79- Surat Alnazi'at/Tafseer
46 Verses Meccan (revealed in Mecca)
A'auzu Bellahi mena alshaiytani alrajeem
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan
Besmi Ellahi Alrhmani Alraheem
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Wa alnazi'ati gharqa (1).
By those who extract with violence.
Wa alnashitati nashta (2).
And by those who remove with ease.
Wa alsabihati sabha (3).
And by those who glide as if they were swimming.
Fa alsabiqati sabqa (4).
Then those who race each other in a race.
Fal-mudabberati amra (5).
Then those who manage the matter.
Yawma tarjufu Alrajifah (6).
On the day, the Blast will shake.
Tatba-uha Alradifah (7).
There will follow it the Subsequent.
Qulubun yawma-izin wajeifah (8).
Hearts, that day, will tremble.
Absaruha khashiah (9).
Their eyes humbled.
Yaquluna a-inna la-marduduna fel-hafirah (10).
They say, Will we indeed be returned to the former state?.
A-iza kunna izaman nakhirah (11).
Is it when we will have turned into decayed bones?.
Qalu telka izan karratun khasirah (12).
They say, that then would be a losing return.
Fa-innama hiya zajratun wahidah (13).
Indeed, it will be but one shout.
Fa-iza hum bel-sahirah (14).
And behold! They will be upon the surface of earth.
Hal ataka hadithu Musa (15).
Has there come to You the story of Moses?.
Iz nadahu Rabbuhu bel-wadi almuqaddasi tuwa (16).
When His Lord called him in the Sacred Valley of Tuwa.
Izhab ella fer-awna innahu tagha (17).
Go to pharaoh, indeed, he has transgressed.
Fa-qul hal laka ila an tazakka (18).
And Say, would you like to purify yourself.
Wa ahdiyaka ela Rabbika fa-takhsha (19).
And that I guide you to your Lord, so you would fear.
Fa-arahu al-ayata alkubra (20).
So He showed him the biggest sign.
Fa-kazzaba wa asa (21).
But he denied and disobeyed.
Thumma adbara yas'a (22).
Then he turned his back, striving.
Fa-hashara fa-nada (23).
And he gathered and called out.
Fa-qala ana rabbukumu al-a'la (24).
Then he said, I am your lord, the most high.
Fa -akhazahu Allahu nakala al-akherati wal-aula (25).
So Allah seized him for the deterrent punishment in the last and the first.
Inna fi zaleka la-ibratan li-man yakhsha (26).
Indeed, in that there is a lesson for whoever would fear.
A-antum ashaddu khalqan ami alsamau banaha (27).
Are you a more difficult creation, or is the sky, He constructed it?.
Rafaa samkaha fa-sawwaha (28).
He has raised its ceiling, then proportioned it.
Wa aghtasha lailaha wa akhraja duhaha (29).
And He darkened its night, and brought out its brightness.
Wal-arda ba'da zaleka dahaha (30).
And after that, He spread the earth.
Akhraja menha ma-aha wa mar-aha (31).
And He brought out from it its water and its pasture.
Wal-jebala arsaha (32).
And He set the mountains firmly.
Mata-an lakum wa li-an'amikum (33).
A provision for you, and your cattle.
Fa iza ja-ati Altammatu Alkubra (34).
But when there comes the greatest Calamity.
Yawma yatazakkru alinsanu ma sa-a (35).
The day when man will remember that for which he strove.
Wa burrizati aljahimu li-man yara (36).
And the Hell will be exposed for those who see.
Fa-amma man tagha (37).
So as for he who transgressed.
Wa athara alhayata aldunya (38).
And preferred the worldly life.
Fa-inna al-jahima hiya alma'wa (39).
Then indeed, Hell will be the abode.
Wa amma man khafa maqama Rabbehi wa naha al-nafsa ani alhawa (40).
But as for he who feared the position of his Lord, and prevented the soul from the desires.
Fa-inna aljannata hiya alma'wa (41).
Then indeed, the Paradise will be the abode.
Yas-alunaka ani alsa-ati ayyana mursaha (42).
They ask You about the Hour, when is its arrival.
Fima anta men zekraha (43).
In what are You that You should mention it?.
Ela Rabbeka muntahaha (44).
To Your Lord is its finality.
Innama anta munziru man yakhshaha (45).
You are only a warner for those who fear it.
Ka-annahum yawma yarawnaha lam yalbathu ella ashiyyatan aww duhaha (46).
The day they will see it, it will seem to them as if they had not remain except for an afternoon, or a morning thereof.
Simplified interpretation:
Surat Alnazi'at deals with three stages of the Hereafter, beginning with death, then Allah states the second stage which is the Blast (Alrajifah) followed by the Subsequent (Alradifah), and the third stage is the greatest Calamity (Altammatu Alkubra) in which man will see what he has sent forth for the day of resurrection, so Hellfire will be the abode for he who transgressed and preferred the worldly life, while Paradise will be the abode for he who fears Allah and prevents himself from committing evil deeds, and Allah cites the story of the prophet Moses, peace be upon Him, with Pharaoh as a lesson for whoever fears Allah. Then Allah assures that the return of man on the day of resurrection is not more difficult than the creation of the sky and the earth and whatever is between them, and Allah assures in the last five verses that the finality of the worldly life is to Him alone, and that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is only a warner for he who fears the arrival of the Hour.
Allah Almighty says in the first five verses (1-5) "By those who extract with violence, and by those who remove with ease, and by those who glide as if they were swimming, then those who race each other in a race, then those who manage the matter", that is, Allah wears by five kinds of Angels, as there are the angels who extract the souls of the infidels violently, the Angels who extract the souls of the believers gently, the Angels who glide as if they were swimming with the souls to the sky, the Angels who race each other with a great excel to fulfill what Allah commanded them, and then the souls of the believers ascend to Paradise while the souls of the disbelievers go to the Hellfire, and the Angels who manage the matter, as they prepare for every soul what it deserves of recompense, so the bliss will be the reward for the companions of paradise and torment will be the recompense for the companions of Hellfire.
These oaths indicate the first stage of the Hereafter, where death is the first scene of the Hereafter, because every human being will know at the time of his death his fate in the Hereafter, and the extract of the soul from his body depends on what he had done in the worldly life, so it will be difficult for the disbelievers, very easy for the believers. And the Angels will race as if they are swimming with the souls of the believers to the sky.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (6,7) "On the day, the Blast will shake, there will follow it the Subsequent", that is, the next stage of the Hereafter that man will face after the grave is the Blast (Alrajifah) followed by the Subsequent (Alradifah). Alrajefah and Alradefah refer to the two blowings of the trumpet, and Allah has stated the blowing of the trumpet in many verses of the Holy Quran and stated the two blowings in Aya (68) of Surat Alzumar saying {And the trumpet will be blown, so whoever is in the heavens, and whoever is on the earth will fall dead except whom Allah wills, then it will be blown again, so behold! they will stand up, looking around}. So it was said that the first blown is Alrajifah, and the second blown is Alradifah. The Prophet (PBUH) said in narration of Abu Hurayrah: "Between the two blowings of the trumpet there will be forty, the people said O Abu Hurayrah! forty days? I refused to replay, they said forty years? I refused to reply and added everything of the human body will decay except coccyx bone and from that bone Allah will reconstruct the whole body" (Sahih Muslim 4814).
Allah Almighty says in the next five verses (8-12) "Hearts, that day, will tremble, their eyes humbled, they say, Will we indeed be returned to the former state?, Is it when we will have turned into decayed bones?, they say, that then would be a losing return", that is, Allah describes the state of the infidels who deny the reckoning and the resurrection saying that their hearts will tremble out of fear, and their eyes will humble because what they used to deny in the worldly life has become a reality, as they deny their return to the former state after they have turned into decayed bones, and they say that if Allah should resurrect them after death, they will lose and it will be a losing return.
Allah Almighty says in the next two verses (13,14) "Indeed, it will be but one shout, and behold! They will be upon the surface of earth", that is, Allah assures those who deny the resurrection that they will be on the surface of the earth (Alsahirah) after one shout, and this will happen after the second blowing of the trumpet (Alradifah), as Allah says in Aya (51) of Surat Yaseen {And the trumpet will be blown, then behold! they will hasten from the graves to their Lord}.
Allah Almighty says in the next twelve verses (15-26) "Has there come to You the story of Moses?, when His Lord called him in the Sacred Valley of Tuwa, Go to pharaoh, indeed, he has transgressed, and Say, would you like to purify yourself, and that I guide you to your Lord, so you would fear, so He showed him the biggest sign, but he denied and disobeyed, then he turned his back, striving, and he gathered and called out, then he said, I am your lord, the most high, so Allah seized him for the deterrent punishment in the last and the first, indeed, in that there is a lesson for whoever would fear", that is, Allah cites the story of the Prophet Moses, peace be upon Him, and Pharaoh, as Allah says to His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Has there come to You the story of Moses?, and then Allah narrates His story with Pharaoh. Allah called the Prophet Moses in the sacred Valley of Tuwa in Sainai (Egypt), and commanded Him to go to Pharaoh, as he has transgressed in the lands, and to call him to purify himself from the sins that he committed, and to guide him to Allah, so he would fear Allah and fear His punishment. Allah has sent the Prophet Moses with signs which indicate the truthfulness of what He brought from His Lord, so the Prophet Moses showed him the biggest sign, and as mention (105-108) of Surat Ala'araf, the Prophet Moses showed Pharaoh His stick and His hand {So He threw His stick, then behold! It was a clear snake, and He draw out His hand, then behold! It was white for the onlookers}.
But Pharaoh denied, disobeyed and turned his back, strove and gathered his people, saying to them "I am your lord, the most high", so Allah took him with a deterrent torment for the first in teh worldly life and the last in the Hereafter, as Allah as drowned him and his people in the sea as mentioned in Aya (40) of Surat Alqasas, and on the day of resurrection, Pharaoh will precede his people and lead them into the Fire, as Allah has stated in Aya (98) of Surat Hud. And Allah says confirms that the story of Pharaoh is a lesson for whoever fears Allah, and whoever fears to face the same fate as Pharaoh.
Allah Almighty says in the next seven verses (27-33) "Are you a more difficult creation, or is the sky, He constructed it?, He has raised its ceiling, then proportioned it, and He darkened its night, and brought out its brightness, and after that, He spread the earth, and He brought out from it its water and its pasture, and He set the mountains firmly, a provision for you, and your cattle", that is, Allah marvels at the disbelievers who deny the reckoning and the resurrection, asking them Are you a more difficult creation, or is the sky?, unquestionably, the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of mankind, but most of people do not know as mentioned in Aya (57) of Surat Ghafir. Allah constructed the sky and raised its building then perfected it without pillars that we can see as mentioned in Surat Alra'd Aya (2), and He darkened its night and brought out its light. Although Allah created the earth before the sky as mentioned in Surat Albaqarah Aya (29), but He spread the earth and brought out from it its water and its pasture after the creation of the sky and then He set the mountains, then Allah says "A provision for you, and your cattle", as Allah sends down water from the sky so the earth cracks and all fruits, grain, olive, palm trees, thick trees, and green fodder come out for man and animals at the same time as mentioned in Ayat (24-32) of Surat Abasa.
Allah Almighty says in the next eight verses (34-41) "But when there comes the greatest Calamity, the day when man will remember that for which he strove, and the Hell will be exposed for those who see, so as for he who transgressed, and preferred the worldly life, then indeed, Hell will be the abode, but as for he who feared the position of his Lord, and prevented the soul from the desires, then indeed, the Paradise will be the abode", that is, Allah describes the state of man in the third stage of the Hereafter, saying But when there comes the greatest Calamity, and the Greatest Calamity (Altammatu Alkubra) is one of the names oft he day of resurrection. On the day of resurrection, man will remember all his deeds, whether it is good or evil deeds, and Hellfire will appear to people, and its inhabitants will be those who transgressed and preferred the worldly life, but those who feared the position of their Lord, and feared the standing before Him for reckoning on the day of resurrection, so they prevented themselves from committing evil deeds, and obeyed Allah in what He commanded them, then the Paradise will be their abode.
Allah Almighty says in the last five verses (42-46) "They ask You about the Hour, when is its arrival, in what are You that You should mention it?, to Your Lord is its finality, you are only a warner for those who fear it, the day they will see it, it will seem to them as if they had not remain except for an afternoon, or a morning thereof", that is, the polytheists of Quraish used to ask Allah's Messenger (PBUH) about the day of resurrection (The Hour) as a denial of it occurrence, for those who do not believe in the Hour seek to hasten it; because they ruled out its occurrence and think that it will not happen as mentioned in Aya (18) of Surat Alshura, so they asked Allah's Messenger When would the Hour take place?", thereupon, Allah said to His Messenger that its knowledge is not to Him or to any of the creation, rather its finality is to Allah, and He alone is the One who knows its time, and this is the same of Aya (187) of Surat Ala'raf {They ask You about the Hour when is its arrival?, Say its knowledge is only with My Lord, none will reveal it in its time except Him, it lays heavily upon the heavens and the earth, it will not come upon you except suddenly, they ask You as if You are knowledgeable of it, Say its knowledge is only with Allah, but most of the people do not know}. Accordingly, Allah only knows its time, so when Gabriel (the Angel) said to Allah's Messenger "Inform Me about the Hour", Allah's Messenger said to Him "The One who is asked does not know more than the One who asked" (Sahih Albukhari 50), So Allah said to His Messenger that He is only a warner for he who fears its arrival, and fears the standing before Allah, and when the Hour comes, they will feel that the worldly life was a very short period of time, and that they had not stayed in it except for an afternoon, or a morning thereof