Tafseer of The Romans · Ar-Room · 30:43
So direct your face toward the correct religion before a Day comes from Allah of which there is no repelling. That Day, they will be divided.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ الْقَيِّمِ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لا مَرَدَّ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصَّدَّعُونَ (30:43) (So set your face toward the upright religion, before there comes a Day from Allah that cannot be turned back. On that Day they will be divided into groups.)
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: So set your face, O Muḥammad, toward the direction to which your Lord has turned you, (للدّين القَيِّمِ) — toward obedience to your Lord and the upright creed (milla) in which there is no deviation from the truth. ( مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لا مَرَدَّ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ ) — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: before there comes a Day from among the days of Allah which, when it comes, cannot be turned back; for Allah has already decreed its coming, so it comes inevitably. (يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصَّدَّعُونَ) — He says: on the Day when that Day comes, the people are divided. He says: the people split into two groups — from their expression «ṣadaʿtu al-ghanam ṣadʿatayn» («I divided the sheep into two groups»), when one splits them into two: a group in the Garden (janna) and a group in the blazing Fire.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the scholars of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning His saying: (فَأقِمْ وَجْهَكَ للدِينِ القَيِّمِ) — Islam — ( مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لا مَرَدَّ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصَّدَّعُونَ ) — a group in the Garden and a group in the blazing Fire.
ʿAlī related to me, he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning His saying: (يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصَّدَّعُونَ). He says: they split apart.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: (يَصَّدَّعُونَ). He said: they split apart, toward the Garden and toward the Fire.
