Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL ANBIYAA' [104]

104. And (remember) the Day when We shall roll up the heaven like a Sijill for books. As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. (It is) a promise binding upon Us. Truly, We shall do it. Allah says: this will happen on the Day of Resurrection:

(And (remember) the Day when We shall roll up the heaven like a Sijill for books.) This is like the Ayah:

(They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified be He, and High be He above all that they associate as partners with Him!) ï´¿39:67ï´¾ Al-Bukhari recorded that Nafi` reported from Ibn `Umar that the Messenger of Allah said:

(On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will seize the earth and the heavens will be in His Right Hand.) This was recorded by Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him.

(like a Sijill rolled up for books.) What is meant by Sijill is book. As-Suddi said concerning this Ayah: ”As-Sijill is an angel who is entrusted with the records; when a person dies, his Book (of deeds) is taken up to As-Sijill, and he rolls it up and puts it away until the Day of Resurrection.'' But the correct view as narrated from Ibn `Abbas is that As-Sijill refers to the record (of deeds). This was also reported from him by `Ali bin Abi Talhah and Al-`Awfi. This was also stated by Mujahid, Qatadah and others. This was the view favored by Ibn Jarir, because this usage is well-known in the (Arabic) language. Based on the above, the meaning is: the Day when the heaven will be rolled up like a scroll. This is like the Ayah:

(Then, when they had both submitted themselves (to the will of Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead.) ï´¿37:103ï´¾ There are many more linguistic examples in this respect. Allah knows best.

(As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. (It is) a promise binding upon Us. Truly, We shall do it.) means, this will inevitably come to pass on the Day when Allah creates His creation anew. As He created them in the first place, He is surely able to re-create them. This must inevitably come to pass because it is one of the things that Allah has promised, and He does not break His promise. He is able to do that. Because He says:

(Truly, We shall do it.) Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas said: ”The Messenger of Allah stood among us exhorting us, and said:

(You will be gathered before Allah barefoot, naked and uncircumcised. As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. (It is) a promise binding upon Us. Truly, We shall do it.) And he mentioned the entire Hadith. It was also recorded in the Two Sahihs, and Al-Bukhari mentioned it in his Tafsir of this Ayah.