Tafseer of Crouching · Al-Jaathiya · 45:28
And you will see every nation kneeling [from fear]. Every nation will be called to its record [and told], "Today you will be recompensed for what you used to do.
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.
Explanation of the meaning of His statement, the Exalted: وَتَرَى كُلَّ أُمَّةٍ جَاثِيَةً كُلُّ أُمَّةٍ تُدْعَى إِلَى كِتَابِهَا الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (28) — "And you will see every community kneeling; every community will be called to its book: 'Today you are recompensed for what you used to do'" (45:28).
Allah, whose praise is exalted, says: you will, O Muḥammad, on the day when the Hour arrives, see the adherents of every religion and every creed kneeling — He says: crowded together, crouching and braced upon their knees out of the terror of that Day.
As Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement ( وَتَرَى كُلَّ أُمَّةٍ جَاثِيَةً ): he said: upon the knees, braced.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His statement ( وَتَرَى كُلَّ أُمَّةٍ جَاثِيَةً ): he said: this is on the Day of Resurrection, kneeling upon their knees.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say, concerning His statement ( وَتَرَى كُلَّ أُمَّةٍ جَاثِيَةً ): he says: upon the knees at the reckoning.
And His statement ( كُلُّ أُمَّةٍ تُدْعَى إِلَى كِتَابِهَا ) — "every community will be called to its book". He says: the adherents of every religion and every creed will be called to their book which they dictated to their guardian angels.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement ( كُلُّ أُمَّةٍ تُدْعَى إِلَى كِتَابِهَا ): they know that one community will be called before another, and one people before another, and one man before another. It was related to us that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ used to say: "Each community will be confronted on the Day of Resurrection with what it used to worship of stone, or idol, or piece of wood, or animal. Then it will be said: whoever worshipped anything, let him follow it. Then those idols — or they will be made into — leaders that lead to the Fire, until they cast them into it. Then there remains the community of Muḥammad ﷺ and the People of the Book. To the Jews it will be said: what did you worship? They will say: we worshipped Allah and ʿUzayr — except for a few of them. Then it will be said to them: as for ʿUzayr, he is not of you and you are not of him. Then they are led away to the left side, and they go off unable to tarry. Then the Christians are called, and it is said to them: what did you worship? They will say: we worshipped Allah and the Messiah — except for a few of them. Then it is said: as for ʿĪsā, he is not of you and you are not of him. Then they are led away to the left side, and they go off unable to tarry. And the community of Muḥammad ﷺ remains, and it is said to them: what did you worship? They will say: we worshipped Allah alone, and in the world we separated ourselves from these only out of fear of this Day of ours. Then the believers are permitted to prostrate, and the believers prostrate; and between every believer is a hypocrite (munāfiq). Then the back of the hypocrite stiffens so that he cannot prostrate, and Allah makes the prostration of the believers a rebuke, humiliation, grief and regret for him."
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yazīd al-Laythī, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, saying: "The people said: O Messenger of Allah, will we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection? He said: do you have any difficulty looking at the sun when there is no cloud before it? They said: no, O Messenger of Allah. He said: do you have any difficulty looking at the moon on the night of the full moon when there is no cloud before it? They said: no, O Messenger of Allah. He said: indeed, you will see Him likewise on the Day of Resurrection. Thus Allah will gather the people and say: whoever worshipped anything, let him follow it. Then whoever worshipped the moon follows the moon, and whoever worshipped the sun follows the sun, and whoever worshipped the false deities (al-ṭawāghīt) follows the false deities. And this community remains, with its hypocrites among it. Then their Lord comes to them in a form, and a bridge is stretched over Hell (jahannam). The Prophet ﷺ said: I will be the first to cross over, and the supplication of the messengers on that day is: O Allah, bring across safely, O Allah, bring across safely. And upon it are hooks like the thorns of the saʿdān plant. Have you seen the thorns of the saʿdān? They said: yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: they are like the thorns of the saʿdān, except that no one knows the extent of their size except Allah. And they seize the people according to their deeds: among them is he who is destroyed by his deed, and among them is he who is torn to pieces and then yet escapes." Then he mentioned the report in its full length.
And His statement ( الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ) — "Today you are recompensed for what you used to do". Allah, whose praise is exalted, says: to every community that is called to its book, it is said: today you are recompensed — that is, requited — and you receive the reward of that which you did in the world of recompensable deeds: for good, good, and for evil, its requital.
