I need not swear by the Day of Resurrection and I need not swear by the self reproaching soul! Does man think that We will not put his bones together again! Yes, indeed! We are able to put in perfect order his very fingertips! Yet man wants to deny what lies ahead of him.

He asks: 'When will this Day of Resurrection be!' When the sight is dazzled and the moon eclipsed, when the sun and the moon are brought together, on that day man will say: 'Where to flee!'But no! There is no refuge. On that day, to your Lord all shall return. Man will be told on that day all that he put forward and all that he put back. Man will be a witness against himself, even though he may put up his excuses.

(Verses 1-15)

The surah starts with a reference to making an oath, but then decides not to make it. This has a deeper effect than a straightforward oath, and this is what is intended. Indeed, a more literal rendering would be: ‘I do not swear by...’ When this has been stated, the truths of the resurrection and self-reproaching soul appear in view.

There is much discussion of resurrection in the surah. As for the self reproaching soul, various reports explain this. Al-Hasan al-Basri says:

“You will always find a believer questioning himself: ‘What did I mean by this word? What did I eat this food for? What do I mean by speaking to myself thus?’ A transgressor will go on never blaming himself.” Al- Hasan says: “Every single soul in the heavens and earth will be blaming himself on the Day of Judgement.” Tkrimah says: “It is the soul that blames itself for good and bad things, saying: if only I did this or that.” Sa‘id ibn Jubayr said the same. Ibn ‘Abbas says: “It is always blaming.” He also says: “It is often blaming, much criticized.” Mujahid says: “It regrets what has passed and blames for it.” Qatadah says: “It is the one tending towards evil.” Jarir says: “All these definitions are in practically the same vein. However, what is closer to the apparent meaning of the Quranic statement is to say that it is the soul that blames a person for whatever he does, good or bad, and regrets what has passed.” For our self, we prefer the first definition stated by al-Hasan al-Basri.

Such a pious, self-reproaching soul, one that fears God’s punishment, and is always cautious, looking around, reviewing its actions, identifying what it desires, making sure not to cheat itself, is certainly so honoured by God as to warrant mention alongside the Day of Resurrection. It is the opposite of the soul of one who wants to indulge in sin undeterred; who lies, turns away from the truth and then returns to his people full of arrogance, never taking stock of his actions and paying no heed to the truth.

“I need not swear by the Day of Resurrection and I need not swear by the self reproaching soul!” (Verses 1-2) What is at the centre of this opening is the arrival of the Day of Resurrection, but when the oath is left aside, the surah does not mention the subject of that oath further. Instead, it picks it up in another form, as if to start a discourse having alerted our minds to it with this clear opening: “Does man think that We will not put his bones together again? Yes, indeed! We are able to put in perfect order his very fingertips!” (Verses 3-4)

Then come the four verses giving the Prophet special instruction as regards the way he received Qur’anic revelations:

Do not move your tongue repeating its words in haste. We shall see to its collection and recitation. When We recite it, follow its recitation.

Then it will be for Us to make its meaning clear. (Verses 16-19)

In addition to what we have already said about these four verses in the Prologue, we note that God takes all responsibility for the Qur’an:

its revelation, preservation, collection and explanation. All this is undertaken by none other than God Almighty. The Prophet’s role is no more than to receive and deliver it. We also note here how the Prophet was so eager and keen to fully understand what was being revealed to him, taking it most seriously, fearing to forget a phrase or a word.

Hence why he repeated the words after the Angel Gabriel recited them to him, to make sure that he had not omitted any of it. The fact that this is recorded in the Qur’an itself further emphasizes what we have just said.

The surah now reminds the unbelievers of their love of this present world, which is their main concern, and their disregard of the hereafter.

It shows them the state in which they will end up in the life to come in a highly inspiring image:

Yet you love this fleeting life, and give no thought to the life to come.

Some faces will on that day be radiant with happiness, looking towards their Lord; and some faces will on that day be overcast with despair, re alizing that a great calamity is about to befall them. (Verses 20-25)

The first thing we notice, which adds to the harmony of style, is that this life is described at this point as ‘fleeting. This not only stresses the short duration of this present life, which is the intended meaning, but also provides an element of harmony between these connotations and those of the preceding verses speaking of the Prophet as he repeated the words of the Qur’an. In both, haste is a common feature. It also appears to be a feature of mankind in this present world.

These last quoted verses paint two contrasting images: “Some faces will on that day be radiant with happiness, looking towards their Lord.” (Verses 22-23) This is a very quick reference to a situation no words can describe and no imagination can fully understand. Those people are promised a kind of happiness that is unlike any other. Indeed, heaven and all the happiness it includes appear too small by comparison. These beaming faces are so radiant with happiness because they are looking towards their Lord! They are looking towards God! How sublime! What pure, perfect and absolute happiness! Sometimes man’s soul looks briefly at an aspect of beauty God has placed in the universe or within man. It may see this in the full moon, the still night, the breaking dawn, the stretching shadow, the bustling sea, the endless desert, the blossoming garden, the happy face, the noble heart, the unshakable faith, the unwavering patience or many other manifestations of beauty in this world. Looking at such beauty, man feels ecstatic, flowing with happiness, flying into a world of light and purity.

All adversity seems to shrink and disappear. So how will man’s soul feel when he looks, not at the beauty of God’s creation, but at God’s own beauty? This is a position that needs both help and reassurance from God so that man can steady himself and begin to enjoy such indescribable happiness: “Some faces will on that day be radiant with happiness, looking towards their Lord.” (Verses 22-23) How could these faces be anything but radiant and beaming when they are looking towards their Lord and His beauty?

We experience a feeling of happiness that rises from our hearts and gives our faces a beaming look, simply because we see the beauty of something God has created: a bright face, a lovely flower, a spread-out wing, a noble soul or a kindly deed. What feelings, then, will overwhelm us when we look at the beauty of perfection, and when we are free of all life’s concerns that may distract us from appreciating such beauty?

The scenes painted so far of the Day of Judgement and its great upheavals and divergent fates derive their effect from the truth they represent and the Qur’an’s own powerful style, bringing them alive before us. The surah now comes closer and closer so as to present a scene of something that occurs all the time. Indeed, people encounter this most clearly at every moment in their lives. It is the scene of death that overtakes every living soul. No one can evade or escape death, which separates a person from his loved ones. Death moves along its course, uninterrupted by anything. It does not respond to an impassioned appeal, an outcry of grief, a fervent desire or a seizure of panic. It takes the most powerful giants as easily as it takes the weakest dwarfs, and overcomes tyrants in the same way as it overcomes the oppressed. Mankind have no way to prevent death, yet they do not consider the great power that deals it:

Yet when the departing soul comes up to the throat, when it is said, 'Can any charmer [do something now]?’ When he knows it is the final parting, and one leg will be joined with another, to your Lord he will on that day be driven. (Verses 26—30)

This is the scene of approaching death, presented to people by the Qur’an as if it is happening now. It comes out from within the words, just like a picture comes out of a painter’s brush.

“ Yet when the departing soul comes up to the throat(Verse 26) At this point the dying person is in his last throes, with distress all around.

Those present look everywhere, trying to think of something or some means to save the one suffering this distress: “when it is said, "Can any charmer [do something now]?”* (Verse 27) Could a charm possibly be of any use? The suffering one is writhing with pain, “and one leg will be joined with another.” (Verse 29) All means are of no use. The road ahead becomes clear; it is the road every living being will eventually have to walk: “To your Lord he will on that day be driven” (Verse 30)

The scene almost moves in front of us and almost talks. Every verse draws a movement, and the image of approaching death is clearly visible spreading impassioned feelings of loss and panic, before facing the bitter, hard truth no one can escape from. The inevitable end then clearly appears: “ To your Lord he will on that day be driven.” (Verse 30)

The curtains are drawn over this distressing scene, leaving a distinct image in our eyes, prominent feelings in our hearts and a clear sense of grimness in the air.

By contrast, we have an image of those bent on denying the truth.

They do not prepare for the inevitable end by doing something in obedience of God. Rather, they arrogantly indulge in disobedience and sin:

He neither believed nor prayed, but denied the truth and turned away, then he went back to his people full of arrogance, (Verses 31-33)

It is reported that these verses refer to a particular person, Abu Jahl ‘Amr ibn Hisham, who used to visit the Prophet sometimes and listen to the Qur’an. He would then go away, refusing to believe. In fact, he was neither polite nor fearful of God. He would continue to hurt the Prophet by what he said, and would try to turn people away from Islam. He would also take pride in such actions, treating his evil deeds as something to be proud of. The Qur’an derides his attitude. In its description of his arrogant movements, it invites the listeners’ scorn.

Yet there are many like Abu Jahl whom the message of Islam faces.

They listen but turn away. They are inventive in their opposition to the word of truth, pouring harm on its advocates, working out evil schemes and feeling proud of their evil deeds and of the corruption they spread on earth. Hence, the Qur’an issues a clear threat to such people:

Your doom, man, comes nearer and nearer, and ever nearer and nearer.

(Verses 34-35)

The surah uses here an idiom, awla laka fa awla, which implies a strong threat and repeats it twice. Hence the translation expresses the implied meaning. On one occasion, the Prophet held Abu Jahl by the scruff of his neck and used this expression as it occurs in the surah. Abu Jahl said: “Are you threatening me, Muhammad? By God, neither you nor your Lord can do anything to me. I am the most powerful man ever to walk in between these hills.” When the Battle of Badr took place, God killed him by the hands of Muhammad’s followers. Before him, Pharaoh said to the chiefs of his people: “Nobles! I know of ho deity that you could have other than myself? (28: 38) He also said: “A/y people, is the kingdom of Egypt not mine, with all these rivers flowing at my feet?” (43: 51) Yet God smote him down, drowned him.

The history of the divine message is full of people who forgot God and His power, of those who feel their own power, relying on tribes, forces and authority, thinking that all these will give them protection. Then such people are taken away like a fly or a mosquito. Remember then, when the time of death comes it cannot be put forward or backward by even a fraction of a second.

As the surah draws to its conclusion, it presents another truth from this world that carries a clear pointer to God’s design of human life as also to the life to come:

Does man think that he will be left without purpose? Was he not a mere drop of emitted sperm? It then became a clinging cell mass, and then God created and shaped it, fashioning out of it the two sexes, male and female. Is He not, then, able to bring the dead back to life?

(Verses 36-40)

This last section strikes powerful notes and points to great truths, which those who were addressed by the Qur’an at the time of its revelations could never imagine. The first of these refers to the deliberate design and planning in mans life: “Does man think that he will be left without purpose?” (Verse 36) Those people used to think that life was merely a process that takes place, having neither cause nor goal.

Women get pregnant and give birth, and graves take the dead away! In between, there is nothing other than idle play, putting on some adornments, competing for good things, and enjoyment that is not much different from animals. To think that it all goes according to an elaborate law, serving a definite goal and purpose; that man’s arrival in this life is according to a deliberate will and a set plan; that it all ends with accountability and requital, and that the journey of life is a test before the final requital was far beyond people’s thoughts. Few could recognize in all this the wisdom of God, that He does everything for a clear purpose and towards a pre-willed end.

What distinguishes man from animals is man’s recognition of the link between time, events and objectives and that human life has a definite purpose linked to that of the universe around him. The greater and broader this feeling is in man’s consciousness and the more refined is his concept of the law that links things and events, the higher he rises in his humanity. Thus, he does not live his life one minute or one event after another. On the contrary, time, place, the past, present and future are all connected in his consciousness. They are all related to the existence of the great universe and its laws. These are the result of a higher will that creates, plans and designs. This higher will does not create people and leave them to a life without purpose.

The Qur’an put this profound concept in people’s minds so long ago.

It was a great departure from the concepts that prevailed at the time.

It remains greatly removed from all concepts about the universe that philosophers of olden and modern times have advanced.

“Does man think that he will be left without purpose?" (Verse 36)

This is a fine touch, which the Qur’an uses to alert the human mind to think and reflect, looking at bonds, goals, causes and effects that link his existence to that of the universe and to the will that conducts everything in that universe.

In a clear and simple manner, the surah cites clear evidence confirming that man will not be left without purpose. These are taken from mans first origins: “ Was he not a mere drop of emitted sperm? It then became a clinging cell mass, and then God created and shaped it, fashioning out of it the two sexes, male and female." (Verses 37-39) What is man? How does he come into existence? What are his origins? How does he grow into his present status? What journey did he make before arriving on this planet? Was he not a mere drop of a certain emitted fluid? Did not this one-celled drop transform into a cell mass that clung to the wall of the uterus to survive and be nourished? Who guided it to do this, and who gave it this ability?