These people who follow the path of Satan, instead of the path of truth, are waiting only for Allah to come to them, as befits His majesty, on the Day of Resurrection in the shadows of clouds to judge them and for the angels to come and surround them from all sides. At that time, Allah will judge them once and for all. To Allah alone shall all affairs relating to creation return.
Do they then wait for anything other than that Allah should come to them over the shadows of the clouds and the angels? (Then) the case would be already judged. And to Allah return all matters (for decision)(210)
Do not delay embracing the Faith
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ
(Do they then wait for anything other than that Allah should come to them over the shadows of the clouds and the angels?) on the Day of Resurrection to judge the early and the latter creations. Allah shall then reward each according to his or her deeds; and whoever does good shall see it, and whoever does evil shall see it. This is why Allah said:
وَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَإِلَى اللَّهِ تُرْجَعُ الْأُمُورُ
((Then) the case would be already judged. And to Allah return all matters (for decision).)
Similarly, Allah said:
كَلَّا إِذَا دُكَّتِ الْأَرْضُ دَكًّا دَكًّا - وَجَاءَ رَبُّكَ وَالْمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا - وَجِيءَ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِجَهَنَّمَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَتَذَكَّرُ الْإِنسَانُ وَأَنَّىٰ لَهُ الذِّكْرَىٰ
(Nay! When the earth is ground to powder. And your Lord comes with the angels in rows. And Hell will be brought near that Day. On that Day will man remember, but how will that remembrance (then) avail him?)(89:21-23) and:
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَن تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ رَبُّكَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَ بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ
(Do they then wait for anything other than that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord (Allah) should come, or that some of the signs of your Lord should come (i. e., portents of the Hour, e.g., rising of the sun from the west)!)(6:158)
Abu Ja'far Razi reported that Abu Al-'Aliyah narrated that:
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ
(Do they then wait for anything other than that Allah should come to them over the shadows of the clouds and the angels?) means, the angels will descend on the shadows of clouds, while Allah comes as He wills. Some of the reciters read it,
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ
Do they then wait for anything other than that Allah should come to them and also the angels over the shadows of the clouds. This is similar to Allah's other statement:
وَيَوْمَ تَشَقَّقُ السَّمَاءُ بِالْغَمَامِ وَنُزِّلَ الْمَلَائِكَةُ تَنزِيلًا
(And (remember) the Day when the heaven shall be rent asunder with clouds, and the angels will be sent down, with a grand descending.)(25:25)
The previous verses ended with a word of praise for the sincere. As sincerity (ikhlas اخلاص) can sometimes touch the limits of excess inadvertently, that is, one does intend to come up with more obedience, but that obedience, when observed carefully, turns out to be exceeding the limits set by the Shari'ah and Sunnah. This is called bid'ah بدعت . This can be explained through the example of the blessed Companion ` Abdullah ibn Salam ؓ and others who were, previous to their Islam, known scholars among the Jews. Since Saturday was the sacred day of rest (the Sabbath اَسَّبت) in Judaism, and camel-meat was unlawful, they thought, once they were in Islam, to bring about some sort of a synthesis between the two faiths, through which they could continue to honour Sabbath سَبِّت as it was necessary under the law of Moses while Islam did not require dishonouring it; and similarly, they could simply avoid eating camel-meat in practice while believing that it was lawful, for it was unlawful in the law of Moses but Islam does not make it obligatory to eat it. Thus, they thought that they would stay in touch with the law of Moses and still not go against the Shari'ah of Muhammad ﷺ ، something that appealed to them as a stronger demonstration of obedience to divine laws and a closer approach to matters of faith. Allah Almighty corrects this thought in the present verse which aims to establish that Islam is an obligation in its totality. It is total and perfect only when what is not necessary in Islam is not considered to be a part of it. To take such thought or practice as part of the Faith is a Satanic slip which may bring far more severe a punishment than common sins would.
It is in this background of the verse's revelation, that believers have been asked to 'enter Islam completely', not making allowances for a faith other than Islam - a divisive approach which makes one an easy target of Satan. Therefore, the prohibition 'do not follow the footsteps of Satan', an enemy who would cheat you into taking to something which obviously looks very much like your Faith, but happens to be totally contrary to it in reality. After having received clear laws and rules that lead to the straight path, there is no justification left for any deviation. Those who still slip, they must remember that Allah is Mighty, having the power to punish, and Wise too, lest one should misread any delay in punishment which comes when His Wisdom so dictates. Using an eloquent image, the text goes on to question the ultimate acceptance of truth at a time when it shall no longer remain worth accepting and al'_ matters of reward and punishment shall revert to Allah with no power existing other than Him, why then would anyone become quixotic enough to stand against a Power so obvious, the result of which could be nothing but destruction.
Commentary
The word, سِلم : (silm) in; ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً translated here as 'enter Islam completely', is used to convey two meanings, 'peace' and 'Islam'. At this place, according to the consensus of the Companions and their successors, it means Islam (Ibn xathir). The word كَافَّة : (kaffah) means 'totally' and 'universally'. In the structural scheme of the sentence, this word appears as hal (an adverb, qualifying the verb before it with a particular state). There are two possibilities here. Firstly, the word be taken as the hal of the pronoun in (udkhulu ادْخُلُوا) in which case the translation would be referring to the condition of the believers while entering Islam, which must be 'complete'. This would mean that their entire person, hands and feet, eyes and ears, feeling and thinking, after having embraced the Faith should all be within the parameters of Islam and the obedience to Allah. This is to warn against a state of being in which one may be physically carrying out the dictates of Islam while the heart and the mind are not fully satisfied, or in case, the heart and the mind are satisfied, yet what one does physically remains outside the pale of Islam.
Secondly, it is possible to take the word, silm سِلم as the hal or indicated state of the Faith in Islam, in which case, the translation would be referring to the perfect and complete state of Islam in which the believers must enter. So, 'entering Islam completely' would mean that one must accept all injunctions of Islam, not that one accepts some and hesitates about others. Since Islam is the name of that particular way of life which has been given through the Qur'an and Sunnah, there-fore, it does not matter, which facet of life it concerns, it may be beliefs and acts of worship or social dealings or business transactions or government and politics or trade and industry or any other field; what matters is one's entry into Islam as a complete system, an organic whole, unified, indivisible.
The gist of the two approaches given above is that no Muslim shall be deserving of calling himself a Muslim unless he accepts all Islamic injunctions truly and sincerely from the deep recesses of his heart, irrespective of the department of life they belong to, irrespective of whether they concern the outward physique of the body or the heart and the mind.
The background of the verse's revelation mentioned earlier in the introductory remarks also shows that one must keep nothing but the teachings of Islam in sight, practice it in its entirety which will, in consequence, make Muslims independent of all religions and nations.
Special Note
The verse holds out a stern warning to those who have got Islam all tied up with Masjid and ` ibadat عبادت (mosque and the performance of acts of prescribed worship) neglecting injunctions relating to social living and business and personal dealings as if they were no part of religion. This negligence is wide-spread among the 'technically' religious people who do not seem to care much about rights and dealings, especially social rights. It appears that they do not regard these injunctions to be the injunctions of Islam, neither do they make an effort to find out what they are, or try to learn them in an orderly manner, nor think of acting in accordance with these injunctions. We seek refuge with Allah.
As regards the possibility of 'Allah Almighty and the angels coming upon them in canopies of clouds,' this will be on Doomsday. The correct position is that such coming of Allah Almighty belongs to the Mutashabihat متاشابھا ات ، statements of hidden meaning, about which there is a standard policy practiced by the majority of the blessed Companions, the Tabi` in تابعین ، their successors, and the revered elders of the Muslim ummah, that is, one must believe in its truth and avoid worrying about as to how this would happen because it is beyond human reason to find out the reality and the nature, the whats and the hows of the 'Being' and the Attributes of Allah Almighty, and this too is included therein.
There are two ways of adopting Islam as one’s religion. One is to do so without any consideration for one’s own interests and reservations; to do what Islam enjoins on one and refrain from what it forbids. This is to enter Islam wholeheartedly. The other way is to take up Islam, only to the extent that it does not clash with one’s everyday life; and only so long as it serves, or at least does not harm one’s own interests. One who adopts the latter course does not let Islam undermine the habits he is accustomed to, the creeds he cherishes, the profits he craves, the honour he thrives on or the leadership he seeks to preserve and consolidate. His initial enthusiasm for Islam cools when it requires him to make radical changes in his pattern of thought, or forgo personal preferences and desires. He slides back, adhering to Islam in name alone, without letting it harm his interests, or interfere with his life in any way. If it is arguments that he seeks to make him truly believe in the message of Islam, then arguments have been provided in full measure. If it is miracles he is looking for, he has God’s entire universe before him. But those who cannot bring themselves to accept clear arguments will not be won over by miracles of this nature. What else is the doubter waiting for, but that God Himself should appear, along with all the angels? When that happens, a sudden surge of belief will not benefit anyone, for that will be a time when fates are sealed, not forged. The whole point of man’s being tested in this world is that he should believe in God, without having seen Him and solely by virtue of His arguments. It is believing without seeing that will profit man, not seeing and believing. Those who put their own interests first and Islam second, and those who unconditionally enter into Islam are people of very different mettle. It is usually the former who accumulate all the worldly splendours in this life, while the latter remain bereft of things of worldly importance. The mere possession of material resources makes the former group feel justified in assuming an air of superiority. They may look down upon the true believers, but this state of affairs is quite short-lived. The world will end, to give way to a new and finer system in which they will be brought low, and the great will be cut down to size, and those who had been considered lowly will occupy high places in the heavenly world.