however, after their attempting this, Allah will place a seal on their mouths and once the witnesses will provide their testimonies about the actions that the people performed, they will no longer be able to conceal anything.
Lies of the polytheists will not result in the concealment of the truth
The second interpretation of verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa was that the wrongdoers will not be able to conceal their mistakes on the Day of Judgement. Based on this interpretation, there is no contradiction between this verse and the other verses. The explanation of this is that the polytheists will try to conceal their polytheism by swearing to Allah, however in the logic of the Holy Quran, this will never result in the truth remaining concealed from Allah, the Almighty and All-Knowing. In Surah al-Tariq, verse 9, the Day of Judgement has been described in this manner: “On the day when the secrets will be examined” That is why, due to the truth being clear on the Day of Judgement, the denial of the polytheists is referred to as ‘lying’ in the mentioned verse.
In Surah al-Anaam, verse 24 Allah says: “Look, how they lie against themselves, and what they used to fabricate has forsaken them!” Denial on that day is fruitless, and due to the truth being clear and not being in correspondence with the claims of the deniers, the Holy Quran has labelled them liars.
In Surah al-Mujaadilah, verse 18, after explaining that the wrongdoers will try to deny (their actions), it labels them liars once again. “The day when Allah will raise them all together, they will swear to Him, just like they swear to you [now], supposing that they stand on something. Look! They are indeed liars!”
Therefore, according to the second interpretation of verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa, there is again no contradiction in the Holy Quran, as it clearly considers the concealment of one’s mistakes impossible on the Day of Judgement, and this point is in no way contradictory with the report that the evil doers will try and deny their wrongdoings on the Day of Judgement. Purely taking the measures to attempt to cover up and reject one’s actions does not negate verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa which states that they will not be able to conceal any matter from Allah. The only instance in which a contradiction could be proven is if in the verse, the concealment of the wrongdoers on the Day of Judgement was reported as successful.
Common example
The manager of a factory addresses the employees who recently entered by saying to them: “All of the sections of this factory are equipped with closed-circuit cameras. In order to improve the supervision system of the factory, no employee will be able to cover up or hide their mistakes because with the presence of closed-circuit cameras, everything will be made clear for us.” After a while, an employee violates a rule. At first, the employee denies his error, but after watching the playback of his error, he remains silent and takes back his denial. In another meeting with the employees, the manager says: “The employee who violated the rules and tried to conceal his error was a liar and this denial was to his loss, because he was fired from the factory.”
The hindsight of the factory manager is based on the inability to deny of the violators in the first sentence, with this, his second sentence doesn’t breach the first because in the first sentence, the factory manager didn’t deny the violators’ inability to deny when he first addressed them, on the contrary, he foresaw their inability to deny once they were brought face to face with the playback from the closed-circuit cameras. (very difficult to understand, need to reword)
An analysis of the contradiction based on the second interpretation of verse 42 of Surah al-Nisa
Premise: (there is no necessity between concealment and something remaining concealed)
When someone tries to conceal something and makes an effort so that others do not gain any information about it, he may not necessarily reach his goal which was to keep it concealed. For example, a person in an airport places a prohibited item in his bag and intends to board the flight with it, however the airport security find it and object to it. Even if someone denies something by swearing to Allah or conceals something in a hidden place, then this concealment or denial will not result in the truth remaining concealed from the authority because it will be found out, just like in the airport example, the bag will go through an x-ray scanner and the truth will become clear and obvious to the authorities.