Book in the Left Hand
\r\n Al-Haqqah (The Reality) - Chapter 69: Verses 25-29
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And as for one who is given his book in his left hand, he will say, “Would that I had not been given my book. And did not know of my reckoning. Would that it were the final end. My wealth availed me not. My power has passed from me.”
Those given the book in the left hand will be cast into Hell for their deeds. About receiving this record, the Quran also says, but as for one who is given his book from behind his back, he will cry out for destruction, and will enter a Blaze (84: 10-12). To reconcile v. 25 and 84: 10, commentators say that the left hand will be tied behind the back. Would that I had not been given may imply a desire to avoid punishment altogether; or it may indicate that the shame at witnessing one’s deeds is worse than the pain of the Fire, and that it would be preferable to be cast into the Fire without being forced to endure the shame of judgment and reckoning.
\r\nVerse 27 is understood to mean, “Would that death had been the final end, and there had been no Resurrection.”
\r\nThe negative particle ma in verse 28 could also be understood as an interrogative particle, in which case the verse is understood as a rhetorical question, “What has my wealth availed me?” Both translations echo the broader Quranic theme that the things that provide advantages in this world are usually of no avail in the next.
\r\nMy power in verse 29 translates sultaniyah, which indicates authority and warrant; that it has passed means that those who receive the book in their left hand no longer have any control over their own destiny and will regret all that they neglected to do to prepare for the Hereafter. Here and in other verses, sultan also connotes “argument”or “proof”, meaning that they no longer have any capacity to argue against the reality of the Resurrection or even to argue for themselves, as the true reality of how they lived their life will be clear when their very limbs testify against them on the Day of Judgment and Reckoning and they are forced to admit their sin.
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n \"The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary\" - Seyyed Hossein Nasr