As-Sajdah 32:22 - Linguistic Miracle

Who is more in darkness than the one who, after the verses of his Rabb were strongly recounted to him, turned away from them? Indeed We, from such criminals, will take revenge. The verses here, refer to the verses of this surah thus far. This verse directly explains verse 12:

وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُوا۟ رُءُوسِهِمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ رَبَّنَآ أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَٱرْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَٰلِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ

If you could but see when the criminals are hanging their heads before their Rabb. Our Rabb! We have seen and heard, so return us; we will work righteousness for we are certain. Zukkira is the same word used in verse 15 which means being effectively reminded.

Allah is saying that what has been mentioned in this surah thus far, is strong, effective and has the potential to change people and their views. These are not just ordinary words, they pack a punch. They carry a strong impact. If someone believes that their actions do not have consequences, then this surah is strong enough to make them change their beliefs.

Yet if despite these extraordinary words, someone turns away from them, who can be more lost in darkness than him? Darkness is a state in which we cannot see. Darkness here implies a person blind of what is ahead, blind of the consequences of his actions, blind of where he is going, blind of what his actions will lead him to, blind of what is right and wrong.

The central theme of this surah thus far has been to establish that actions do indeed have consequences. If someone denies this fact and considers death to be the end of it all, then they will indeed be inconsiderate of the consequences of their actions. A criminal will not stop from his crimes if he knows he will get away with it. A person

who denies judgment day, will be heedless of the consequences of his actions and hence be in darkness and blind of what they will lead him to.

We, from such criminals, will take revenge -The normal way to say it is -We will take revenge from such criminals. The unusual sequence of words is to magnify the gravity of their

crimes. What has come in this surah are no ordinary words and denying them is no ordinary crime.

This verse concludes the discussion on the first part of this surah, and it fittingly ends with these words. You deny actions have consequences and consider death to be the end. This surah shows you the opposite and that death is not the end. If you still disbelieve, then you will actually receive the consequence of denying this surah. The next time, Allah will not prove to you that actions do bear consequences in the form of words, but by actually having you face these very consequences. Hence, the first thing you will say on judgment day when you face these consequences will be:

رَبَّنَآ أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَٱرْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَٰلِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ

Our Rabb! We have seen and heard, so return us; we will work righteousness for we are certain.

We are now certain that actions do indeed have consequences. Now that we are certain of it, we will live our lives knowing this and hence be mindful of our actions, not blind to their consequences. This is why Allah uses the same word to describe these people both in this verse and in verse 12. He calls them mujrim- criminals committing grave crimes.