Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:48
And there will appear to them the evils they had earned, and they will be enveloped by what they used to ridicule.
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 statement of the Exalted: وَبَدَا لَهُمْ سَيِّئَاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا وَحَاقَ بِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ (39:48) (And the evil deeds they committed become visible to them, and that which they used to mock encompasses them.)
The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: And for these polytheists (mushrikīn) there become visible on the Day of Resurrection ( سَيِّئَاتُ مَا كَسَبُوا ) — the evil deeds that they performed in this world, when their books are placed in their left hands. ( وَحَاقَ بِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ ) — and at that moment it is brought to fulfillment against them, so that there befalls them the punishment of Allah (ʿadhāb) which the Prophet of Allah ﷺ had announced to them in this world for their disbelief in their Lord, and at which they used to scoff, while they denied that it would befall or reach them — out of their repudiation of it. And this encompasses them entirely.
