(Revealed before Hijrah)
Date of Revelation and Context
Noldeke and Muir assign the revelation of this Surah, probably correctly, to the 4th year of the Call. Like other early Meccan Chapters, this Surah also deals with the subject of Resurrection, and as an argument in support of it, adduces the great spiritual revolution that is brought about by Divine Messengers among their peoples, especially the marvelous moral change which the Holy Prophet wrought in the lives of the degenerate and decadent Arabs. The advent of Divine Prophets has been compared in the Surah to the Day of Decision when bad men are separated from good men or, to use a beautiful metaphor, when grain becomes sifted from chaff. On that Day of Decision the guilty are punished and the righteous receive the rewards of their good deeds.
The Surah gives very apt and adequate description of the punishment-fittingly corresponding to their evil deeds-that will be meted out in the Hereafter to the defiers and violators of Divine laws, and goes on to describe the blessings and boons of Paradise which will be bestowed upon those who regulate their lives and conduct in accordance with them. In support of the doctrine of the Resurrection the Surah also alludes, quite convincingly, to the development of the sperm drop into a properly shaped human being, equipped with great natural powers-in itself a wonder of creation. Towards the end, the Surah brings home to disbelievers the untenability of their rejection of the Quranic revelation.
 بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
[77:1] In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
 وَالْمُرْسَلاَتِ عُرْفًا
[77:2] By the angels who are sent forth[3204] with goodness,
 فَالْعَاصِفَاتِ عَصْفًا
[77:3] And then they push on with a forceful pushing,[3205]
 وَالنَّاشِرَاتِ نَشْرًا
[77:4] And by the forces that spread the truth, a good spreading,[3206]
 فَالْفَارِقَاتِ فَرْقًا
[77:5] And then they distinguish[3207] fully between good and evil.
 فَالْمُلْقِيَاتِ ذِكْرًا
[77:6] Then they carry the exhortation far and wide
 عُذْرًا أَوْ نُذْرًا
[77:7] To excuse some and warn others.[3208]
 إِنَّمَا تُوعَدُونَ لَوَاقِعٌ
[77:8] Verily, that which you are promised must come to pass.
 فَإِذَا النُّجُومُ طُمِسَتْ
[77:9] So when the stars are made to lose their light,[3209]
 وَإِذَا السَّمَاءُ فُرِجَتْ
[77:10] And when the heaven is rent asunder,[3210]
 وَإِذَا الْجِبَالُ نُسِفَتْ
[77:11] And when the mountains are blown away,[3211]
 وَإِذَا الرُّسُلُ وُقِّتَتْ
[77:12] And when the Messengers are made to appear[3212] at the appointed time —
 لأَيِّ يَوْمٍ أُجِّلَتْ
[77:13] For what day has the time of these happenings been appointed?
 لِيَوْمِ الْفَصْلِ
[77:14] For the Day of Decision.
 وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا يَوْمُ الْفَصْلِ
[77:15] And what should make thee know what the Day of Decision is! —
 وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[77:16] Woe on that day unto those who reject the truth!
 أَلَمْ نُهْلِكْ الأَوَّلِينَ
[77:17] Did We not destroy the earlier peoples?
 ثُمَّ نُتْبِعُهُمْ الآخِرِينَ
[77:18] We will now cause the later ones to follow them.
 كَذَلِكَ نَفْعَلُ بِالْمُجْرِمِينَ
[77:19] Thus do We deal with the guilty.
 وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[77:20] Woe on that day unto those who reject the truth!
 أَلَمْ نَخْلُقْكُمْ مِنْ مَاءٍ مَهِينٍ
[77:21] Did We not create you from an insignificant fluid,
 فَجَعَلْنَاهُ فِي قَرَارٍ مَكِينٍ
[77:22] And We placed it in a safe place,
 إِلَى قَدَرٍ مَعْلُومٍ
[77:23] For a known measure of time?
 فَقَدَرْنَا فَنِعْمَ الْقَادِرُونَ
[77:24] Thus did We measure[3213], and how excellently do We measure!
 وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[77:25] Woe on that day unto those who reject the truth!
 أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ الأَرْضَ كِفَاتًا
[77:26] Have We not made the earth so as to hold
 أَحْيَاءً وَأَمْوَاتًا
[77:27] The living and the dead?[3214]
 وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ شَامِخَاتٍ وَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمْ مَاءً فُرَاتًا
[77:28] And We placed thereon high mountains, and gave you sweet water to drink.[3215]
 وَيْلٌ يوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[77:29] Woe on that day unto those who reject the truth!
 انطَلِقُوا إِلَى مَا كُنتُمْ بِهِ تُكَذِّبُونَ
[77:30] ‘Now move on towards that which you treated as a lie,
 انطَلِقُوا إِلَى ظِلٍّ ذِي ثَلاَثِ شُعَبٍ
[77:31] ‘Aye, move on towards a shadow which has three sections,[3216]
 لاَ ظَلِيلٍ وَلاَ يُغْنِي مِنْ اللَّهَبِ
[77:32] ‘Neither affording shade, nor protecting from the flame.’[3217]
 إِنَّهَا تَرْمِي بِشَرَرٍ كَالْقَصْرِ
[77:33] It throws up sparks like huge castles,[3218]
 كَأَنَّهُ جِمَالَةٌ صُفْرٌ
[77:34] As if they were camels of dim colour.[3218A]
 وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[77:35] Woe on that day unto those who reject the truth!
 هَذَا يَوْمُ لاَ يَنطِقُونَ
[77:36] This is a day when they shall not be able to speak;[3219]
 وَلاَ يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ
[77:37] Nor shall they be permitted to offer excuses.[3220]
 وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[77:38] Woe on that day unto those who reject the truth!
 هَذَا يَوْمُ الْفَصْلِ جَمَعْنَاكُمْ وَالأَوَّلِينَ
[77:39] ‘This is the Day of Decision; We have gathered you and all the earlier peoples together.
 فَإِنْ كَانَ لَكُمْ كَيْدٌ فَكِيدُونِ
[77:40] ‘If now you have any stratagem, use it against Me.’[3221]
 وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[77:41] Woe on that day unto those who reject the truth!
 إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي ظِلاَلٍ وَعُيُونٍ
[77:42] The righteous will be in the midst of shades and springs,
 وَفَوَاكِهَ مِمَّا يَشْتَهُونَ
[77:43] And fruits, such as they will desire.
 كُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا هَنِيئًا بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
[77:44] ‘Eat and drink pleasantly as a reward for what you did.’
 إِنَّا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنينَ
[77:45] Thus surely do We reward those who do good.
 وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[77:46] Woe on that day unto those who reject the truth!
 كُلُوا وَتَمَتَّعُوا قَلِيلاً إِنَّكُمْ مُجْرِمُونَ
[77:47] ‘Eat and enjoy yourselves a little while in this world, O rejectors of truth; surely you are the guilty ones.’
 وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[77:48] Woe on that day unto those who reject the truth!
 وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ ارْكَعُوا لاَ يَرْكَعُونَ
[77:49] And when it is said unto them, ‘Bow down,’ they do not bow down.
 وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
[77:50] Woe on that day unto those who reject the truth!
 فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ
[77:51] In which word then[3222], after this, will they believe?
3204. The things, agencies or beings, mentioned in this and the following four verses; have been taken by various authorities to refer to winds; angels; God's Messengers and their followers; and particularly and very appropriately, to the Companions of the Holy Prophet. As referring to the Companions of the Holy Prophet the verse would mean that in the beginning the Companions of the Holy Prophet would spread the Message of Islam slowly and gently.
3205. After the initial difficulties in the work of the preaching having been overcome, the Companions of the Holy Prophet would proceed much faster and carry on the Message of Islam with greater vigour; or; the verse may mean that with the help of the Quranic teaching, they would scatter before them falsehood and the forces of evil as broken straw is carried before the wind.
3206. They would proclaim and spread the Message of Truth far and wide; or scatter the seeds of goodness everywhere.
3207. With the dissemination of the Quranic Message, Truth will become distinguished from falsehood and good men from bad men.
3208. The verse signifies that the fact will become established that they had conveyed and fully discharged the duty entrusted to them.
3209. The verse means, when diverse calamities are about to befall people. The Arabs regarded the disappearance of stars as a sign of impending calamities.
3210. When great calamities and miseries come upon the world.
3211. When great changes take place, or when powerful and influential men are laid low; or when old and time-honoured institutions are destroyed, root and branch. In short, when the whole corrupt order dies out.
3212. When a great Heavenly Reformer will appear with the power and spirit of God's Messengers, clad, as it were, in the mantles of all of them.
3213. This and the preceding three verses refer to the extremely subtle process of the development of sperm-drop in the womb, into a full-fledged human being, which indeed is a marvel of creation. This process of creation is advanced as an argument in support of the Resurrection, for there exists a beautiful parallelism between the two, the mother's womb being likened to man's life on earth and his birth to Resurrection.
3214. All mortals live on earth, and when they are dead, their remains, in one form or other, abide in the earth. The verse may also refer to the law of gravitation or to earth's motion on its axis or round the sun. The word Kifat, may also signify that all the physical needs of man have been met in the earth.
3215. Mountains serve as great natural reservoirs of water.
3216. The wrong beliefs, foolish usages and practices, of disbelievers will take the form of three-pronged shadow in the next world. Or, according to Ibn 'Abbas the reference is to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Or, the verse may mean that disbelievers will be punished from the right, the left and from above. Moreover, teachers of moral wisdom point to three factors which operate against the development of proper awareness of one's duties-lack of sensitivity, lack of thought and lack of judgment. Similarly, three factors are said to operate against moral impulses having their course-fear, arrogance and sensual desires. In the language of psychology we could say that three factors are responsible for sending a man to Hell-errors of perception and reasoning, delinquencies of sex and weaknesses of will.
3217. See 56:43-45.
3218. As disbelievers sought ease and comfort and took pride in castles and stately buildings, their sins and transgressions will take the form of flames of fire rising high like huge castles.
3218A. The Arabs took pride in their camels which formed their greatest source of wealth.
3219. see 2457.
3220. The guilt of disbelievers having been fully established, they will not be allowed to offer any excuse or explanation.
3221. The Holy Prophet's enemies have been challenged to do their worst against him.
3222. As these ill-fated disbelievers have refused to accept such an infallible Book as the Qur'an, they will never listen to Truth and find the right path.
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