79: 34 Then, when the Great Catastrophe comes,
79: 35 on that day man will remember what he did.
79: 36 Hell will be made visible for all who can see.
79: 37 As for him who transgressed all bounds
79: 38 and preferred the worldly life,
79: 39 then surely Hell will be his abode.
79: 40 As for him who feared standing before his Lord and restrained his soul from evil desires,
79: 41 then surely Paradise will be his abode.
79: 42 They ask you about the Hour, ‘When will be its appointed time?’
79: 43 It is not for you to mention its time.
79: 44 To your Lord belongs the utmost knowledge thereof.
79: 45 You are only the warner for him who fears it.
79: 46 The day they will see it, it will be as if they had but remained for an afternoon or the morning thereof.
Relationship with the Previous Part
The previous part refers to Allah’s ability to resurrect people for reckoning on the Day of Judgment. It points out to the fact that Allah, who created the heavens, the earth, and the mountains with their great creation, is able to resurrect people on the Day of Judgment, which is easier. Then the following part mentions some of the horrors of the Day Judgment and that people will be divided into two groups, a group whose abode will be Paradise, and a group whose abode will be Hell. Finally, surah an-Nazi’at mentions that only Allah knows when the Day of Judgment will take place and that the duty of Messenger Muhammad is only to warn people of the negative consequence of disbelief in Allah’s Oneness.
Tafsir
79: 34 Then, when the Great Catastrophe comes,
79: 35 on that day man will remember what he did.
79: 36 Hell will be made visible for all who can see.
The Great Catastrophe refers to the Day of Judgment. It is called so because its horrors overwhelm people that they cannot think about anything else but its horrors and terror.
When the Day of Judgment with its horror takes place, man will remember what he did in the worldly life, good or evil. He will remember every act he did, small or big, good or evil, and he will never forget anything of his deeds. His deeds will be recorded on a record that never omits anything. Man will realize then that he will be recompensed for all his deeds. Consequently, great fear will strike him if his deeds were evil. Then Hell will be made visible for all those who can see it.
79: 37 As for him who transgressed all bounds
79: 38 and preferred the worldly life,
79: 39 then surely Hell will be his abode.
The ayat mention the end of the followers of the path of misguidance. As for him who transgressed all bounds by disbelieving in Allah, rejecting to follow the path of guidance, and preferring the worldly life with its transient enjoyment, then his abode will surely be Hell, where he will suffer severe torment. He will remain in Hell forever experiencing its torment because he favored the impermanent enjoyment of the worldly life over the permanent reward of the Hereafter.
79: 40 As for him who feared standing before his Lord and restrained his soul from evil desires,
79: 41 then surely Paradise will be his abode.
As for him who feared Allah’s Greatness and standing before Him for reckoning on the Day of Judgment, prepared for the Day of Judgment by obeying Allah and doing righteous deeds, and restrained his soul from yielding to evil desires and disobeying Allah, then surely Paradise will be his abode, where he will enjoy permanent bliss.
79: 42 They ask you about the Hour, ‘When will be its appointed time?’
The Hour refers to the Day of Judgment. It is called so because it takes place suddenly, reckoning takes place swiftly on that day, or though the time of its occurrence seems far, it will certainly take place that people feel that they stay for a short time in the worldly life.
Mockingly, the disbelievers used to ask Messenger Muhammad about the Day of Judgment. They would ask him about the appointed time for its occurrence. They used to hear Messenger Muhammad speaking about the occurrence of the Day of Judgment and its horrors. Thus, they wanted to know when it would take place not because they wanted to believe but to ridicule him.
79: 43 It is not for you to mention its time.
79: 44 To your Lord belongs the utmost knowledge thereof.
79: 45 You are only the warner for him who fears it.
Allah, Exalted be He, told Messenger Muhammad what he should answer the disbelievers when they asked him about the occurrence of the Day of Judgment.
O Messenger Muhammad, it is not for you to mention when the Day of Judgment will take place. It is not for you to occupy yourself with asking about its appointed time. To your Lord, Allah, belongs the utmost knowledge of the appointed time for the occurrence of the Day of Judgment. Allah alone knows when it will take place. Thus, how the disbelievers ask you about its appointed time though they do so only for mocking and ridicule.
The goal behind such an answer is to reprimand the disbelievers for their insistence on asking about the appointed time for the occurrence of the Day of Judgment though it is more proper to prepare for it by believing in Allah’s Oneness and performing righteous deeds.
O Messenger Muhammad, your duty is only to warn people of the Day Judgment and its horrors so that they prepare for it.
Thus, only Allah knows the appointed time for the occurrence of the Day of Judgment. Why do the disbelievers occupy themselves with something that no human being knows and leave the most important thing, namely, being prepared for it?
The ayah mentions that warning benefits only those who fear the occurrence of the Day of Judgment because they prepare themselves for it by obeying Allah’s commands and avoiding His prohibitions, which is the only way for winning on that day.
79: 46 The day they will see it, it will be as if they had but remained for an afternoon or the morning thereof.
The ayah mentions how the conditions of the disbelievers, who disbelieve in the occurrence of the Day of Judgment, will be when it takes place.
When the Day of Judgment takes place suddenly and the disbelievers see its horrors, they will feel as if they only stayed for a very short time in the worldly life. They will feel as if they remained for an afternoon or its morning.
The goal is to emphasize that the Day of Judgment will certainly take place and that the disbelievers will see what the day they used to mock in the worldly life will come soon no matter how long it may take to occur. Indeed, the disbelievers will lose in the Hereafter and suffer lasting torment for disbelieving and mocking the permanent life in the Hereafter.
Learned Lessons from Surah an-Nazi’at Ayah 34-46
• The ayat eloquently depict the horrifying effect of the occurrence of the Day of Judgment. It is called that day the great catastrophe, which is an accurate description.
• On the Day of Judgment, man will remember all that he did in the worldly life, good or evil, and will face the results thereof, good or evil.
• On the Day of Judgment, people will be divided into two groups, namely, a group that will enter Paradise, and a group that will enter Hell.
• Hell will be the abode of those who follow the path of misguidance by disbelieving in Allah’s Oneness and disobeying His commands.
• Paradise will be the abode of those who follow the path of guidance by believing in Allah’s Oneness, obeying His commands, and avoiding His prohibitions.
• The disbelievers’ questioning about the time of the occurrence of the Day of Judgment was for the sake of mocking and ridiculing, not for the sake of being prepared for it.
• Only Allah knows when the Day of Judgment will take place. People should not occupy themselves with asking about its time; rather, they should occupy themselves with performing righteous deeds that will save them from Hell by Allah’s will and mercy.
• No matter how long the duration of the worldly life seems long, it is short. On the Day of Judgment, the disbelievers will realize that their stay in the worldly life was very short because of the great horrors they will be experiencing.
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