Questioning About Blessings in the Verse: “Then, on that Day, you will surely be questioned about the blessings” (Qur’an 102:8): An Analytical Study of the Nature of the Blessings, the Nature of the Question, and Its Addressee

Abstract

Abstract

This study presents an analytical examination of the types of blessings referred to in the Qur’anic verse: “Then, on that Day, you will surely be questioned about the blessings” (Qur’an 102:8), focusing on the nature of the questioning and those addressed by it. Given the nature of the study, several research methods were employed, most notably the descriptive and analytical approaches, through examining, describing, and analyzing the issues addressed in the study.

One of the main findings is that exegetes have cited numerous and diverse examples of the blessings about which people will be questioned on the Day of Judgment. These include material and spiritual blessings, essential and non-essential blessings, and religious and worldly blessings. This indicates that the questioning encompasses all types of blessings.

Another finding is that the various interpretations of al-naʿīm (the blessings) represent a difference of variety rather than contradiction. They are examples illustrating the general meaning of al-naʿīm and were not intended to be exhaustive or restrictive.

The study also finds that the majority of exegetes hold that the questioning concerning the blessings is general and encompasses every blessing that God has bestowed upon His servants in this world, without being restricted to any particular type. Furthermore, the majority of exegetes maintain that the address in the verse is general and applies to both believers and disbelievers. However, they distinguish between the nature of the questioning directed to each group: believers are questioned as a form of honor, acknowledgment of God’s blessings, and reminder, whereas disbelievers are questioned as a form of reproach and condemnation.

Finally, the study finds that those who exclude believers from the questioning referred to in this verse do not necessarily deny the questioning of believers established in the Sunnah. Some exegetes distinguish between the two forms of questioning, considering the questioning mentioned in the verse to be different from that established in the Sunnah.