The Day of Resurrection, The Number of Groups on it

The Number of Groups on the Day of Resurrection

By Ansar Al-‘Adl

This article The Number of Groups on the Day of Resurrection belongs to the category Refuting Allegations of Internal Contradictions in the Qur’an

Concerning the Fifth Alleged Contradiction:

According to Surah Al-Waqi’ah 56:7 there will be three distinct groups of people at the Last Judgement, but Surah Al-Balad 90:18-19, Surah Az-Zalzalah 99:6-8, and other verses mention only two groups.

The verses in question:

(Surah Al-Waqi’ah ayat 7) And ye shall be sorted out into three classes.

(Surah Al-Balad ayat 18–19) Such are the Companions of the Right Hand. But those who reject Our Signs, they are the (unhappy) Companions of the Left Hand.

(Surah Az-Zalzalah ayat 6–8) On that Day will men proceed in companies sorted out, to be shown the deeds that they (had done). Then shall anyone who has done an atom’s weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom’s weight of evil, shall see it.

Verse 56:7 describes three groups and the Chapter goes on to mention that they are:
1. The elite/closest ones
2. The companions of the right hand
3. The companions of the left hand.

So there are a few points that can be raised to refute this alleged contradiction:

1. The only verse which specifies the number of groups is 56:7. Verses 90:18–19 do not mention the number of groups but only describe two of them. How then can this be considered a contradiction? It is as though one said: “I have three bedrooms in my house,” and later added, “The bedroom on the right is large, and the bedroom on the left is small.” Not mentioning the third bedroom does not constitute a contradiction.
2. The elite are a subgroup of the companions of the right. They are mentioned separately in Surah Al-Waqi’ah to distinguish those foremost in performing good deeds. This occurs when a subset is so distinct from the rest of the group that it can effectively be categorized on its own.
   An example is when we differentiate between humans, plants, and animals. Humans are actually one species within the Kingdom Animalia, but because of their uniqueness, we often list them separately.
3. Lastly, it is the style of the Qur’an to mention some groups separately for emphasis.

(Surah Al-Baqarah ayat 98) Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and apostles, to Gabriel and Michael,—Lo! Allah is an enemy to those who reject Faith.

This verse mentions Angel Gabriel and Angel Michael separately from the other angels, but we know they are angels themselves. This is simply the Qur’anic style of emphasis.

Source : Call To Monotheism