(Revealed before Hijrah)
Date of Revelation and Context
The Surah is entitled Al-Naba' because it deals with subjects of exceptional importance i.e., certainty of Resurrection, predominance of the Qur'an over all other revealed Scriptures, and of Islam over all other Faiths. The Day of Decision, i.e., the day when this Quranic claim will become an established fact, is mentioned twice in the preceding Surah and is repeated here. According to Muslim Commentators the Surah was revealed very early in the Holy Prophet's ministry at Mecca. Noldeke agrees with this Muslim scholarly opinion. It opens with enumerating the great Divine gifts bestowed upon man, and directs his attention to the implied suggestions that he has been placed upon this earth to serve a certain object and his life here is the seed-bed of an eternal future and it will be followed by a Day of Reckoning.
The Surah then gives a brief but an awe-inspiring picture of that Day, and a graphic description of the heavenly blessings that await the righteous and of the terrible punishment which will be meted out to the rejectors of Truth in this life and in the next.
 بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
[78:1] In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
 عَمَّ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ
[78:2] About what do they question one another?
 عَنْ النَّبَإِ الْعَظِيمِ
[78:3] About the great Event,[3223]
 الَّذِي هُمْ فِيهِ مُخْتَلِفُونَ
[78:4] Concerning which they differ.[3224]
 كَلاَّ سَيَعْلَمُونَ
[78:5] Nay, soon they will come to know.
 ثُمَّ كَلاَّ سَيَعْلَمُونَ
[78:6] Nay, We say it again, they will soon come to know.
 أَلَمْ نَجْعَلِ الأَرْضَ مِهَادًا
[78:7] Have We not made the earth a bed,
 وَالْجِبَالَ أَوْتَادًا
[78:8] And the mountains as pegs?
 وَخَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا
[78:9] And We have created you in pairs,
 وَجَعَلْنَا نَوْمَكُمْ سُبَاتًا
[78:10] And We have made your sleep for rest,
 وَجَعَلْنَا اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا
[78:11] And We have made the night as a covering,
 وَجَعَلْنَا النَّهَارَ مَعَاشًا
[78:12] And We have made the day for the activities of life.
 وَبَنَيْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعًا شِدَادًا
[78:13] And We have built over you seven strong heavens;[3225]
 وَجَعَلْنَا سِرَاجًا وَهَّاجًا
[78:14] And We have made the sun a bright lamp.
 وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا
[78:15] And We send down from the dripping clouds water pouring forth abundantly,
 لِنُخْرِجَ بِهِ حَبًّا وَنَبَاتًا
[78:16] That We may bring forth thereby grain and vegetation,
 وَجَنَّاتٍ أَلْفَافًا
[78:17] And gardens of luxuriant growth.[3226]
 إِنَّ يَوْمَ الْفَصْلِ كَانَ مِيقَاتًا
[78:18] Surely, the Day of Decision has an appointed time:
 يَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ فَتَأْتُونَ أَفْوَاجًا
[78:19] The day when the trumpet will be blown; and you will come in large groups;[3227]
 وَفُتِحَتِ السَّمَاءُ فَكَانَتْ أَبْوَابًا
[78:20] And the heaven shall be opened and shall become all doors;[3228]
 وَسُيِّرَتِ الْجِبَالُ فَكَانَتْ سَرَابًا
[78:21] And the mountains shall be made to move and shall become as if they were a mirage.[3229]
 إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ كَانَتْ مِرْصَادًا
[78:22] Surely Hell lies in ambush,
 لِلْطَّاغِينَ مَآبًا
[78:23] A home for the rebellious,
 لاَبِثِينَ فِيهَا أَحْقَابًا
[78:24] Who will tarry therein for ages.
 لاَ يَذُوقُونَ فِيهَا بَرْدًا وَلاَ شَرَابًا
[78:25] They will taste therein neither sleep[3230] nor drink,
 إِلاَّ حَمِيمًا وَغَسَّاقًا
[78:26] Save boiling water and a stinking fluid[3230A] —
 جَزَاءً وِفَاقًا
[78:27] A meet requital.
 إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا لاَ يَرْجُونَ حِسَابًا
[78:28] Verily, they feared not the reckoning,
 وَكَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا كِذَّابًا
[78:29] And rejected Our Signs totally.
 وَكُلَّ شَيْءٍ أَحْصَيْنَاهُ كِتَابًا
[78:30] And every thing have We recorded in a Book.[3231]
 فَذُوقُوا فَلَنْ نَزِيدَكُمْ إِلاَّ عَذَابًا
[78:31] ‘Taste ye therefore the punishment: We will give you no increase except in torment.’
 إِنَّ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ مَفَازًا
[78:32] Verily, for the righteous is a triumph:
 حَدَائِقَ وَأَعْنَابًا
[78:33] Walled gardens and grape-vines,[3232]
 وَكَوَاعِبَ أَتْرَابًا
[78:34] And young maidens of equal age,[3233]
 وَكَأْسًا دِهَاقًا
[78:35] And overflowing cups.[3234]
 لاَ يَسْمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغْوًا وَلاَ كِذَّابًا
[78:36] Therein they will hear no idle talk nor lying:
 جَزَاءً مِنْ رَبِّكَ عَطَاءً حِسَابًا
[78:37] A recompense from thy Lord — a gift in proportion to their works —
 رَبِّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا الرَّحْمَنِ لاَ يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْهُ خِطَابًا
[78:38] Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, the Gracious. They shall not have the power to address Him.
 يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلاَئِكَةُ صَفًّا لاَ يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلاَّ مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا
[78:39] On the day when the Spirit[3234A] and the angels will stand in rows, they shall not speak, except he whom the Gracious God will permit and who will speak only what is right.
 ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمُ الْحَقُّ فَمَنْ شَاءَ اتَّخَذَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ مَآبًا
[78:40] That day is sure to come. So let him, who will, seek recourse unto his Lord.
 إِنَّا أَنذَرْنَاكُمْ عَذَابًا قَرِيبًا يَوْمَ يَنظُرُ الْمَرْءُ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ وَيَقُولُ الْكَافِرُ يَالَيْتَنِي كُنتُ تُرَابًا
[78:41] Verily, We have warned you of a punishment which is near at hand[3235]: a day when man will see what his hands have sent on before, and the disbeliever will say, ‘Would that I were mere dust!’
3223. The addition of the qualifying word, Al-'Azim (mighty) to Al-Naba' which itself means a great news or event, suggests the tremendous import of the event referred to here.
3224. The disbelievers do not believe that there will ever be a Day of Reckoning.
3225. Seven major planets of the solar system of which the sun is the centre, or seven stages of spiritual development of man mentioned in Surah AI-Mu'minun.
3226. In these verses (7-17) some of the basic Divine bounties on which man's physical sustenance mainly depends have been mentioned, the implication being that God Who has made such adequate arrangement for the physical sustenance of man could not have neglected to make a similar provision for his spiritual sustenance.
3227. On the Day of Decision -the day of the Fall of Mecca- the Quraish, as if by the blowing of the trumpet, were gathered before the Holy Prophet, requesting him that their tyrannies and transgressions might be forgiven.
3228. At that time heavenly Signs will be shown in large numbers in support of the righteous and to the confusion of the wrongdoers.
3229. The verse means that ( I ) men of power and position will lose their authority and influence. (2) Before the onrush of the conquests of Islam great and firmly-founded empires will crumble like mounds of loose sand and will disappear so completely that it would seem that their erstwhile existence was only an optical illusion.
3230. Bard means, coolness; pleasantness; comfort; sleep (Lane).
3230A. The turbulent pursuit of evil and cold indifference towards virtue and righteousness of wrongdoers will take the form of boiling water and intensely cold and stinking drink.
3231. Invention of television, wireless, tape-record and other kindred instruments has established the fact that not only man's action but even his spoken words can be preserved and are, in fact, reproduced. See also 2456.
3232. Among the paradisiacal blessings grapevines find very frequent mention in the Qur'an. This is because grape is a delicious and substantial food. It can be preserved for a long time, and causes intoxication. Taqwa (righteousness) also possess all these three characteristics. So grapevine is a fit reward for the righteous.
3233. The righteous will have companions or wives possessing freshness and vigour of youth and enjoying eminent position. They will be of noble descent and will be fired with high and noble ambitions, Ka'ib of which the plural is Kawa'ib meaning nobility; glory; eminence (Lane). Elsewhere (56:35) in the Qur'an, companions of the righteous believers have been described as Furushun Marfu'atun, i.e., noble spouses. For a full discussion of the nature and significance of heavenly blessings, see Chapters AI-Tur, Al-Rahman and AI-Waqi'ah.
3234. The God-intoxicated pilgrim, whose heart is so full of the love of God as to overflow with it, will deservedly be given to drink cups full of beverage that will add to their spiritual intoxication which will not abate.
3234A. "The Spirit" here may signify the perfect spirit-the Holy Prophet; and "the day" may mean the Day of Resurrection.
3235. "The punishment" may be the punishment which is meted out to the sinful disbelievers in this world. Elsewhere in the Qur'an (32:22) this punishment has been described as nearer punishment as against the greater punishment which is punishment in the Hereafter.
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