This article mentions a clear English explanation of surah An-Nazi’at from ayah 1 to 14.
79: 1 By those that pluck out vehemently,
79: 2 by those that take out briskly,
79: 3 by those that glide swiftly,
79: 4 by those that outstrip greatly,
79: 5 and by those that carry out the commands.
79: 6 On the day the quaking blow shakes
79: 7 and then the succeeding blow follows it,
79: 8 some hearts will be trembling then.
79: 9 Their eyes will be humbled.
79: 10 They say, ‘Will we really be restored to our former state
79: 11 even after we become crumbled bones?’
79: 12 They say, ‘That then would be a losing return.’
79: 13 But it will be only a single cry
79: 14 and then they will be above the ground.
Tafsir
79: 1 By those that pluck out vehemently,
‘Wa’ translated to ‘by’ in ayah 1-5 indicates oath, namely, I swear by these creatures that you will certainly be resurrected for reckoning on the Day of Judgment.
The scholars differ about the meaning of ‘those that pluck out.’ These are their opinions. 1) They are the angles, who violently pluck out the souls of the disbelievers. 2) It refers to death as it plucks out the souls of human beings. 3) It refers to the souls at the time of death. 4) It refers to the stars as they set in a particular horizon and then shine in another one. 5) It refers to the arrows when they are pulled out of the bow. 6) It refers to wild animals as they move violently. 7) It refers to archers when they shoot arrows using bows [Zad al-Masyr fi Ilm at-Tafsir, ibn al-Jawzi].
After mentioning the opinions of the scholars, Imam Muhammad bin Jarir at-Tabari said, ‘The correct opinion is that Allah, Exalted be He, swears by those that pluck out vehemently and He does not specify a particular thing. Thus, the meaning includes whatever thing it may imply whether angels, death, a star, a bow, etc[Tafsir at-Tabari].’
The meaning of the ayah will be as follows: I swear by the angels that pluck out the souls of the disbelievers vehemently.
79: 2 by those that take out briskly,
The scholars have these opinions about the meaning of those that take out briskly: 1) It refers to the angels. 2) It refers to the believers’ souls that come out of their bodies briskly at the time of death. 3) It refers to death as it takes out the soul from the body. 4) It refers to the stars when they move from a particular horizon to another one. 5) It refers to the souls as they become active at the time of death [Zad al-Masyr fi Ilm at-Tafsir, ibn al-Jawzi].
After mentioning the opinions of the scholars, Imam Muhammad bin Jarir at-Tabari said, ‘The correct opinion is that Allah swears by those that take out gently and move from a place to another one swiftly. Allah does not specify a particular thing. Thus, the meaning includes whatever thing that it may imply whether the angels that move from one place to another one swiftly, the death, the stars, etc[Tafsir at-Tabari].
‘An-nashitat’ translated into ‘those that take out gently’ is used in the Arabic version. Nashat means to do something briskly and swiftly. Thus, the meaning of the ayah will be as follows: I swear by the angels that take out the souls of the believers briskly and easily, giving them the good news of the reward that Allah has prepared for them in the Hereafter.
79: 3 by those that glide swiftly,
I swear by those that glide swiftly in this universe to implement Allah’s commands and glorify, praise, and extol Him.
The scholars mention these meanings for those that glide swiftly. 1) It refers to the angels that glide swiftly when they take out the believers’ souls like a swimmer, who glides gracefully in water. 2) It refers to the angels as they come down from heaven swiftly. 3) It refers to death as it glides in the souls of human beings. 4) It refers to ships that glide swiftly in water. 5) It refers to the stars, the sun, and the moon as they move in their orbit. 6) It refers to horses[Zad al-Masyr fi Ilm at-Tafsir, ibn al-Jawzi]. Imam Muhammad bin Jarir at-Tabari maintains that Allah swears by those that glide swiftly and He does not specify a particular thing. Thus, it may refer to everything that glides swiftly[Tafsir at-Tabari].
79: 4 by those that outstrip greatly,
I swear by the angels that outstrip greatly other creatures to implement Allah’s commands. Those that outstrip greatly may refer to the following meanings: 1) It refers to the angels as they outstrip the devils when they convey Allah’s revelation to Allah’s Prophets, or as they take the believers’ souls to Paradise. 2) It refers to the believers’ souls that outstrip the angels because they long to meet Allah. 3) It refers to death as it takes the souls out of people’s bodies swiftly. 4) It refers to horses. 5) It refers to the stars as they outstrip one another[Zad al-Masyr fi Ilm at-Tafsir, ibn al-Jawzi].
79: 5 and by those that carry out the commands.
I swear by the angels that carry out Allah’s commands and manage the affairs of the creatures as Allah commands them.
Allah, Exalted be He, swears by whatever He wants of His creatures, but the created beings are forbidden to swear by anything other than Allah. Whoever swears by anything other than Allah commits a grave sin.
The thing that Allah swears for is omitted, namely, Allah swears that all creatures will be resurrected for reckoning on the Day of Judgment when the first cry takes place and the earth will be shaken and then the second cry follows it.
79: 6 On the day the quaking blow shakes
79: 7 and then the succeeding blow follows it,
On the Day of Judgment, the first cry will be blown. Thus, the earth will shake and this universe will become in a state of chaos. Then, all creatures will die. Then, the second cry, which follows the first one, will be blown. Thus, all creatures will be resurrected by Allah’s permission.
79: 8 some hearts will be trembling then.
79: 9 Their eyes will be humbled.
When the Day of Judgment takes place, the hearts of some people will be trembling because of the horrors of this day. Their eyes will be humbled because of the great fear they will be experiencing. The hearts that will be frightened are the hearts of the disbelievers. They deny the occurrence of the Day of Judgment in the worldly life. Thus, when they are resurrected, they will suffer great fear and horror. On the other hand, the believers’ hearts will be assured and will not suffer any fear because they believe in Allah, His Messengers, and the occurrence of the Day of Judgment. This is mentioned in surah al-Nabiya’ [103] [The Great Horror will cause them no grief and the angels will meet them saying, ‘This is your day that you were promised.’]
79: 10 They say, ‘Will we really be restored to our former state
79: 11 even after we become crumbled bones?’
79: 12 They say, ‘That then would be a losing return.’
Because the disbelievers deny the occurrence of the Day of Judgment in the worldly life, they mockingly say, ‘Will we really be restored to life after we die and become crumbled bones in our graves? If this happens, it would be a losing return because we disbelieve in the Messenger of Allah and we shall suffer from the torment that he warned us of.’
79: 13 But it will be only a single cry
79: 14 and then they will be above the ground.
The disbelievers have received a decisive response that would make them speechless. O disbelievers, the matter is not as you claim that there will be no resurrection and no reckoning on the Day of Judgment. The resurrection shall certainly take place and you will be returned to life after death for reckoning. It will happen after only a single cry and then you will be alive, come out of your graves, and be above the ground where Allah will gather all creatures for reckoning. Indeed, the resurrection is easy for Allah and it will happen immediately after the angel blows the first cry that will cause all creatures to die, and then the second blow that will cause all creatures to return to life will be blown. Verily, nothing is difficult for Allah, the Able. When He wants something to happen, He just says, ‘be’ and it takes place.
Learned Lessons from Surah an-Nazi’at Ayah 1-14
• Allah has sworn by the angels, who perform different duties, that the Day of Judgment will certainly take place. Allah has the right to swear by whatever of His creatures He wants, but human beings are forbidden to swear by anything other than Allah.
• The universe will completely be changed when the Day of Judgment takes place. The earth will quake, the mountains will be moved from their places, and all that on earth will die after the first cry is blown. Then all creatures will be returned to life after the second cry is blown.
• The disbelievers, who deny the occurrence of the Day of Judgment in the worldly life, will suffer great horror when the Day of Judgment takes place. Their hearts will be terrified and their eyes will be humble because of the great terror they will be experiencing.
• In the worldly life, the disbelievers think that the occurrence of the Day of Judgment is impossible. They cannot imagine that they will be alive after death and becoming crumbled bones. Thus, they ridicule the fact that the Day of Judgment will happen. However, nothing is impossible for Allah, the Able. Everything is easy for Allah. The Day of Judgment will take place after just a single cry that will cause all living beings to die. Then after the second cry is blown, all creatures will be alive above the ground for reckoning.
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