75:1. Verily I swear by the Day of Resurrection,

75:2. and verily I swear by the self-reproaching soul,

75:3. does man think that We will not reassemble his bones?

75:4. Indeed We are able to perfectly restore his fingertips.

75:5. But man desires to persist in his evil ways,

75:6. and asks [derisively]: When will this Day of Resurrection be?

﴾Verily I swear by the Day of Resurrection jj - what is sworn by here is the same as that to which the oath attests, namely the resurrection after death and the rising of people from their graves.then their standing and waiting for the Lord’s judgement concerning them.

﴾and verily I swear by the self-reproaching soul﴿ - this refers to all souls, both good and wicked. The soul is described as self-reproaching because it hesitates a great deal and reproaches itself, and it does not remain steady in any condition. And at the time of death, the soul begins to reproach the person for what he has done; even the believer’s soul will reproach him for what he did in this world of being negligent and falling short in some duties, or becoming heedless.

The oath sworn by the requital, to confirm that the requital will indeed take place, is combined with mention of the one who will deserve requital on the Day of Resurrection. Then Allah tells us that, despite this, some stubborn people deny the Day of Resurrection, as He says:

﴾does man think that We will not reassemble his bones﴿9 after death? This is like what Allah says elsewhere:

﴾f...He says: Who can give life to bones that have crumbled to dust?﴿

In his ignorance and enmity, man thinks it unlikely that Allah is able to recreate his bones, which are the framework that support his body. Allah responds to him by saying:

﴾Indeed We are able to perfectly restore his fingertips﴿ that is, the ends of his fingers and his bones, which implies the recreation of all parts of the body, because once the fingertips are there, then the physical creation of the body is complete.

Man’s denial of the power of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is not due to any lack of evidence to that effect; rather he took this stance because his intention is to deny what lies ahead of him of the resurrection.

Then Allah tells us of what will happen on the Day of Resurrection:

75:7. So when the eyes stare fixedly,

75:8. and the moon loses its light,

75:9. and the sun and moon are brought together,

75:10. on that day man will say: Where shall I flee?

75:11. Nay, there is no refuge!

75:12. On that day the final destination will be with your Lord.

75:13. On that day man will be informed of what he sent on ahead and left behind.

75:14. Indeed man is well aware of what he is doing,

75:15. even though he may offer his excuses [to justify his deeds].

﴾So when the eyes stare fixedly﴿ that is, when the resurrection comes, the eyes will stare fixedly in great horror, without blinking. This is like the passage in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾...He is only giving them respite until a day when the eyes will stare fixedly [in horror]. They will rush headlong, heads raised, eyes unblinking and hearts void.﴿) (Ibraheem 14: 42-43)

﴾and the moon loses its light﴿) that is, its light and its dominance disappear, c-jand the sun and moon are brought together﴿) although they have never been brought together since Allah created them. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will bring them together on the Day of Resurrection, and the moon will lose its light and the sun will cease to shine. Then they will be thrown into the fire, so that people will see that they are subject to Allah’sdominion, and so that those who used to worship them will see that they were wrong.

f﴾on that day man will say﴿, when he sees that great upheaval: ﴾Where shall I flee?'p That is, where can I run to and escape from what has befallen us?

﴾Nay, there is no refuge﴿ that is, there is no place for anyone to turn to except to Allah.

﴾On that day the final destination will be with your Lord﴿ for all people. No one will be able to hide himself or flee from that place; rather each one will inevitably be stopped so that he may be requited for his deeds. Hence Allah says:

﴾On that day man will be informed of what he sent on ahead and left behind﴿ that is, all his deeds both good and bad, from the beginning of his life until the end, and he will be informed about something that he cannot deny.

﴾Indeed man is well aware of what he is doing﴿ that is, he is witness to it and knows the consequences thereof.

)﴾even though he may offer his excuses [to justify his deeds]﴿; those excuses will not be accepted when a person is confronted with his deeds and will admit them. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾f[It will be said to him:] Read your own record; sufficient is your own soul as a reckoner against you this day.﴿ (al-Ism' 17: 14)

Even if he does deny or give an excuse for what he did, his denial and excuse will not benefit him in the slightest, for his own hearing and vision, and all his faculties, will testify against him and tell of what he used to do. The time for rebuke will be over and it will be of no benefit.

﴾On that day, no excuse will benefit those who did wrong, nor will they be allowed to make amends.﴿ (ar-Room 30: 37)

75:16. Do not move your tongue [O Prophet] in haste to repeat and memorise this revelation.

75:17. Verily it is incumbent upon Us to enable you to memorise it and enable you to recite it.

75:18. So when We recite it [through Jibreel], follow its recitation attentively.

75:19. Then it is incumbent upon Us to make its meanings clear.

When Jibreel brought the revelation to him and began to recite it to him, the Prophet (ﷺ) would hasten to recite it - out of eagerness - before Jibreel had finished reciting, and would recite it along with him. But Allah told him not to do that, and said: e[.. .Do not hasten to repeat [the newly-revealed verses of] the Qur’an before its revelation to you is completed... ﴿) (7a Ha 20: 114)

And here Allah says: ﴾Do not move your tongue [O Prophet] in haste to repeat and memorise this revelation]-﴿.

Then He guaranteed that He would inevitably enable him to memorise it and recite it, and that Allah would enable him to learn it by heart, as He said:

﴾Verily it is incumbent upon Us to enable you to memorise it and enable you to recite it﴿. The reason for the eagerness in your heart is your concern that you may miss it or forget it, but if Allah guarantees it for you, then there is no need for that.

﴾So when We recite it [through Jibreel], follow its recitation attentively﴿ then when Jibreel has completed the recitation of what Allah has revealed to you, follow what he recites.

﴾Then it is incumbent upon Us to make its meanings clear﴿ that is, to explain its meanings. Thus Allah promised him that He would preserve its wording and preserve its meanings, and this is the highest level of preservation. So the Prophet (ﷺ) complied with the etiquette enjoined by his Lord. When Jibreel recited Qur’an to him after that, he would listen attentively, then when he had finished, he would recite it.

This verse highlights the etiquette of receiving knowledge; the learner should not hasten to ask questions before the teacher has finished explaining the issue that he started discussing. Then when he has finished, the learner may ask about anything he did not understand.

Similarly, if there is something at the beginning that needs to be questioned or approved, one should not hasten to either question it or accept it, until the speaker has finished speaking, so that it may become clear what his words contain of truth or falsehood, and so that the listener may understand it in such a way that he can comment on it.

This verse also highlights the fact that just as the Prophet (ﷺ) explained to his Ummah how to recite the words of the Qur’an, he also explained its meanings to them.

75:20. Nay, but you [O people] love this present life,

75:21. and are heedless of the hereafter.

75:22. On that day, some faces will be radiant,

75:23. gazing upon their Lord.

75:24. And on that day, some faces will be gloomy,

75:25. knowing that a great calamity is about to befall them.

That is, what has made you negligent and caused you to turn away from the admonition and reminder of Allah is the fact that you (flove this present life﴿ and are striving for worldly gains, pleasures and desires, and you are giving it precedence over the hereafter. So you are failing to strive for the hereafter, because the delights and pleasures of this world are immediate, and man is fond of that which is immediate, whereas the eternal bliss of the hereafter is deferred. It is for this reason that you are negligent about the hereafter, and you ignore it as if you were not created for it, and as if this worldly realm were the eternal realm for the sake of which you are spending your precious lives and striving for it night and day. Thus facts are turned upside down, which results in loss.

If you gave precedence to the hereafter over this world, and looked at the consequences of things with insight and wisdom, you would have prospered and made gains with no loss, and you would have triumphed in a way that is untainted by misery.

Then Allah mentions that which prompts one to give precedence to the hereafter, by explaining the various states in which people will find themselves. He says concerning the reward of those who gave precedence to the hereafter over this world:

﴾On that day, some faces will be radiant﴿ that is, they will be beautiful, beaming brightly and filled with light, because of the joy and delight in their hearts and souls.

﴾gazing upon their Lord﴿ that is, looking at their Lord, according to their status:

Some of them will gaze upon Him every day, morning and afternoon; some will gaze upon Him once every week. Thus they will have the joy of gazing upon His noble Countenance and astounding beauty, for there is nothing like unto Him. When they see Him, they will forget the state of bliss in which they are, and they will attain inexpressible joy and happiness. Their faces will be radiant and willincrease in beauty. We ask Allah, the Most Generous, to make us among them.

And Allah says concerning those who give precedence to this world over the hereafter:

﴾And on that day, some faces will be gloomy'﴿ that is, frowning and scowling, utterly humiliated

﴾knowing that a great calamity﴿ that is, a severe and painful punishment ﴾is about to befall them﴿, and this is why their faces have changed and they are frowning.

75:26. Indeed, when [the departing soul] reaches the throat,

75:27. and it is said: Is there any healer [who could save him now]?

75:28. - and [the dying person] realises that it is his final departure,

75:29. and agony is heaped on agony;^{1That is, the agony and distress of departing this world is combined with the agony and fear of entering the hereafter.}

75:30. on that day, he will be driven unto your Lord.

75:31. He neither believed nor prayed;

75:32. rather he denied and turned away,

75:33. and went swaggering back to his family.

75:34. Woe to you [O man], and again woe!

75:35. Then woe to you, and again woe!

75:36. Does man think that he will be left unchecked?

75:37. Was he not a drop of semen emitted,

75:38. then he became a clinging clot, then Allah formed him and fashioned him,

75:39. and made from him the two genders, male and female?

75:40. Is not He Who has done that able to bring the dead to life?

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) admonishes His slave and reminds him of the situation of the dying person: when his soul reaches his throat, at that point he will be in great distress and will seek every means that he thinks will help him to attain healing and relief.

Hence Allah says: ﴾and it is said: Is there any healer [who could save him now]?﴿ That is, anyone who could perform ruqyah, because they have lost all hope of regular ways of healing, so there is nothing left but to pursue divine means. But when the divine will and decree comes, it cannot be put back.

﴾and [the dying person] realises that it is his final departure﴿ from this world,

﴾and agony is heaped on agony﴿ that is, hardships come one after another and are heaped up on one another, and the matter becomes serious and his distress becomes immense, and the soul that is used to being in the physical body is meant to depart, but it is still with it, and soon it will be driven to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) so that He may requite it for its deeds and make it admit its misdeeds.

But the stubborn person who does not benefit from the revelations will still persist in his transgression, disbelief and obstinacy.

s(He neither believed﴿ that is, he did not believe in Allah, His angels. His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and the divine decree, both good and bad.﴾nor prayed; rather he denied﴿ the truth ﴾fand turned away﴿ from the divine commands and prohibitions, at the time when he was at ease with himself and did not fear his Lord; rather he ﴾went swaggering back to his family;﴿, not caring about anything.

Allah warns him by saying: Woe to you [O man], and again woe! Then woe to you, and again woe!﴿ This is a repeated threat.

Then He reminds him of his original creation, as He says:

﴾Does man think that he will be left unchecked﴿ that is, left alone, with no commands and prohibitions, and no reward or punishment?

This is wrong thinking, and is thinking of Allah in terms that are not appropriate to His wisdom.

SjWas he not a drop of semen emitted, then﴿ after having been a drop of semen, ﴾he became a clinging clot﴿ of blood, ﴾then Allah formed him﴿ from the clot, making him a living being, and fashioned him properly, ﴾and made from him the two genders, male and female? Is not He Who has done that﴿ namely creating man and causing him to go through these stages of development ﴾able to bring the dead to life?﴿ Indeed He is able to do all things.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat al-Qiyamah.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah he upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.