When Is “That Day”? — Reflections on Qur’an, Sūrat ʿAbasa (80):33–42

AI Summary

The “Day” described in Sūrat ʿAbasa (80:33–42) may not only refer to a future eschatological event but may already be present within our daily lives. In extreme situations, human beings may even turn away from their closest relatives, becoming entirely absorbed in their own concerns — yet such patterns can already be observed in ordinary life. The question, then, is whether the “deafening blast” is truly being heard. In a world saturated with information and noise, people fail to hear what ought to be heard and instead conceal meaning. Disbelief is not the absence of meaning, but a numbness toward it. The end of the world is both a future event and something that manifests in our daily choices. For this reason, we are called to listen attentively and reexamine our own condition.

Everyone Fled

For those who continually give thanks, praise, and prayer for the blessings of the Creator through the food they receive, it may seem irrelevant. Yet when the deafening blast arrives[1], what is said to occur on that Day is indeed severe. On that Day, a person is said to flee from his brother, his mother, his father, his spouse, and his children — that is, from his closest kin. This is said to be due to the harsh claims of responsibility directed at him.

According to Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, the brother will say, “You did not support me with your wealth,” the parents will say, “You neglected your duty of filial piety toward us,” the wife will say, “You fed me what was forbidden,” and the children will say, “You neither taught us nor guided us.”[2]

Indeed, in this world, human beings live in part in order to fulfill responsibilities toward those around them, beginning with their closest relations.

Preoccupied with Oneself

After that deafening blast strikes, one distances oneself from them and escapes these accusations. According to the revelation, “On that Day, every person will be preoccupied with himself, having no room even to attend to his family.” Yet on that Day, people are also said to be divided into two groups: the fortunate and the unfortunate.

“Their faces on that Day will be radiant, laughing and rejoicing” — rejoicing in having attained the pleasure of God rather than worldly gain. Al-Rāzī explains that this radiance results from being freed from the constraints of this world and being joined to the sacred realm and the stations of divine pleasure and mercy. He further interprets “radiant” as indicating liberation from worldly burdens, while “laughing” and “rejoicing” correspond to theoretical and practical faculties, or to the attainment of benefit and the attainment of honor.

Faces Darkened

What, then, of the unfortunate? “On that Day, their faces will be covered with dust; darkness will cover them.” A state in which persistent dust and darkness appear together. It is as though disbelief and moral transgression are combined, and thus their faces are covered with both dust and darkness.

For this group, such a state does not lead to interpretations of liberation from obligation. If one’s face is darkened on that Day, does it mean immediate entry into Hell?

In the scriptural tradition, it is also said that the first to flee from his brother was Hābīl, from his parents Ibrāhīm, from his wife Nūḥ and Lūṭ, and from his child Nūḥ.[3] Although Hābīl became the victim of the first murder in human history, Ibrāhīm, Nūḥ, and Lūṭ, even after severing ties with their close relations, continued to live in this world and fulfilled their prophetic missions.

Can You Hear It?

Even when distance is created and relationships are severed, is it not possible that some become fortunate while others fall into misfortune? If so, “that Day” may be understood not only as the end of the world, but also as a moment of release — from obligations imposed by siblings, parents, spouses, and children that are far removed from the pleasure of God. It can be read as something that carries eschatological meaning while also occurring in the present moment.

Those who are oppressed surely long for such liberation from unreasonable demands. For them, it may not be inappropriate to say that “every day is that Day.”

Moreover, even without the arrival of “that Day,” are there not people everywhere who are so preoccupied with themselves, so busy pursuing their own gain, that they sacrifice even their closest relations? For them as well, every day is “that Day.”

Then where has that deafening blast gone? Has it been drowned out by explosive noises, disturbances, and the constant stream of human speech — by the noise that surrounds us?

Until “That Moment” Comes

If “that Day” can be understood in this way, then perhaps the division between the fortunate and the unfortunate is not entirely fixed. According to al-Rāzī, there has been debate among theological schools regarding which group those who commit major sins belong to. Yet even such classifications may change from day to day.

Al-Rāzī himself suggests the possibility of a third category beyond the simple dichotomy of the fortunate and the unfortunate.[4] Indeed, even this binary division itself may shift daily.

Moreover, although Sūrat ʿAbasa clearly describes the existence of these two groups, it does not specify their final destinations — whether Paradise or Hellfire. This absence leaves open the possibility that “that Day” may, in a sense, be this very day, and that the state of one’s face may change from day to day. There may still be some respite before the final “Moment,” the end of this world.

Fear as Hope

The root of the word “disbelief” (kafara, كفر) means “to conceal.” The ear is not given to conceal, nor to refuse to hear what ought to be heard. It is true that the deafening blast that ends the world may not yet be heard, and that if it were heard even once, it might destroy one’s hearing entirely. Precisely for that reason, we should remain constantly attentive to the voice of God.

Not listening is itself a form of concealment, and thus it is disbelief.

If, however, one continues striving to receive that message directly — whether through hearing or through sight — then one may be freed both from disbelief and from the overwhelming blast that signals the end of the world. If we fear the blast that destroys hearing, we must first examine our own capacity to hear. If there is dust covering us, we should shake it off and strive, even a little, to become among those whose faces shine.

Allāhu aʿlam.

Footnotes

[1] (33)( فَإِذَا جَآءَتِ ٱلصَّآخَّةُ )(fa-idhā jāʾati al-ṣākhkhah, 80:33), Qur’an, Sūrat ʿAbasa.
[2] Al-Rāzī, Tafsīr, commentary on 80:34–36.
[3] Al-Rāzī, Tafsīr, commentary on 80:34–36.
[4] According to al-Rāzī, theological debates between the Murjiʾa and the Khawārij concern whether grave sinners belong among the believers or the disbelievers. While the Murjiʾa argue that such individuals are not disbelievers and thus not subject to punishment, the Khawārij maintain that grave sinners are disbelievers and must be punished. Al-Rāzī responds that the Qur’anic passage mentions only two groups without negating the possibility of a third.

Special Thanks

ChatGPT

Cover Image

Sunrise over the Sahara Desert (Merzouga, Morocco), photographed by the author (March 2012)

Acknowledgements

This English version was prepared with the support of ChatGPT.
The author gratefully acknowledges its assistance in translation and linguistic clarification.

Original version in Japanese:

「その日」はいつ？ — ―《聖典クルアーン》アバサ章33–42節をめぐって